Always have a backup plan , Don’t hoard data

Save it or lose it

Don’t wait until it’s too late – backing up your digital memories now will ensure that you have the chance to cherish them forever.

 

 

 It’s a mis­con­cep­tion that back­ing up data is a com­plex pro­cess, as there are plenty of user-friendly tools, accord­ing to david. — palo alto net­works

   

San­tam­aria recom­mends dis­con­nect­ing the backup stor­age medium from the inter­net for bet­ter secur­ity. — Folio photon­ics 

 

d’hal­luin says fig­ur­ing out what data needs to be backed up is a top pri­or­ity. — datadobi

 

With everyone logged in to the digital world and with the widespread use of smartphones, it’s surprising how little attention has gone towards preserving digital memories.

to remind everyone of its importance, it was World Backup Day on Friday, March 31, which has been celebrated since 2011.

World Backup Day originated from a Reddit post by a user lamenting the loss of content on a hard drive after having overlooked backing up its data.

if this sounds familiar, consider taking steps to keep your files safe since you never know when they could just disappear, as hardware failure is unpredictable.

Duplicating data

in short, a backup means copying data from a device to another location, be it a thumbdrive, an external hard drive or a cloud service.

But this isn’t limited to just data files, as operating systems can be backed up too so that you have a restore point in case the hard drive or solid-state drive (SSD) it is installed on fails or gets corrupted.

Palo Alto Networks’ Asean system engineering head, David Rajoo, says, “Backing up your data is crucial in today’s digital age, but it’s often overlooked, especially by non-tech-savvy individuals.

“Common misconceptions include thinking that backups are time-consuming and complicated.

“however, incorporating backups into your daily routine or opting for user-friendly solutions can simplify the process.

“it’s vital to consider various storage options as hard drives can fail, resulting in data loss.

“Cloud storage is a popular option, with the added benefit of having remote access and coming with various storage plans,” he says.

Most would be familiar with cloud storage services like Google Drive, which can be used to automatically sync files on a computer or smartphone to the cloud.

there are other alternatives, like Onedrive and Dropbox, which offer free and paid plans, but Drive is one of the more generous ones, offering 15GB at no cost.

this might sound like a lot, but for those with extensive libraries of content like ripped CDS and Blu-rays, that’s definitely not going to be enough.

identifying what’s important before backing up is key, according to Carl D’halluin, chief technology officer of Datadobi.

“Failing to backup your data can have catastrophic consequences, as a single hardware failure, cyberattack, or natural disaster can wipe out all your valuable information, leaving you with no way to recover it.

“this means that years of hard work can all be lost in an instant, with no chance of retrieval.

“identifying the vital data that requires protection should be the first step in the process,” he says.

those primarily using Android smartphones can rely on Google Photos, which syncs images, and icloud for Apple devices, as it’s tightly integrated into the company’s ecosystem.

Modern Android devices also tend to have built-in support for cloud services like Google Drive and Samsung Cloud, though these are limited to files and apps and not the operating system.

those in the custom Android ROM community will be familiar with recovery firmware like TWRP that can be used to create a Nandroid backup to restore the operating system and apps to their previous states.

the same can be said for both MACOS and Windows, though Microsoft hasn’t updated its tool for a long time.

the built-in backup tool is hidden away in the control panel of Windows 10 and 11 and is specifically marked as for Windows 7, with even Microsoft recommending that users shift away from the backup tool.

Popular alternatives among enthusiasts include the free AOMEI Backupper and the paid-only Macrium, which allow users to select a drive (in this case, the one the operating system is installed on) and create a backup image periodically or on demand.

this backup can be used to restore the operating system when the need arises.

Apple’s time Machine can similarly be used to create system images of MACOS, and the process can be scheduled.

An external drive should first be plugged into the Mac and selected as the backup drive – once done, it will be exclusively used to store backups.

the backup, which can be configured in system settings, allows users to select the drives to be backed up, the backup frequency, and exclude files to save space.

Apple recommends that the backup drive have at least double the storage of the drive being backed up.

By the numbers

A popular strategy adopted by the industry is the 3-2-1 backup rule, which was brought up by David.

“When creating a backup strategy that works best for you, it’s important to prioritise which data to back up first.

“the most crucial data to prioritise are the types of data that are difficult or impossible to replace if lost, such as photos and videos of important memories, work documents, and financial data.

“Once you’ve determined which data needs to be backed up first, following the 3-2-1 backup rule is recommended.

“this rule involves having three copies of your data, with two on different media types and one stored offsite,” he says.

For instance, if you own a desktop or laptop, you should back up your data to an external drive and the cloud.

Most external drives are compact and can be had for cheap these days. if money is no object, you could invest in networkattached storage that will also give you remote access to your files, but this also requires more work.

this will ensure that you have a local copy if something goes wrong, allowing you to get your data back in the fastest possible time.

And having your data on the cloud will ensure that your data is safe should you lose both your local storage due to, say, fire or flood.

Leaving the secondary local storage (like an external drive or thumbdrive) disconnected from the internet also serves as an added security measure.

According to Steven Santamaria, CEO of Folio Photonics, a well-designed data protection strategy should look into both physical and digital security to safeguard critical data.

“the most effective data protection strategy should also incorporate a data storage platform that can be securely archived in an offsite location, with the added benefit of being taken offline for even greater security.

“this means that the storage platform is physically separated from the main network and disconnected from the internet, making it resistant to cyberattacks and other forms of data breaches,” he says.

David recommends taking the extra step of encrypting the backup data.

“Although this may seem daunting, many backup services include encryption as part of their package.

“By encrypting your backups, you can protect your data from unauthorised access in the event of theft or loss.

