* Posts by Tempest

387 publicly visible posts • joined 2 Sep 2010

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Canadian owes bosses for 'time theft' after work-tracking app sinks tribunal bid

Tempest

NOTHING NEW

Way, way back l used to work for MDS (Mohawk Data Sciences - RIP) and one weekly overtime task was moving "Stroke Counters" around the tens of data entry machines used by OHIP and Ontario Hydro.

This might seem like a minor matter given that so many people live on smartphones during the working hours these days, but union/government contracts specified equipment details and they specifically excluded production measurement.

Google Play to ban Android VPN apps from interfering with ads

Tempest
FAIL

Want To Bet?

"apps using the Android VPNService base class"

Statements like this are RED FLAGS to hackers.

Tesla faces Autopilot lawsuit alleging phantom braking

Tempest
WTF?

What's Preferable - Stopping for Ghosts or Ignoring Real Objects.

TESLA has already perfected crashing into real objects and stopping for ghosts seems a preferable choice.

WHAT CARS REALLY NEED are driver alcohol testers and door locks that really stay locked, rather fooling remote door locks with simple, effective, keys.

California to try tackling drought with canal-top solar panels

Tempest
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Stop Watering The Grass!

Anyone who lived in the States will realise a lot of water is wasted because Americans want picture prefect gardens and lawns.

Arm sues Qualcomm over custom Nuvia CPU cores, wants designs destroyed

Tempest
Alert

Did ARM Forget the American Axiom?** . . .

It's the winning that counts.

**The word comes from the Ancient Greek word ἀξίωμα, meaning 'that which is thought worthy or fit' or 'that which commends itself as evident'.

FBI: Look out, crooks stole $1.3b in cryptocurrency in just three months this year

Tempest
Unhappy

There Goes The DPRK Again.

The DPRK (North Korea) must at it again.

US bars Nvidia and AMD from selling AI-centric accelerators to China and Russia

Tempest
WTF?

RUSSIA IS A DEFENCE FAILURE

Russia's prowess in military weapons is a fantasy. The invasion of Ukraine has resulted in cancellation of many Export Orders given Russia's pathetic performance

The Chinese are a different matter, especially since China has allegedly many spies in the USA, although with Trump all they need do is to infiltrate room cleaners in to Mar-a-Lago to access US secrets.

Braking news: Cops slammed for spamming Waze to slow drivers down

Tempest
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ANYONE SEARCHING @First Amendment Auditors@ on YouTube will see Cops in action.

Many "Road Stops" are pretextual so that Cops can collect I.D. Card data.

Here's how 5 mobile banking apps put 300,000 users' digital fingerprints at risk

Tempest
FAIL

It's Not As If Banking Is Risky Enough Already

A deposit sent via BANS from the Royal Courts to HSBC, where I have had an account since 1967 (that's correct, 1967).

HSBC said nothing to me instead it opened up a new account in my name and refused to acknowledge the existence of this transfer. It was only transferred to me (as a person) after eight months during which time it ignored my communications, denied knowledge of it, etc. If it was for the assistance of persistent civil servants and a Whistle-Blower in the HSBC call centre in India**, I would be still bereft of this transfer!

E-banking might be profitable for the banks but until they accept errors can & do occur, I suggest you check account activity regularly.

**India is world fraud country N0.2, after Nigeria.

Inflation to kill growth prospects for smartphone sales

Tempest

G5 Is Commercial Dud - It's Being Simply Planned Obsolescence

Full G5 is not a commercial success. In China usage fee's don't even cover power consumption charges. I have a friend in GuangXi (GuangXi Zhuang Autonomous Region in South-Eastern China, a city of 7.2 million souls, close to the VietNam boarder. Like many, she bought a new smartphone, only she was a smart.

Her new phone is good for 3G, 4G and LTE. A friend of hers splurged on the Full Monty and she reports that full spectrum 5G is sparse and even in large cities 5G closes down and traffic redirected to 4G.

We have a 5G test station in Ho Chi Minh City/SaiGon which radiates RF on all 5G channels. I, and friends, regularly test signal activity using spectrum analysers and many higher channel signals can't even make it across the River SaiGon to the Majestic Hotel.

