Why TikTok is a serious national security threat



President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump may have conducted their presidencies quite differently, but they shared the same skepticism of TikTok.

TikTok, the widely used social media platform owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has received mounting criticism in recent years from American public officials for its connections with the Communist Party of China.

President Trump signed an executive order to force TikTok to separate from ByteDance. The move was ultimately blocked by a U.S. federal judge in 2020. But this year, President Biden signed a “TikTok Ban Bill,” which requires ByteDance to sell TikTok to an American company or face expulsion from U.S. app stores.

Mike Solana, founder of Pirate Wires and chief marketing officer at Founders Fund, joined James Poulos to share why he thinks TikTok poses a serious national security threat:

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Despite spending no more than 10 minutes on TikTok a day, Solana said he grew concerned with a potent, recurring feature on the app. No matter what, it served him an ad displaying an image of an impoverished Gaza. "It comes back relentlessly, the exact same ad, every single day. You're forced to look at it.” Who determines which images are selected to bombard American viewers? “I think that's something that our government should care about," Solana said.

Social media changes the way people think, he continued. “It shapes your sense of what is the perspective you're supposed to have,” much as advertising forces you to “look around subconsciously for cues on what to believe. ... The more people who are doing something, the more you feel that's what you should do and/or how you should feel even if you are fiercely independent.”

To hear more of what Mike Solana had to say about AI, social media, Bitcoin, and more, watch the full episode of "Zero Hour" with James Poulos.

America was convinced tech would complete our mastery of the world. Instead, we got catastrophe — constant crises from politics and the economy down to the spiritual fiber of our being. Time’s up for the era we grew up in. How do we pick ourselves up and begin again? To find out, visionary author and media theorist James Poulos cracks open the minds — and hearts — of today’s top figures in politics, tech, ideas, and culture on "Zero Hour" on BlazeTV.

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American consumers may be unknowingly helping develop Chinese military equipment



Through purchases of Chinese-made military equipment by state-owned manufacturers, North American consumers may be providing feedback to the communist nation on how to better their technology.

Argus Night Vision is reportedly a Chinese night vision housing and image intensifier tube manufacturer based in Tianjin, China, that sells products in the United States and Canada.

The company has received preferential treatment from the Chinese government, including preferential tax policies, special government financial incentives, staff settlement bonuses, and policy benefits such as office space or wage support.

Vermilion China also reported that through the sales of night vision goggles to Western markets, the Chinese manufacturers benefit from feedback to improve the quality of their equipment.

According to their confidential sources, the outlet said that Argus has contacted Americans who are affiliated with the military and offered to have them travel to China for training on night vision equipment and to provide product feedback.

While the outlet could not corroborate such information with Argus, it was however able to confirm that Canadian companies that sell Argus products are indeed facilitating the product development through feedback.

According to HCC Tactical, a U.S. firm that has a government contract and sells Argus products, its "sister company in Canada (Opfor Night Solutions) has worked directly with Argus to improve and evaluate the BNVD-1431 series of products."

"Their feedback and recommendations led directly to many of the improvements made to this housing for the MK II. Their weatherproofing service is no longer necessary as all changes have been made at the factory, and the OPFPR Night Solutions upgrade screw kit has been supplied to the factory so all units come with them as standard."

In a video posted to the Kinetic Consulting YouTube channel, the host described being in a class with the OpFor Night Solutions owner, who then sent the host a pair of night-vision goggles. The host went on to describe how Argus took the owner of the Canadian company's suggestions and then made them standard for the product.

"I originally got [the goggles] from OpFor Night Vision in Canada, they offered to send them to me after we were spending time in the class — the owner and I were in a class together down here in Miami and we had a great time," the YouTube presenter recalled. "He was offering up some cool night vision or housings that were optimized by him originally, and then Argus started taking in all his optimizations and making them standard for that Mark II system."

During an interview with what was described as an industry representative, Vermilion China was told that "individuals and companies involved in distributing Chinese thermal devices in the U.S. help guide their development and production efforts."

At least four U.S. companies were listed as selling the Chinese products, without mentioning their origins.

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The Communist Chinese Threat

The Communist Chinese Threat

'Smash to smithereens': China threatens US with 'war no matter the cost' over Taiwan



China's defense minister threatened all-out war while discussing Taiwan's independence during a meeting between top Chinese and American military officials. The threats were made on Friday during the first face-to-face meeting of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe.

"If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will definitely not hesitate to start a war no matter the cost," warned China’s defense spokesman Wu Qian – who was quoting General Wei.

The saber-rattling continued as the Chinese defense minister declared that Beijing would "smash to smithereens" any effort to maintain Taiwan's independence. The ministry vowed that Taiwan would be made part of China for the "unification of the motherland."

During the 30-minute summit at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, General Wei "stressed that Taiwan is China's Taiwan... Using Taiwan to contain China will never prevail."

Qian said the meeting was a "good start" to resuming normal military dialogue, and both countries agreed to continue communicating.

Austin pointed out there has been a "steady increase in provocative and destabilizing military activity near Taiwan."

Austin called on China "to refrain from further destabilizing actions toward Taiwan."