“Ensure your backup data is password-protected, and avoid using simple passwords or commonly guessed words.

“For cloud-based backups, consider using two-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security.

“this involves requiring a password and a secondary authentication method, such as a fingerprint or a code sent to your phone,” he says.

he concludes by saying that it’s also vital to ensure that the backups are virusfree by scanning the system with reputable antivirus and anti-malware software before backing up. 

By CHRISTOPHER FAM lifestyletech@thestar.com.my  

Don’t hoard data

 

The digital Cleanup day initiative is intended to get users into the habit of sorting and discarding unwanted data while being mindful of the ‘digital waste’ they are generating. — Freepik.com

Due to cloud services, people can store seemingly infinite amounts of data without worrying about using up physical space on their personal devices.

However, Estonia’s Let’s Do It Foundation wants users to think about the environmental impact of hoarding data.

Last month, it launched the Digital Cleanup Day initiative to get users into the habit of sorting and discarding unwanted data while being mindful of the “digital waste” they are producing.

According to the foundation, “This digital waste creates digital pollution that continues to consume energy even when we have forgotten it.

“Digital trash sits in the backups on servers that provide us with cloud service and continue consuming electricity.”

The International Energy Agency estimates that data centres and data transmission networks are responsible for nearly 1% of energyrelated greenhouse gas emissions.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals listed reducing greenhouse gas emissions as part of a crucial measure to lessen the impact of climate change.

It raised concerns that droughts brought on by rising temperatures may displace 700 million people by 2030.

A 2020 report by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) called for the large-scale adoption of environmentally responsible online behaviour, which it said was vital for “combating climate change and promoting sustainability”.

Habits it recommends include deleting non-essential content on cloud services or when the data is no longer needed.

Users should also optimise their cloud storage by identifying and deleting duplicate content – most cloud services either offer tools for this or do it automatically.

On devices like the iphone, the Photos app can be used to find duplicate images and videos.

Tapping on Albums and clicking on Duplicates under Utilities will show the similar files next to each other. This feature is available in IOS 16.

There is also an option to merge duplicates. According to Apple, “merging combines the highest quality version and all the relevant data across the duplicates, and this version will remain in the library”. The remaining duplicates will be put into the Recently Deleted album.

On Android, the Files By Google app has a Clean feature that will scan the phone and recommend content to delete, including large files, old screenshots and downloaded data.

Alternatively, users can archive information on external drives, which don’t run on electricity.

If deletion is not an option, the files can be compressed to save space. Popular tools on the market include Winzip and WINRAR, which allow files to be compressed, although they are better at shrinking the size of some files than others.

The files can also be password protected for additional security. Do note that the compression employed by these apps won’t result in a loss of quality for photos or videos.

Another aspect that users should consider is the carbon footprint of emails.

Statistics on The Carbon Literacy Project show that actions like sending a short email from the phone generate 0.2g of CO2, while taking 10 minutes to send out an email to 100 people is responsible for 26g of CO2.

According to the Let’s Do It Foundation, 281 billion emails are sent out each day, taking an average person three hours a day to refresh, read and reply to work messages.

The foundation felt that it was necessary to limit the ineffective practice of organising work through emails.

To avoid accumulating email messages, it’s best to unsubscribe from irrelevant mailing lists or mark unwanted emails as spam so they get deleted after a set period.

Let’s Do It also recommends that users clean up their Inbox by searching for common names or addresses to round up similar messages and delete them, while only keeping the latest.

Always have a backup plan , Don’t hoard data

Save it or lose it

Don’t wait until it’s too late – back­ing up your digital memor­ies now will ensure that you have the chance to cher­ish them forever.

 it’s a mis­con­cep­tion that back­ing up data is a com­plex pro­cess, as there are plenty of user-friendly tools, accord­ing to david. — palo alto net­works

  San­tam­aria recom­mends dis­con­nect­ing the backup stor­age medium from the inter­net for bet­ter secur­ity. — Folio photon­ics 

 

d’hal­luin says fig­ur­ing out what data needs to be backed up is a top pri­or­ity. — datadobi 

 With every­one logged in to the digital world and with the wide­spread use of smart­phones, it’s sur­pris­ing how little atten­tion has gone towards pre­serving digital memor­ies.

to remind every­one of its import­ance, it was World Backup Day on Fri­day, March 31, which has been cel­eb­rated since 2011.

World Backup Day ori­gin­ated from a Red­dit post by a user lament­ing the loss of con­tent on a hard drive after hav­ing over­looked back­ing up its data.

if this sounds famil­iar, con­sider tak­ing steps to keep your files safe since you never know when they could just dis­ap­pear, as hard­ware fail­ure is unpre­dict­able.

Duplic­at­ing data

in short, a backup means copy­ing data from a device to another loc­a­tion, be it a thumbdrive, an external hard drive or a cloud ser­vice.

But this isn’t lim­ited to just data files, as oper­at­ing sys­tems can be backed up too so that you have a restore point in case the hard drive or solid-state drive (SSD) it is installed on fails or gets cor­rup­ted.

Palo Alto Net­works’ Asean sys­tem engin­eer­ing head, David Rajoo, says, “Back­ing up your data is cru­cial in today’s digital age, but it’s often over­looked, espe­cially by non-tech-savvy indi­vidu­als.

“Com­mon mis­con­cep­tions include think­ing that backups are time-con­sum­ing and com­plic­ated.

“however, incor­por­at­ing backups into your daily routine or opt­ing for user-friendly solu­tions can sim­plify the pro­cess.

“it’s vital to con­sider vari­ous stor­age options as hard drives can fail, res­ult­ing in data loss.