Several manufacturers are selling 2G, 3G, 4G and LTE capable handsets and low to medium prices. Still, handset production continues with barely a ripple.

Vital UK customs system outage contributes to travel chaos at its borders

Tempest
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It was Sir Oswald Mosley who, on resignation from the Government in 1930 May who . . .

coined the phrase "We cannot muddle through this time". Since that time it appears that this has been adopted as the mantra for many things from Britain.

For younger readers, Mosley was was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists. He was Labour Member of Parliament for Harrow from 1918 to 1924, for Smethwick from 1926 to 1931 later becoming the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Labour Government of 1929-31.

Google funds first sub cable to cross Pacific from Japan to Canada

Tempest
Unhappy

GIVEN NSA TAPS ALL CABLES CROSSING US BORDERS, I WONDER . . .

if NSA or Canadian authorities will have the rights to monitor this traffic?

IBM deliberately misclassified mainframe sales to enrich execs, lawsuit claims

Tempest
WTF?

IBM DIDDLING THE BOOKS? NOT THE FIRST TIME

I was production manager for a Torbarrie Road, North York, Toronto, based banking equipment manufacturer. Their main line were sales point card swipe units with a Pin-Pad on a stretchy cord.

There was an IBM contract whereby if all the units were delivered before the end of the year which, in practical terms was before Christmas given both IBM Markham warehouses and the production plant were closed during the holiday break. A large bonus was riding on completing the contract.

Shortly before Christmas it was discovered there was a software bug in the terminals which necessitated them being opened up and reprogrammed. Since there were hundreds of these units to be processed and tested, we hired foreign uni students to do the work, and unmarked trucks carried the completed units to the IBM warehouses in the evenings.

They met the deadline and everyone got their bonuses. BTW, the manufacturer was run by ex-bankers which possibly suggests where the companies moral compass was set. At that time there was a shortage of DRAMs, and over several company board meetings it was agreed black market chips (stolen) would be purchased to meet production deadlines. For self protection, I discretely recorded the meetings.

Many businesses have to cheat to survive.

It’s happened again: AT&T sued for allegedly transferring victim's number to thieves in $1.9m cryptocoin heist

Tempest
Unhappy

ONE MILLION, NINE HUNDRED THOUSAND? THAT'S PEANUTS - ASK HSBC-UK!

That's nothing. HSBC-UK froze £1.5BILLION of customers' cash in accounts deemed 'dormant'. Around 100,000 dormant accounts, a report said, held deposits worth more than £1,000.

In my case, the thieving b*astards grabbed £27,500+.

So, Hackers, you have a long way to go to claim the Crown of Fraud.

Jailed for seven years: Cyber-crook who broke into Big Biz to steal bank card info for FIN7 super-gang

Tempest
FAIL

SIX HUNDRED MILLION? NOTHING - ASK HSBC-UK!

That's nothing. HSBC-UK froze £1.5BILLION of customers' cash in accounts deemed 'dormant'. Around 100,000 dormant accounts, a report said, held deposits worth more than £1,000.

In my case, the thieving b*astards grabbed £27,500+.

So, Hackers, you have a long way to go to claim the Crown of Fraud.

HSBC taps IBM to explore quantum for financial applications

Tempest
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Why Not Start at the Basics Such as Having an Banking App that Actually Works

Smart move hiring outside talent since HSBC-UK is totally incompetent when in comes to Apps, even.

After weeks of trying to load the UK App I found it is useless and dysfunctional - don't believe me, just check the comments in Googles App store.

I bank with HSBC in several countries. Take the Canadian App, installed in 3 days and loaded as if it was covered with KY Jelly. Meanwhile, back at the Mothership, a new, pure Google smartphone loaded with the HSBC-UK App never functioned.

Thank goodness we have other banking choices.

Apple stops censoring terms it etches onto iPhones in Taiwan

Tempest

Re: My Choice to Engrave on Apple Products would be

Google translate will provide the answer.

Tempest
FAIL

My Choice to Engrave on Apple Products would be

廢話內容

Android's Messages, Dialer apps quietly sent text, call info to Google

Tempest
WTF?

Happy After Market / Third Party Android Substitute OS Camper

My company installed Third Party software for anything Android.

