Zero Hedge — "Your Pet Will Be Confiscated!": A Shocking Glimpse Inside China's New Social Credit System

Singapore has had an even more "draconian" (from the US perspective) social policy than China for many years. Ever hear of it in the US media that trumpet the "Singapore miracle"?

The fact is that Asians are traditionally much more social than Americans, who are the most highly individualistic people in the world. One nation's "liberty" is another's "license." This is also the case internally in the US, and it is one factor in the extreme divisiveness that the US is now experiencing socially and culturally. Even has a name — "the culture wars."

There is no genuine personal freedom without responsibility, and responsibility is a social phenomenon.

A friend of mine who lived in Switzerland for a while told me that he received two tickets and was fined for the infractions. The first was when someone came by and measured the tread in his tires and found them insufficient. The second was for leaving fruit that had fallen from fruit trees in his yard on the ground and not picking them up. In some European towns, it is also an finable infraction not to have flowers growing in the window flower boxes.

I recall being appalled being in Europe in the Sixties and being subject to show ID to police without cause. On the other hand, Europeans were shocked that Americans had to have driver's licenses and were subject to speed limits or drive with their headlights on at night.

Zero Hedge
"Your Pet Will Be Confiscated!": A Shocking Glimpse Inside China's New Social Credit System

Tyler Durden

Don Quijones — The Deadly Threat of Non-Lethal Weapons

…non-lethal weapons represent a fast-growing multi-billion dollar business for military contractors. According to the report Non-Lethal Weapons: Technologies and Global Market 2012-2020, published by Homeland Security Research, the Non-Lethal Weapons (NLW) market is forecast to emerge as a key domain for asymmetric warfare and law enforcement technology providers: 

“Governments worldwide have undoubtedly understood the function of non-lethal weapons following lessons learned in Egypt, Israel, Iraq and Afghanistan. Unforeseen street riots and mass demonstrations over the last decade have revealed the loopholes in the security dogma of the 21st century.” 

“There is a growing demand from combatant commanders, law enforcement officers and political establishments for NLW capabilities. This demand is driven by the need to help them win the hearts and minds of the non-combatant population and prevent world outcry and media attention due to non-combatant casualties. As a result, many governments have entered into non-lethal weapons R&D and procurement dedicated to the full spectrum of public safety, law enforcement, crowd control and asymmetric warfare.“…

Besides the clear dangers they pose to human health, non-lethal weapons arguably pose an even graver threat to the basic notion of civil engagement that underpins any system of participatory democracy. The rights of assembly and peaceful protest are — and must remain — fundamental pillars of any self-respecting democracy (which obviously excludes Spain these days). However, the use of non-lethal weapons to police public demonstrations risks enshrining a collective punishment approach to public order policing which would, in turn, effectively mean the de-facto criminalisation of virtually all forms of political or social protest. 

While “non-lethal”, or better put “less lethal”, weapons may offer police forces and governments the enticing prospect of enhanced social control — especially at a time when economic and political forces are alienating both the lower and middle ranks of society — they would do well to remember the following cautionary words from the late John F Kennedy:

“Those who make peaceful protest impossible make violent revolution inevitable.”

Raging Bull-Shit

The Deadly Threat of Non-Lethal Weapons

Don Quijones

Washington's Blog — The Fact that Mass Surveillance Doesn’t Keep Us Safe Goes Mainstream

Top Terrorism Experts Say that Mass Spying Doesn’t Work to Prevent Terrorism

Washington's Blog
The Fact that Mass Surveillance Doesn’t Keep Us Safe Goes Mainstream
WashingtonsBlog