“it’s vital to con­sider vari­ous stor­age options as hard drives can fail, res­ult­ing in data loss.

“Cloud stor­age is a pop­u­lar option, with the added bene­fit of hav­ing remote access and com­ing with vari­ous stor­age plans,” he says.

Most would be famil­iar with cloud stor­age ser­vices like Google Drive, which can be used to auto­mat­ic­ally sync files on a com­puter or smart­phone to the cloud.

There are other altern­at­ives, like Onedrive and Drop­box, which offer free and paid plans, but Drive is one of the more gen­er­ous ones, offer­ing 15GB at no cost.

Tthis might sound like a lot, but for those with extens­ive lib­rar­ies of con­tent like ripped CDS and Blu-rays, that’s def­in­itely not going to be enough.

Identi­fy­ing what’s import­ant before back­ing up is key, accord­ing to Carl D’hal­luin, chief tech­no­logy officer of Datadobi.

“Fail­ing to backup your data can have cata­strophic con­sequences, as a single hard­ware fail­ure, cyber­at­tack, or nat­ural dis­aster can wipe out all your valu­able inform­a­tion, leav­ing you with no way to recover it.

“Fail­ing to backup your data can have cata­strophic con­sequences, as a single hard­ware fail­ure, cyber­at­tack, or nat­ural dis­aster can wipe out all your valu­able inform­a­tion, leav­ing you with no way to recover it.

“this means that years of hard work can all be lost in an instant, with no chance of retrieval.

“identi­fy­ing the vital data that requires pro­tec­tion should be the first step in the pro­cess,” he says.

Those primar­ily using Android smart­phones can rely on Google Pho­tos, which syncs images, and icloud for Apple devices, as it’s tightly integ­rated into the com­pany’s eco­sys­tem.

Mod­ern Android devices also tend to have built-in sup­port for cloud ser­vices like Google Drive and Sam­sung Cloud, though these are lim­ited to files and apps and not the oper­at­ing sys­tem.

those in the cus­tom Android ROM com­munity will be famil­iar with recov­ery firm­ware like TWRP that can be used to cre­ate a Nandroid backup to restore the oper­at­ing sys­tem and apps to their pre­vi­ous states.

the same can be said for both MACOS and Win­dows, though Microsoft hasn’t updated its tool for a long time.

the built-in backup tool is hid­den away in the con­trol panel of Win­dows 10 and 11 and is spe­cific­ally marked as for Win­dows 7, with even Microsoft recom­mend­ing that users shift away from the backup tool.

Pop­u­lar altern­at­ives among enthu­si­asts include the free AOMEI Backup­per and the paid-only Mac­rium, which allow users to select a drive (in this case, the one the oper­at­ing sys­tem is installed on) and cre­ate a backup image peri­od­ic­ally or on demand.

this backup can be used to restore the oper­at­ing sys­tem when the need arises.

Apple’s time Machine can sim­il­arly be used to cre­ate sys­tem images of MACOS, and the pro­cess can be sched­uled.

An external drive should first be plugged into the Mac and selec­ted as the backup drive – once done, it will be exclus­ively used to store backups.

the backup, which can be con­figured in sys­tem set­tings, allows users to select the drives to be backed up, the backup fre­quency, and exclude files to save space.

Apple recom­mends that the backup drive have at least double the stor­age of the drive being backed up.

By the num­bers

A pop­u­lar strategy adop­ted by the industry is the 3-2-1 backup rule, which was brought up by David.

“When cre­at­ing a backup strategy that works best for you, it’s import­ant to pri­or­it­ise which data to back up first.

“the most cru­cial data to pri­or­it­ise are the types of data that are dif­fi­cult or impossible to replace if lost, such as pho­tos and videos of import­ant memor­ies, work doc­u­ments, and fin­an­cial data.

“Once you’ve determ­ined which data needs to be backed up first, fol­low­ing the 3-2-1 backup rule is recom­men­ded.

“this rule involves hav­ing three cop­ies of your data, with two on dif­fer­ent media types and one stored off­s­ite,” he says.

For instance, if you own a desktop or laptop, you should back up your data to an external drive and the cloud.

Most external drives are com­pact and can be had for cheap these days. if money is no object, you could invest in net­work­at­tached stor­age that will also give you remote access to your files, but this also requires more work.

This will ensure that you have a local copy if something goes wrong, allow­ing you to get your data back in the fast­est pos­sible time.

And hav­ing your data on the cloud will ensure that your data is safe should you lose both your local stor­age due to, say, fire or flood.

Leav­ing the sec­ond­ary local stor­age (like an external drive or thumbdrive) dis­con­nec­ted from the inter­net also serves as an added secur­ity meas­ure.

Accord­ing to Steven San­tam­aria, CEO of Folio Photon­ics, a well-designed data pro­tec­tion strategy should look into both phys­ical and digital secur­ity to safe­guard crit­ical data.

“the most effect­ive data pro­tec­tion strategy should also incor­por­ate a data stor­age plat­form that can be securely archived in an off­s­ite loc­a­tion, with the added bene­fit of being taken off­line for even greater secur­ity.

“this means that the stor­age plat­form is phys­ic­ally sep­ar­ated from the main net­work and dis­con­nec­ted from the inter­net, mak­ing it res­ist­ant to cyber­at­tacks and other forms of data breaches,” he says.

David recom­mends tak­ing the extra step of encrypt­ing the backup data.

“Although this may seem daunt­ing, many backup ser­vices include encryp­tion as part of their pack­age.

“By encrypt­ing your backups, you can pro­tect your data from unau­thor­ised access in the event of theft or loss.