Our 3/4/5G units don't even transmit hidden/secretive Baseband transmissions. And we have some units that don't even use SIMs! We also squeezed mechanical On/Off switches in our cases (requiring paperclip for operation).

Every technically-minded person should use an SDR to check out cellphone emissions.

US, Canada to figure out rules on cops and Feds accessing people's data across borders

Tempest
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Canada Kissing US Rearward-Facing Growths, Again

Had Pierre Trudeau's son, the present Prime Minister of Canada, sufficient wherewithal as his Father he would have told the Americans go "Mange La Merde"*.

* This was a public statement by PT

ITC judge recommends banning toner imports that infringe Canon's IP

Tempest
FAIL

Count Me Out

If Canon is going to play silly games like HP or Lenovo, my company will simply stop buying Canon.

We like Brother!

Singaporean superapp Grab IPOs – badly – and promises to focus on maps and money

Tempest
Unhappy

GRAB - Another Word for Bad Motorcycle Drivers in VietNam

In VietNam, until Grab arrived, the biggest danger on Vietnamese city roads were Vinasun taxis. Now, with Grab, there are two identifiable road hazards.

The Grab formula ís simple. Recruit youthful drivers with a smartphone, and give them an App and away they go.

Grab seems to be very lax when it comes to security since a person dressed in a Grab uniform may be wearing a company issued product OR it might have been bought from an on-line clothing sales company.

New Zealand spooks say satellite snooping is obsolete – better intel is found elsewhere

Tempest
FAIL

Now, If New Zealand Only Had Ocean Cables Passing Across It's Shores . . .

like Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore do, the UK spies might be more interested.

For more detailed information on this hardship post check out: “Secret Power: New Zealand’s Role In The International Spy Network” by Nicky Hage; https://theintercept.com/2015/03/07/new-zealand-ironsand-waihopai-nsa-gcsb/; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicky_Hager.

The USA even has a base at Christchurch Airport.

Singaporean minister touts internet 'kill switch' that finds kids reading net nasties and cuts 'em off ASAP

Tempest
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SINGAPORE: As much privacy as the Chinese mainland - which is none

Our company, like numerous others, acknowledge that all communications content in Singapore are heavily monitored and censored. It is not, under any interpretation of the meaning, a "free" country. It is easily equal to China in this regard. InterNet services to commercial enterprises are only audited intermittently. Singapore also has detention without trial for up to two years. No court warrants are required to make phone taps and data interception, either.

To circumvent these restrictions, we usually resort to encrypted communications for both data and voice. We also travel there with cellular equipment designated safe to use in China. Often these are "burner phones" which are equipped with external encryption devices.

Satellite communications are the most secure. It should be remembered that under a program called TEMPORA, two major fiber optic cables are the SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 at their Naval base in Tuas, on the Western side of Singapore. The old Kranji SIGINT listening post was closed in 1974.

Should the Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen achieve his dream, the effects could be significant.

US offers Julian Assange time in Australian prison instead of American supermax if he loses London extradition fight

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Punishment or Revenge?

The judicial system ís that in name only.

REVENGE is the only word that can describe what Assange, Chelsea Manning and many others have suffered at the hands, or direction, of the US Government. Their court process more resembles the CBS TV show "Let's Make a Deal".

Added to this quagmire are US police - one only has to view First Amendment videos on YouTube to get a taste of where the problems start. And what of the Three Strikes law, sponsored by Biden in hís younger years, where a theft of a slice of pizza led to a homeless person being imprisoned for life?

US "Supermax" along with Guantanamo, demonstrate the lengths to which the US will go to satiate their thirst for revenge. They don't even pretend to disguise what their intentions are.

The UK should adopt the French "try them at home" (country) rather than the Blair/Blunkett scheme of handing accused using minimal evidence.

FCC pushes forward on rules to block the certification of new telecoms gear from ZTE and Huawei

Tempest
FAIL

It's Not The Chinese I worry About, . . .

it's the amoral slime who are employed, or contracted, by the NSA, GCHQ and their buddies in Australia, Canada, New Zealand.

At least, these days, they are having to work overtime with the plethora of technologies employed these days.

And if the States is so clever, how come their computer systems are always demonstrating their poor security?