"We remain focused on maintaining peace, stability and the status quo across the Taiwan Strait," Austin proclaimed. "But the PRC's moves threaten to undermine security, and stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific."

Austin hinted at a parallel with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, stating that the indefensible assault on a peaceful neighbor has galvanized the world and ... has reminded us all of the dangers of undercutting an international order rooted in rules and respect.”

Austin added, "Rules-based international order matters just as much in the Indo-Pacific as it does in Europe."

"Russia's invasion of Ukraine is what happens when oppressors trample the rules that protect us all," Austin said. "It's what happens when big powers decide that their imperial appetites matter more than the rights of their peaceful neighbors. And it’s a preview of a possible world of chaos and turmoil that none of us would want to live in."

Austin said the U.S. is committed to "assisting Taiwan in maintaining a sufficient self-defense capability."

The Pentagon released a statement regarding the meeting.

"Secretary Austin discussed the need to responsibly manage competition and maintain open lines of communication," the statement said. "The Secretary underscored the importance of the People’s Liberation Army engaging in substantive dialogue on improving crisis communications and reducing strategic risk."

"Secretary Austin discussed global and regional security issues, including the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine," the Pentagon stated.

Austin told his counterpart that the United States "remains committed to our longstanding one-China policy."

The Center for Strategic and International Studies defines the one-China policy as: "The United States recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole legal government of China but only acknowledges the Chinese position that Taiwan is part of China. Thus, the United States maintains formal relations with the PRC and has unofficial relations with Taiwan."

Last month, President Joe Biden broke away from the strategic ambiguity of whether the U.S. would defend Taiwan against an invasion by China.

When asked if the U.S. would defend Taiwan militarily if the CCP invaded, President Biden said, "Yes... that's the commitment we made. The idea that it [Taiwan] can be taken by force... is just not appropriate. It will dislocate the entire region and be another action similar to what happened in Ukraine."

The Taipei Times reported this week that Beijing estimates that the Chinese military will be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027.

"China has over the past few years stationed an increasing number of warships along its southeastern coast, as it is seeking to maintain its military advantage in the region and attempting to build a system of intelligence warfare by 2027," the report said. "By 2027, China is expected to possess regional air defense capabilities, and long-range sea and airstrike systems, which would greatly extend its combat range, following the introduction of its aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong, a second-generation Type 003 vessel, as well as the mass production of Type 055 destroyers, Y-20 tanker aircraft, and J-20 fighters."

Taiwan and China split during a civil war in 1949, and Taiwan has been self-governed ever since. China claims that Taiwan is a breakaway province.

CCP leader Xi Jinping has vowed to reclaim Taiwan.

"No one should underestimate the Chinese people's staunch determination, firm will, and strong ability to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity," Xi said last year. "The historical task of the complete reunification of the motherland must be fulfilled, and will definitely be fulfilled."

US intel caught by surprise by China's nuclear-capable hypersonic space weapon that circled the Earth: Report



China launched a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile into space that circled the Earth, according to a new report. The new weapon purportedly caught U.S. intelligence personnel by surprise.

In August, China reportedly concealed the launch of a Long March rocket, which is operated by the China National Space Administration. The Long March rocket was allegedly used to launch a hypersonic glide vehicle into low-orbit space.

While the hypersonic glide vehicle was in low-orbit space it circled the Earth before cruising down toward its target.

"The missile missed its target by about two-dozen miles, according to three people briefed on the intelligence," the Financial Times reported. "But two said the test showed that China had made astounding progress on hypersonic weapons and was far more advanced than U.S. officials realized."

"We have no idea how they did this," an unnamed U.S. official told the outlet.

A Chinese security expert close to the People's Liberation Army said the weapon was being developed by the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics, a state-owned entity that makes missile systems and rockets for the country.

Ratheon notes that "hypersonic weapons travel in excess of five times the speed of sound—Mach 5—covering vast distances in minutes."

Taylor Fravel — an expert on Chinese nuclear weapons and professor at MIT — told Fox News that it would be "destabilizing" if China fully developed hypersonic glide vehicles.

"Hypersonic glide vehicles…fly at lower trajectories and can maneuver in flight, which makes them hard to track and destroy," Fravel said.

Last year, Pentagon Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Michael Griffin said that developing hypersonic capabilities was "the highest technical priority."

However, the Pentagon said last week that developing hypersonic weapons was currently too expensive and instead defense contractors should try to "drive toward more affordable hypersonics," Reuters reported.

The Pentagon's budget request in the 2022 fiscal year for hypersonic research was $3.8 billion which was up from $3.2 billion the year before.

Russia is working on its Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, a nuclear-capable, hypersonic boost-glide vehicle that is said to be capable of flying 27 times faster than the speed of sound and could carry a nuclear weapon of up to 2 megatons.

China showcased its DF-17 hypersonic glide vehicle at a military parade held in China's capital Beijing in late 2019.

The report of the new weapon comes as tensions rising between China and the United States. Chinese military condemned the U.S. and Canada on Sunday for each sending a warship through the Taiwan Strait last week. China claimed that actions threatened peace and stability in the region, according to Reuters.

Beginning on Oct. 1, China has flown 150 aircraft into Taiwan's air defense identification zone as a provocation.