“By encrypt­ing your backups, you can pro­tect your data from unau­thor­ised access in the event of theft or loss.

“Ensure your backup data is pass­word-pro­tec­ted, and avoid using simple pass­words or com­monly guessed words.

“For cloud-based backups, con­sider using two-factor authen­tic­a­tion to add an extra layer of secur­ity.

“this involves requir­ing a pass­word and a sec­ond­ary authen­tic­a­tion method, such as a fin­ger­print or a code sent to your phone,” he says.

he con­cludes by say­ing that it’s also vital to ensure that the backups are vir­us­free by scan­ning the sys­tem with reput­able anti­virus and anti-mal­ware soft­ware before back­ing up. 

 By CHRISTOPHER FAM life­styletech@the­star.com.my 

 

Don’t hoard data

 

The digital Cleanup day initiative is intended to get users into the habit of sorting and discarding unwanted data while being mindful of the ‘digital waste’ they are generating. — Freepik.com

Due to cloud services, people can store seemingly infinite amounts of data without worrying about using up physical space on their personal devices.

However, Estonia’s Let’s Do It Foundation wants users to think about the environmental impact of hoarding data.

Last month, it launched the Digital Cleanup Day initiative to get users into the habit of sorting and discarding unwanted data while being mindful of the “digital waste” they are producing.

According to the foundation, “This digital waste creates digital pollution that continues to consume energy even when we have forgotten it.

“Digital trash sits in the backups on servers that provide us with cloud service and continue consuming electricity.”

The International Energy Agency estimates that data centres and data transmission networks are responsible for nearly 1% of energyrelated greenhouse gas emissions.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals listed reducing greenhouse gas emissions as part of a crucial measure to lessen the impact of climate change.

It raised concerns that droughts brought on by rising temperatures may displace 700 million people by 2030.

A 2020 report by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) called for the large-scale adoption of environmentally responsible online behaviour, which it said was vital for “combating climate change and promoting sustainability”.

Habits it recommends include deleting non-essential content on cloud services or when the data is no longer needed.

Users should also optimise their cloud storage by identifying and deleting duplicate content – most cloud services either offer tools for this or do it automatically.

On devices like the iphone, the Photos app can be used to find duplicate images and videos.

Tapping on Albums and clicking on Duplicates under Utilities will show the similar files next to each other. This feature is available in IOS 16.

There is also an option to merge duplicates. According to Apple, “merging combines the highest quality version and all the relevant data across the duplicates, and this version will remain in the library”. The remaining duplicates will be put into the Recently Deleted album.

On Android, the Files By Google app has a Clean feature that will scan the phone and recommend content to delete, including large files, old screenshots and downloaded data.

Alternatively, users can archive information on external drives, which don’t run on electricity.

If deletion is not an option, the files can be compressed to save space. Popular tools on the market include Winzip and WINRAR, which allow files to be compressed, although they are better at shrinking the size of some files than others.

The files can also be password protected for additional security. Do note that the compression employed by these apps won’t result in a loss of quality for photos or videos.

Another aspect that users should consider is the carbon footprint of emails.

Statistics on The Carbon Literacy Project show that actions like sending a short email from the phone generate 0.2g of CO2, while taking 10 minutes to send out an email to 100 people is responsible for 26g of CO2.

According to the Let’s Do It Foundation, 281 billion emails are sent out each day, taking an average person three hours a day to refresh, read and reply to work messages.

The foundation felt that it was necessary to limit the ineffective practice of organising work through emails.

To avoid accumulating email messages, it’s best to unsubscribe from irrelevant mailing lists or mark unwanted emails as spam so they get deleted after a set period.

Let’s Do It also recommends that users clean up their Inbox by searching for common names or addresses to round up similar messages and delete them, while only keeping the latest.

What is the best sleeping position?

 

 

 

Experts say side sleeping is probably the better way to sleep. 

 

MOST people spend a third of their lives either asleep or resting, according to the Sleep Foundation.

During sleep, the body recharges and repairs itself.

And a good night’s sleep often can be determined by what position you are lying in bed. Back-sleepers beware.

“I know many people find it to be comfortable, because they’re not putting weight on their joints,” says Dr Lois Krahn, a Mayo Clinic sleep specialist.

But experts say sleeping on your back is actually the worst sleeping position, especially if you have sleep apnea.

“Sleeping on the back means that your tongue and jaw can fall down and crowd your airway. And many people snore more on their back,” says Dr Krahn.

Sleeping on your stomach helps keep the airway open, but it can put a strain on your spine and neck.

“There’s a host of evidence overall suggesting that probably sleeping on the side is better,” says Dr. Virend Somers, a cardiologist and director of the sleep facility within Mayo Clinic’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science.

Side sleeping helps prevent the airway from collapsing and can reduce snoring.

“And so, all in all, sleeping on the side – perhaps with their head slightly elevated as long as that’s comfortable – is a good way to sleep,” says Dr Krahn.

Side sleeping is also recommended during pregnancy, especially the last trimester.

And sleeping on the left side is best because it keeps pressure off internal organs and promotes healthy blood flow.

“When you are in that third trimester of pregnancy and when you sleep on your back, the uterus is compressing your inferior vena cava (the largest vein in the body).

“It’s compressing the arterial system,” says Dr Somers.

Sleeping on your side also is considered by the Sleep Foundation as the best for people with neck and back pain, especially if you place a small pillow between your knees.