School teacher accused of pocketing $1m+ in insider trading using tips from Silicon Valley pal

Tempest
Mushroom

The SEC Can Catch Little Minnows But Not Sharks Like

Madoff, who recently changed digs made of concrete to one of a large boiler. Roast in Hell, Bernie.

Mounties messed up by using Clearview AI, says Canadian Privacy Commissioner

Tempest
FAIL

The RCMP, Horses and Honesty

Non-Canadians should understand that whilst the RCMP, best known for red uniforms and horses, is a national police force functioning much like the FBI, which

also acts as 'local' or provincial police in several provinces - for a fee. They are generously Federally funded and. as such, have much more money to splurge on 'wet dreams'. They read that the FBI has a news widget and immediately the RCMP feel they need the same widget.

To get around restrictions, these top level police have, on many occasions, asked their equivalents in other countries to "do them a favour" where Canadian law prohibits of limits activities. This is not new - the Echelon gang have been doing this for years.

So don't be fooled by those damn horse and red jackets, the RCMP has "bad cops", who lie, cheat and beat up "clients", as badly as many other forces around the world. They run Canada's criminal records computers which has numerous unfounded, inaccurate information which is run on the GIGO (Garbage In, Gospel Out) principle.

P.S. I am happy that they use images on the InterNet for there are none of myself and technically intelligent friends - we use pictures gleaned from picture libraries such Izito, Zapmeta or Getty. I don't even use Canadian passports or driving licences - which limits their sources.

Pakistan's Punjab province tells citizens to get jabbed or have their SIM card blocked

Tempest
Thumb Up

Given the Overall / Discriminatory Acts of Pakistani Governments . . .

it is heartening to see a positive and innovative act that appears to be a world first.

EA Games looted by intruders: Publisher says 'no player data accessed' after reported theft of FIFA 21, Frostbite source

Tempest

"Criminals"?

Hard to tell the difference between the Hackers and EA given EA's pricing.

New York State Senate first to pass landmark right-to-repair bill – but don't go popping the Champagne just yet

Tempest
Thumb Up

iFixit and the Rossman Group deserve hat-tips for their investments in time and money for supporting this incentive.

We shouldn't forget all the outfits like ManualsLib.com who do a great job in providing GENUINE copies of manufacturers technical documents.

Amazon exec's husband jailed for two years for insider trading. Yes, with Amazon stock

Tempest
WTF?

It's a Pity the U.S. SEC Didn't Monitor . . .

Madoff, who went unexamined for decades.

Hopefully Madoff is feeling the heat now, given his soul likely resides in Hell.

Apple ditches support for pre-2015 MacBook Air, Pro laptops with macOS Monterey

Tempest
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Who Cares? We Have the NYC based ROSSMAN GROUP

Anyone with smarts bypasses the Apple stores and contacts Rossman of New York City for a speedy, reliable repair.

There is a YouTube video from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that demonstrates why Rossman is a trusted source.

Biden cancels Trump's bans on TikTok, WeChat, other Chinese apps

Tempest
Unhappy

Who Knew? Seems That No Smart Idiot in Trump's Domain . . .

has children who seem to find a way around such impediments, just as adults do.

The leaders in InterNet suppression, the Chinese government, could have told them that, since the electronic wall built around that country more resembles Swiss cheese with large holes in it.

I travel to China regularly and always take a SatPhone (antennae removed) with me - something BeiJing cannot stop working. Another hole.

PrivacyMic looks to keep your home smart without Google, Alexa, Siri and pals listening in

Tempest
Meh

Who Needs These Unnecessary Things?

Most humans are born with devices that circumvent the need for "ever-listening" devices.

They are called arms and legs. Or you can use a dog - as in fetching the newspaper or a beer from the fridge.

Cryptography whizz Phil Zimmermann looks back at 30 years of Pretty Good Privacy

Tempest
Thumb Up

Re: I remember my PGP T-shirt well!

I was in Canada on the weekend when Phil Zimmerman released his iconic software and I bought 20 or so T-shirts, folded them inside out and later they all departed overseas.

I still have a couple of the original T-shirts. I had a hundred or so printed (very cheap here in South-East Asia) and gave them out to people who asked knowledgeable questions.