“Because if you don’t have a pillow between your knees, that stress of sleeping on the side pulls on your hip and can cause some issues,” says Dr Somers. – Mayo Clinic News Network/tribune News Service

Mad media mania, CNN and BBC for world news both become arguably biased and unreliable

Highlights From TikTok CEO's Testimony Before Congress | Insider News

China hits back after US lawmakers push for TikTok ban in 5-hour grilling

n the hot seat: Chew had the unenviable task of fielding questions, interrogated by this bunch of rude and abusive people with accusations that they can’t substantiate during the Congressional hearing. – AP/Bloomberg

 The US is afraid a social platform, perceived as ticking timebomb, is about to explode in an expose of its nation

 I wish most of us didn’t have to depend on CNN and BBC for our world news, but our choices are really limited.

The regional media, including those in Malaysia, also depend on Western news agencies for international news.

Only these news agencies have the resources and ability to deliver breaking news swiftly to the world.

As much as Al-Jazeera and CGTN (China Global Television Network) try to compete, they can’t because their presentations seem to lack global flavour.

Al-Jazeera is owned by the monarchy government of Qatar.

It focuses more on the Arab world while CGTN is bereft of appeal because its reporting appears government-centric and serious.

So whether we like it or not, we’re left with CNN and BBC for world news on TV, but unfortunately, both have become arguably biased and unreliable, and have even gone overboard at times.

If we are to believe what CNN has been reporting, the Russians lost the war with Ukraine a year ago. Almost every daily news bite is about the Russians suffering yet another blow, but the Ukrainians have yet to regain their lost territories.

The attacks on China have also become ridiculous and to many Asians, especially those in the Chinese diaspora, it has degenerated into comedy, when it used to merely be annoying previously.

The Chinese have been accused of wanting to supply arms to Russia. That has somehow stopped now because even Ukraine has quashed that claim.

So we have countries which are sending or selling arms to Ukraine who are hypocritically warning China against doing the same. They have given up on Iran being the beneficiary now, of course.

But the icing on the cake must be the US Congress hearing, where TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, a Singaporean, was grilled by Republican and Democrat politicians.The lawmakers supposedly assumed bipartisan roles in this instance, meaning for once, they were on the same side, but they were clearly partisan.

The poor CEO had the unenviable task of fielding questions, interrogated by this bunch of rude and abusive people with accusations that they can’t substantiate.

They had already made up their minds even before listening to Chew, and they were given glowing reports by CNN until last week when it became obvious the world was making fun of these members of Congress.

To be more precise, they were even targeted in talk shows where they were mocked and ridiculed.

This was a classic case of a group of digitally illiterate political oldies sounding like leftovers from the McCarthy era of the 1960s which witch-hunted imagined communists. These fogies even believe TikTok users are being used to spy for the Chinese government and imagine the app is a national security risk.

The Americans, British, Russians, Israelis and many other countries have all been involved in spying activities since time immemorial, yet suddenly, they’re worried about TikTok being used to spy on Americans?

So these politicians have unwittingly exposed their ignorance of how modern technology works. The more they queried Chew, the more foolish they revealed themselves to be.

One Congressman asked, “if I have a TikTok app on my phone and my phone is on my phone’s Wi Fi network, does TikTok access that network?” What a stupid question.

To this Chew replied: “‘It will have access to the network to get a connection to the Internet, if that’s the question.”

It’s perplexing that a CEO of a tech company is asked about espionage and the plight of Uighurs in China, when Muslims in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Libya, and Iraq have been bombed flat for decades.

And on the day CNN reported widely on the Congressional hearing, there wasn’t a peep about how Apple CEO Tim Cook was given a rousing welcome in China.

The treatment from the Chinese of Cook couldn’t have been more contrasting following the hours of Chew’s pummelling in the US.

Perhaps US politicians would want to haul Cook up to explain whether iPhones – of which 95% is made in China – could be used to spy on Americans.

These paranoid lawmakers should be worried about toting these Chinese-made US-owned mobiles.

But with more than 150 million TikTok users in the US, that translates into a massive number of votes. After all, the politicians can reach the voters more effectively via TikTok.

So why ban the app if it serves their selfish interests? 

 Source link

Wong Chun Wai

Wong Chun Wai began his career as a journalist in Penang, and has served The Star for over 35 years in various capacities and roles. He is now group editorial and corporate affairs adviser to the group, after having served as group managing director/chief executive officer. On The Beat made its debut on Feb 23 1997 and Chun Wai has penned the column weekly without a break, except for the occasional press holiday when the paper was not published. In May 2011, a compilation of selected articles of On The Beat was published as a book and launched in conjunction with his 50th birthday. Chun Wai also comments on current issues in The Star.

• https://twitter.com/chunwai09
• http://www.wongchunwai.com/ 

 Forcing TikTok to sell its shares is a shameless manifestation of US’ hegemonism

 

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 Calls for cooperation between China and US grow at high-level platform in Beijing

While the US has intensified crackdowns on Chinese companies, business representatives from the US called for increased cooperation between the world's two largest economies at the China Development Forum (CDF) 2023, a high-level dialogue platform held in Beijing from Saturday to Monday. 

 

 

<< Photo: A screenshot of Apple's Tim Cook's Sina Weibo on March 24, 2023.

 

 

 

 Greatest threat to the USA is Peace; China is now fearless drawing red lines with US and no longer can be bullied. 史无前例！ 中美天津會談. 史無前例! 第一次有一個國家

My Singapore News

 

Greatest threat to the USA is Peace; China is now fearless drawing red lines with US and no longer can be bullied. 史无前例！ 中美天津會談. 史無前例! 第一次有一個國家

My Singapore News A section of China Square at lunch time     3/24/2023 Greatest threat to the USA is Peace  The ...