Many people owe employment opportunities to Phil, even NSA and GCHQ sub-contractors who were hired to crack Phil's work.

Thank you Phil!

Australian cops, FBI created backdoored chat app, told crims it was secure – then snooped on 9,000 users' plots

Tempest
Happy

Re: Mobile phones that can't make calls?

iThings after a software upgrade!

Tech scammer who fooled Cisco, Microsoft and Lenovo out of millions jailed for more than seven years

Tempest
Unhappy

Singapore? But, But, Everyone Knows We Are . . .

squeaky clean and honest . . . as long as you ignore the small matter of US$14,000,000 that CHOY, Hon-Tim of the Public Utilities Board collected from cable suppliers.

How much would you pay me to develop a COVID tracking app that actually works? Ah, thought so: nothing

Tempest
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Not Every Country had a Total Lockdown

Several countries have avoided total lockdowns. although they have had regional isolation zones - China for one. Kampuchea and Laos had regional closures. All land gateways were closed

VietNam had a "lockdown" for a couple of weeks after travelers and some illegal Chinese border crossers infected areas of the country. There are several "flying squads" who vigorously stamp out outbreaks by isolating areas using road and water / river closures.

The big difference has been attitude and compliance. Mask usage was without complaint; large screen video screens were connected to thermal cameras (for all to see); temperature monitoring occurred at smaller venues, and spray bottles were available everywhere.

Instead of using Plod to harass / arrest people, the Cong An (Peoples Police) handed out masks and bottled water to poor people unable to afford masks. If a motorcyclist was seen without a mask a blast of a whistle or the honk of a horn was sufficient to ensure compliance.

People here can't understand why protests and violence was vented against mask use in the USA and Europe.

Mass vaccinations have just commenced this month, but given the population is around 190-million souls, it will take a while to complete.

Britain to spend £22m influencing Indo-Pacific nations' cybersecurity policies against 'authoritarian regimes'

Tempest

Re: Grimm

China

Tempest
FAIL

It Might be a Good Idea to Start at Home - the UK InterNet is Censored

Out here in VietNam we have more InterNet freedom that subscribers in the UK and other European countries.

The only noticeable blocks are to those websites who claim Ha Noi is not the legitimate government of the south, although most countries accept and support VietNam as a single entity.

Compared to many countries, the UK is a Nanny domain with many restrictions forced on the great unwashed in the UK. The new satellite venture by Elton Musk and SpacEx is an opportunity to tell Whitehall to go to Hell.

Copper load of this: Openreach outlines 77 new locations where it'll stop selling legacy phone and broadband products

Tempest
Happy

One Small Step . . .

SaiGon/Ho Chi Minh City is now a fibre domain.

Every premise, residential or commercial has a fibre line that terminates in district distribution facilities. All communications providers can connect their services to each "last kilometre fibre" from central control locations.

My residence has two 200MByte InterNet feeds supplied by two competing InterNet providers. The fibre line and the terminating box (user paid) are shared and clearly marked connectors for telephone, cable TV, Data1, Data 2, Audio service are a whiz to connect to. There is a WiFi feature in the box, too, along with Ethernet. I don't subscribe to either cable or telephone services. By providing a 9V DC battery, the unit is grid power independent.

An installer only appeared once, to run a cable from the floor access point to a neat terminal in our residence.

Only one thing: Telco's can access the WiFi for their own technicians use if the WiFi feature is activated.

Mind you, our country cottage some 75 kilometres from the nearest fibre distribution point, also has 100 Mbyte capacity. How is it going in Yorkshire or the Scottish Highlands?

App Tracking: Apps plead for users to press allow, but 85% of Apple iOS consumers are not opting in

Tempest
WTF?

Amazing, the Isheep Are revolting

It's good to know that some users of iThingies are awake enough to recognise a good feature when supplied.

Now Apple users await encrypted Cloud storage.

Hong Kong floats doxxing laws that would let it force big tech to take down content

Tempest
FAIL

And Why is Britain Not Enforcing the Two-China Agreement.

Once again the UK demonstrates that it is a second rate country by not enforcing the terms of the China reunification Treaty

NYPD puts down $94k robot canine contract after outcry

Tempest
FAIL

Damn. Just After Tests as How to Foil Piggie's Dog, They Lock it up!