 

Greatest threat to the USA is Peace; China is now fearless drawing red lines with US and no longer can be bullied. 史无前例！ 中美天津會談. 史無前例! 第一次有一個國家

My Singapore News

A section of China Square at lunch time

 

 3/24/2023

Greatest threat to the USA is Peace

 The greatest threat to the USA is not China, but Peace. Peace in the world would bring an end to the evil American Empire that is built around war and a war economy. When there is Peace in the world, the Americans would be lost. They would not know what to do, many employed just to agitate for wars would be jobless. The whole Military Industrial Complex would be out of business. All the American military bases in the world would be redundant, so would all the aircraft carriers, military aircraft, ICBMs, weapons of mass destruction and all the supporting war industries.

Employment would become the number one problem in the USA when the American war machine is crippled due to its irrelevance. All the CIA operators would be out of work. All the fake news about threats and enemies would become jokes.

The nearly US$1 trillion military budget would be totally extravagant without wars, without enemies.

When there is Peace in the world, the Americans would have to create jobs for themselves, to make themselves useful again as responsible people, not warmongers and murderers, not merchants of war. There will be no one to buy their expensive war machine, no more needs for military gangs aka allies.

The latest peace deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia brokered by China is being condemned by the Americans, calling it a threat to American interests. The Americans are all out to break this Peace deal. This is how evil the Americans are, all set to create war and against Peace.  Peace is against the interests of the Americans, an evil Empire thriving on wars and instability and selling weapons to kill and destruct in wars.

China's proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine and to start Peace negotiation is condemned by the Americans and the Americans also said there cannot be ceasefire.

The people of the world have woken up to the evilness of the Americans. Everyone wants Peace except the Americans. Only the blind and idiotic are still supporting the evil Americans in their warmongering and evil ways.

 https://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/2023/03/greatest-threat-to-usa-is-peace.html?m=1

 

CHINA

China is now fearless drawing red lines with US and no longer can be bullied. 史无前例！

中美天津會談. 史無前例! 第一次有一個國家
Unprecedented! China-U.S. Tianjin Talks
Unprecedented in history.
For the first time there is a country

謝鋒: 敦促美方改變極其危險的對華政策
Xie Feng: Urge the U.S. to change its extremely dangerous China policy

中美最近這次會談，比上次的阿拉斯加會談，還要讓世界吃驚，還要讓美國震驚。因為在這次會談中，中國第一次完整、系統、尖銳地痛斥了美國的反華行徑，並且開出了美國改正錯誤政策與言行，以及中國關心的應當糾錯的個案的清單，這是美國從未遇到的外交對手。因為最近這一百多年來，美國一直雄踞世界霸主地位，它先後戰勝了西班牙、英國、日本、德國、蘇聯等競爭者，保持了地球村村長的位置。可以說，從來沒有一個國家，像中國這樣給美國開清單，劃紅線。在這之前，只有美國這樣對別人的份。
The recent talks between China and the United States surprised the world even more than the last meeting in Alaska, and shocked the United States even more. Because in this meeting for the first time, China has completely, systematically and sharply denounced the anti-China behavior of the United States, and issued a list of correcting the wrong policies, words and deeds of the United States, as well as individual cases that China cares about and should be corrected. This is a diplomacy that the United States has never encountered an  opponent. Because the United States has dominated the world for more than a hundred years. It has successively defeated competitors such as Spain, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, and the Soviet Union, and maintained its position as the head of the global village. It can be said that there has never been a country that has issued a list and drawn red lines for the United States like China.  Before that, only the United States had this kind of attutude to others.

是的，在地球上，在美國眼里，主要有六類國家。第一類是盟友，比如以色列、英國、法國、德國、意大利、加拿大、澳大利亞等;第二類是被占領國家，比如日本、韓國;第三類是準盟友，比如歐洲的一些國家、亞洲的菲律賓、非洲的南非、美洲的巴西等。第四類是戰略合作的國家，比如沙特、印度、土耳其、埃及等;第五類是一些可以被它任意欺負的弱國;第六類是與美國敵對，但綜合實力確實差距很大的國家，比如伊朗，委內瑞拉、古巴、朝鮮等國家。這五類國家，均只能仰仗、逢迎、周旋或屈服於美國的外交施壓。只有俄羅斯與中國例外。俄羅斯憑借戰略武器和軍事實力，常常與美國針鋒相對，但也從來沒有在外交上直接訓斥美國人。而中國，因為政治、軍事、經濟、科技等綜合實力的增強，具備了全面抗壓能力，也是第一個直接在外交場合訓斥美國人，給美國人劃紅線的國家。
Yes, on earth, in the eyes of the United States, there are mainly six types of countries. The first category is allies, such as Israel, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Australia, etc.;
The second category is occupied countries, such as Japan and South Korea;
The third category is quasi-allies, such as some countries in Europe, the Philippines in Asia, South Africa in Africa, and Brazil in the Americas.
The fourth category is countries with strategic cooperation, such as Saudi Arabia, India, Turkey, Egypt, etc.;
The fifth category is some weak countries that can be bullied by it at will;
The sixth category is countries that are hostile to the United States, but their overall strength is indeed far behind, such as Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea and other countries.
These five types of countries can only rely on, flatter, deal with, or succumb to the diplomatic pressure of the United States.  The only exceptions are Russia and China. Relying on its strategic weapons and military strength, Russia often confronts the United States tit for tat, but it has never directly reprimanded the Americans diplomatically. China, on the other hand, has a comprehensive ability to resist pressure due to the enhancement of its political, military, economic, technological and other comprehensive strengths. It is also the first country to directly reprimand Americans on diplomatic occasions and draw red lines for Americans.

美國人是非常震驚的，華盛頓這幾天所有精英都在體會中國這樣做的意義。這一次中國創造了六個前所未有。第一是中國外交部副部長謝峰十分系統、完整的訓斥了美國人，前所未有。第二是在美國人之前發布中國人的完整批評發言，對對方的發言一字不發，前所未有。第三是直接給美國人開列改正錯誤的問題清單，前所未有。第四是拒絕討論美國人的問題清單，拒絕在美國不改正錯誤的情況下討論合作，前所未有。第五是直接否定美國對中美關系的定義，前所未有。第六是直接為美國人劃上搞好中美關系的底線，前所未有。
Americans are very shocked. All the elites in Washington these days are realizing the significance of China's actions.
This time China has created six unprecedences.
The first is that Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng has systematically and completely reprimanded the Americans, which is unprecedented.
The second is to publish the complete critical speech of the Chinese before the Americans, without saying a single word of the other party's speech, which is unprecedented.
The third is to directly issue a list of questions for Americans to correct their mistakes, which is unprecedented.
The fourth is the refusal to discuss the American list of problems, and the refusal to discuss cooperation without the United States correcting its mistakes, which is unprecedented.
The fifth is to directly deny the United States' definition of Sino-US relations, which is unprecedented.
The sixth is to directly draw the bottom line for Americans to improve Sino-US relations, which is unprecedented.

王毅外長劃定的三條底線，美國幾乎無法遵守，這也意味著中國從今往後，不打算在美國人一意孤行的情況下，單方面忍讓改善雙方關系。王毅說，第一，美國不得挑戰、詆毀甚至試圖顛覆中國特色社會主義道路和制度。這是中方必須堅守的核心利益。第二，美國不得試圖阻撓甚至打斷中國的發展進程。中國人民當然也有過上更美好生活的權利，中國也有實現現代化的權利，現代化不是美國的專權，這涉及人類的基本良知和國際公義。中方敦促美方盡快取消對華實施的所有單邊制裁、高額關稅、長臂管轄以及科技封鎖。第三，美國不得侵犯中國國家主權，更不能破壞中國領土完整。不得在涉疆、涉藏、涉港等問題上損害中國主權。至於台灣問題，更是重中之重。如果“台獨”膽敢挑釁，中國有權利采取任何需要的手段予以制止。我們奉勸美方在台灣問題上務必恪守承諾，務必慎重行事。大家只要認真看一看這三條底線，就可以看出，美國人可能永遠不會遵守這三條底線，中國敢於劃出來，就說明中國這次是鐵了心要與美國鬥爭到底。要麽美國改弦更張，中美關系走上正軌，要麽中國就要不惜亮劍、不惜攤牌，逼美國人在這些大是大非面前就範。
The three bottom lines drawn by Foreign Minister Wang Yi are almost impossible for the United States to abide by. This also means that from now on China will not intend to unilaterally tolerate and improve bilateral relations when the Americans insist on going their own way.
Wang Yi said:
First, the United States must not challenge, slander, or even try to subvert the path and system of socialism with Chinese characteristics.  This is the core interest that China must uphold.
Second, the United States must not try to obstruct or even interrupt China's development process. China urges the U.S. to lift all unilateral sanctions, high tariffs, long-arm jurisdiction and technology blockade imposed on China as soon as possible.
Third, the United States must not violate the sovereignty of China's national sovereignty, let alone undermine China's territorial integrity. It is not allowed to damage China's sovereignty on issues such as Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong. As for the Taiwan issue, it is even more important.
If the "Taiwan independence" dares to provoke, China has the right to take any necessary measures to stop it. We urge the US side to honor its commitments and act with caution on the Taiwan issue.
As long as you take a serious look at these three bottom lines, you can see that Americans may never abide by these three bottom lines. If China dares to draw them, it shows that China is determined to fight the United States to the end this time. Either the United States will change its course and China-US relations will be on the right track, or China will not hesitate to show its sword and show its cards to force the Americans to submit to these major issues.

一句話，美國不得處心積慮搞垮中國、搞衰中國、搞亂中國，這是高壓線。如果美國一面堅持這三搞，一面又假惺惺要與我們合作，那是不可能的。大家都說，外交是需要實力做後盾的，中國第一個正式教訓美國、提出改正錯誤清單、明確劃定底線，底氣是什麽? 我認為是三條
第一條，是中國人民對共產黨的領導的擁護、對國家制度和道路的認同，達到了空前的高水平，中國人民從來沒有像今天這樣對帝國主義、資本主義的醜惡本質，對中國公知這些里應外合的醜類的醜惡嘴臉，有如此清晰的認識。這是中國最有底氣的地方。
第二條，是中國經過70年飛速發展，已經在政治、經濟、文化、金融、科技、軍事、外交等領域有了長足進步，已經成為綜合實力的第二強，從發展勢頭看，完全有可能在20年左右，成為全面超越美國的超級大國，明天我將分析，中國不怕中美搞所謂全面脫鉤。第三條，也是最重要的一條，那就是中國已經擁有非常具體、非常現實的核打擊能力。這是美國特別懼怕、特別忌憚的能力。俄羅斯總統普京曾經說，如果俄羅斯不存在了，那麽世界對我們就毫無意義。他的意思是，如果有人要毀滅俄羅斯，俄羅斯就要毀滅世界。這就是GDP僅有中國一個廣東省水平的國家，一個經濟規模還小於韓國的國家，為什麽被美國人害怕的原因。
因為我羅斯擁有毀滅美國一次以上的能力。美俄如果開打核戰爭，絕對是雙雙自我毀滅。其實，今天的中國，美國很清楚，已經具備了毀滅美國的現實核能力。
In a word, the United States must not deliberately try to bring China down, destroy China, and mess up China. This is a high-tension line. It would be impossible for the US to insist on these three activities while pretending to cooperate with us. Everyone says that diplomacy needs the backing of strength. China is the first to formally teach the United States a lesson, put forward a list of mistakes to correct, and clearly draw the bottom line.
What is the confidence? I gathered three recognitions.
First. The Chinese people's support for the leadership of the Communist Party and their recognition of the country's system and path have reached an unprecedented high level.
The Chinese people have never had before as they do today such a clear understanding of the ugly nature of imperialism and capitalism, and the ugly faces of those hideous people who cooperate with each other from the inside and the outside.
This is where China has the most confidence.
The second is that after 70 years of rapid development, China has made great progress in the fields of politics, economy, culture, finance, science and technology, military affairs, and diplomacy. It has become the second strongest country in terms of comprehensive strength. From the perspective of development momentum, it is entirely possible to become a superpower that surpasses the United States in about 20 years. Tomorrow I will analyze that.
China is not afraid of the so-called comprehensive decoupling between China and the United States.
The third and most important one is that China already has a very specific and realistic nuclear strike capability. This is a capability that the United States is particularly afraid of and dreads. Russian President Vladimir Putin once said that if Russia does not exist, then the world is meaningless to us.
What he meant was that if someone was going to destroy Russia, Russia was going to destroy the world. This is why a country whose GDP is only at the level of Guangdong Province in China, and whose economic scale is smaller than that of South Korea, is feared by Americans. Because Russia have the ability to destroy America more than once.  If the United States and Russia start a nuclear war, they will definitely destroy themselves.
In fact, today's China, the United States is very clear, already has the actual nuclear capability to destroy the United States.