A few groups have been experimenting a how to cripple the mechanical dog, from lassoing legs together to blinding it with lasers.

Still, some of the work can be used to cripple Microsoft's Police IoT system. It's as evil as the Boston dog. Technical 'advances' might sound good, but they also become more susceptible to interuption.

Washington DC police force confirms data breach after ransomware upstart Babuk posts trophies to Tor blog

Tempest
FAIL

Yet Another Case of Closing the Stable Door After the Horse has Bolted

The US reckons it leads the world in security. B.S.

Once again US security has been proved to be as tight as a vegetable cullender notwithstanding it spend trillions of dollars on digital security.

33 'unsustainably loss-making' Dixons Travel outlets set to be shuttered affecting 400 staff

Tempest
WTF?

Great News! More Room for Passengers

UK airports are filled with sales outlets of all types, making passage from Check-In to Boarding lounge all but impossible.

As for prices, the BAA financial piggies are largely to blame as they try to bleed stores serving PAX of their last Pound/Shekel/Dong before they board their aircraft where they become a captive market for yet other money grabbers. Good riddance to Dixons, Boots, etc.

I (just) remember Northolt, yes - Northolt, which had open halls bereft of all this commercial clutter.

Don't blame rural carriers for buying Huawei, says FCC Commissioner. They couldn't afford the top-shelf stuff

Tempest
WTF?

The USA Authorities Living in Cloud Cuckoo Land

Pricing of equipment doesn't necessarily relate to quality, just what the market will bear. By hitting out at HuaWei and ZTE the US is scoring an own-goal, little wonder it is lagging in so many areas. And the American consumer, and others, will pay for it.

What will happen is that China will develop it's own internal technical resources and, as so often has happened in the past, improve on those of the West and at the expense of the West.

I wonder where these masterpieces of design that are acceptable to the USA will be manufactured? China?

GCHQ boss warns China can rewrite 'the global operating system' in its own authoritarian image

Tempest
FAIL

Oh Dear, Some Government Snob Has His Pants in a Twist

The fact is Russia and China, amongst others, ARE PRESENTLY SMARTER than Western security entities. Why is it Fleming think he and his ilk is so good? Revise your tenses, Fleming.

If Fleming and Company are so good how come that invasions of Western assets are only discovered months after the intruders have left?

Because Fleming, et al, has dropped the ball(s). They are still dreaming in terms of 'empire'.

China claims it has stolen a march on 6G with colossal patent portfolio

Tempest
FAIL

The Ignorant Speak - How Many of Them Have Actually Visited China?

Upfront: I am Canadian, white. and widely traveled. That said, I do not agree. or support, the political regimes in many Far Eastern countries. Sure, China imprisons prisoners of conscious, I have seen the many daunting prisons in NanNing - but the USA is the world leader in prison populations.

Back in the day everyone CLAIMED the Japanese exploited world markets by copying designs, then it was TaiWan - now the world's leader in semiconductor production - doing the same. Now it is China!

True, all three were / are guilty of plagiarism but the truth is all three have put other, Western, 'leading' countries to shame by their own efforts, home grown efforts.

And, I presume, Western entities don't copy other Western companies or Far Eastern companies? I have worked in Western companies where competitors products were torn apart looking for ideas.

The fact is the Western world couldn't enjoy it's high standard of living without Far Eastern countries. India sources almost ALL the generic pharmaceuticals of the world. Where could Apple, et al, assemble their products in the West.

Why is it that Foreign-born individuals are sought after by Western countries? The WOMAN leading the US Mars lander program hails from Burmese (Myanmar) heritage. And who is running Microsoft? Foreign-born Nadella from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. Yet more Foreign-born talent from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India runs Alphabet (Google) .

If it isn't racism, it must be elitism causing all these accusations. Jealously, too. The fact is certain cultures are better suited for certain types of work than others.

I design electronic devices for government and commercial use but most every design is reviewed by optimization companies in China, the physical design and the circuitry are analysed by separate unrelated companies, to avoid copying. I know our products are great.

If the commenters are so talented, let them produce products in the West!

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