我國最新亮相的東風41洲際導彈，目前是世界上最先進的，它的性能已經超過了美國的民兵3和俄羅斯的白楊M，射程高達15000公里，可攜帶十幾個可變軌的核彈頭，核當量相當於23枚轟炸長崎廣島的原子彈，在這樣的核導彈攻擊下，很難有一個國家可以幸存。最要命的是，東風41是機動的、全天候的，也就是說，它可以在任何時候從任何地點發射，這就確保了中國擁有可靠的二次核打擊能力。因為這樣的機動導彈，不可能在第一輪核打擊中被完全擊毀。所以美國人從今往後，絕對不敢有任何僥幸心理與中國開戰。何況，中國還有潛射核導彈巨浪3，它的射程同樣在15000公里以上，同樣是多彈頭的核彈，同樣是機動性極高的戰略武器。巨浪3只需要在渤海內海，就可以完成發射。陸基海基同時擁有機動遠程核打擊能力，你手上如果有這樣先進的打狗棍，見到任何惡狗你當然就有底氣。

My country's latest Dongfeng 41 intercontinental missile is currently the most advanced in the world. Its performance has surpassed the American Minuteman 3 and Russia's Topol M, with a range of up to 15,000 kilometers. It can carry more than a dozen nuclear warheads with variable orbits, and the nuclear equivalent is equivalent to 23 atomic bombs that bombed Nagasaki Hiroshima. Under such nuclear missile attacks, it is difficult for a country to survive. The most terrible thing is that Dongfeng 41 is mobile and all-weather, that is to say, it can be launched from any place at any time, This ensures that China has a reliable second-strike nuclear capability.  Because such a mobile missile cannot be completely destroyed in the first round of nuclear strikes. Therefore, from now on, the Americans will never dare to have any fluke mentality to start a war with China. What's more, China also has the submarine-launched nuclear missile Julang-3, which also has a range of more than 15,000 kilometers. It is also a multi-warhead nuclear bomb and is also a highly mobile strategic weapon. Julang 3 only needs to be in the inner sea of ​​Bohai Sea to complete the launch. Land-based and sea-based also have mobile long-range nuclear strike capabilities. If you have such an advanced dog-beating stick in your hand, you will certainly have the confidence to see any vicious dog.

朋友們，美國人這一次也創造了一個前所未有。當中國人訓斥了舍曼一行之後，後半程的談判，美國人囂張氣焰不見了。相反，面對中國人空前的強硬態度，美國人在現場、美國國務院發言人、美國總統和國務卿都表達過一個意思，那就是美國不尋求與中國對抗與沖突。你們聽一聽，這本來是多年來，相對處於弱勢的中國，一再宣稱的概念，現在，每當中美兩國劍拔督張時，他們多半會這樣說，這也是前所未有的，為什麽? 這是因為中國的戰略核武器越來越厲害，美國人很忌憚。所以我再次強調，與中國開戰，美國人想都別想。
Friends, the Americans have also created an unprecedented situation this time. After the Chinese reprimanded Sherman and his party, the arrogance of the Americans disappeared in the second half of the negotiations.
On the contrary, in the face of the unprecedented tough attitude of the Chinese, the Americans at the scene, the spokesperson of the US State Department, the US President and the Secretary of State all expressed one meaning, that is, the US does not seek confrontation and conflict with China.
Listen. China for many years was relatively weak. This is a concept that has repeatedly declared for many years.
Now, whenever China and the United States draw their swords to counter each other, they will probably say something like this. This is also unprecedented.
Why? This is because China's strategic nuclear weapons are becoming more and more powerful, and Americans are very afraid.  So I emphasize again that Americans should never even think about going to war with China.*

希望每一個中國人都能把這篇愛國文章轉出去，讓我們的中國變得越來越強大，支持所有愛國團體。

I hope that every Chinese can forward this patriotic article to make our China stronger and stronger and support, all patriotic groups.
👍🙏🙏🙏

 

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