Monthly Archives: September 2021

SOTU: 2017 SUMMARY UPDATE

This is an update to the Original 2017 SOTU SUMMARY and covers the period of 2017-2021. In conjunction with other cited references, it serves as the basis for the Future Forecast 2022-2028.

Note: all links open a new page. To return to this summary, just close the opened page.

New additions: Status of the U.S. Economy, and International Cyber Security.

Status of the U.S. Economy:

Observation of issues from a high level indicates conflicts regarding the economy are political. The U.S. is a great country in most respects, however, there seems to be a disconnect between idealism and reality.

Idealism produces an endless array of social programs for which, politicians believe, there is sufficient funding. This is a myth as the deficit now represents five years of federal revenue from taxes, etc. The reality is there has been a growing federal deficit since 1992.

Imports vs Exports & Trade Deficit indicate the total trade deficit for the period 1992-2021 is 17 trillion, 132 billion, 255 million. That is 815,820,238,095 on an annual basis.

Annual interest payments on the national debt now exceeds $550,000,000,000, nearly the total cost of education for K-12 schools, or the Department of Defense budget.

What does the future hold? Possibly a reduction in social programs as the national deficit grows. Social programs, healthcare and more will suffer lower and discontinuing services.

The real data shows the U.S. is well on the way to bankruptcy. Annual revenue vs programmed expenditures indicates a significant departure from fiscal responsibility.

The point being, that occasionally organizations and society become so engrossed in the detail, that they miss the overall picture and can’t see the forest for the trees.

Most of the trade deficit is a result of unbalanced trade with Asia, mainly China.

Refer to the posting on Status of the U.S. Economy.

International Cyber Security:

The education service industry is indeed global, and possibly covers every continent and culture. Networks of agreements exist between global universities  and employers.

Universities worldwide are developing large-scale interconnected campuses that resemble towns and factories. Examples of large-scale campuses are IIT Bombay, India, the National University of Singapore, and the Suzhou Dushu Lake Higher Education Town of the Peoples Republic of China, all interconnected.

Internationally, coursework outside the degree program is limited. As a result, more time and depth of study is provided allowing students to focus more on how-to-do-it. U.S. colleges and universities require, on average, one to one and a half years of study outside technical degrees of study.

Therefore, in many ways, U.S. students are not competitive. Many large companies in the U.S. are headed by graduates from foreign degree programs.

Hardware and software companies provide international academic organizations with products to practice-on and make engineering changes-to under contract.

DEF CON Workshops are provided by organizations that teach participants how to secure, or hack through the cyber security of sites to access or change content.

Computer systems located in China and North Korea routinely crawl the worldwide web, hacking into U.S. banks and companies to access funds and trade secrets.

Refer to the posting on International Cyber Security.

SOTU 2017 Upadates:

Oath of Office:

Ben’s Guide: Known as a swearing-in ceremony. The official reciting the oath swears an allegiance to uphold the Constitution.

The Constitution only specifies an oath of office for the President; however, Article VI of the Constitution states that other officials, including members of Congress, “shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation to support this constitution.”

U.S. Students Achievement Level:

U.S. students’ math skills have remained stagnant for decades. This means they are falling behind many other countries, and scores are now below the global average.

Students placed 11th out of 79 countries in science and 30th in math. When analyzing the U.S. results over the years, there has not been any improvement in math since 2003, and no improvement in science since 2006.

Micro-communities within host nation borders: 

ADWEEK: Announcement of the upcoming #SMWLDN on Nov. 2 – 4, 2021 provides an insight into reimagining social media marketing for a better tomorrow.

Forbes: article on The How And Why Of Building Micro-Communities On Social Media.

Immigration into the U.S.

Pew Research Center: The United States has more immigrants than any other country in the world. The U.S. and World Population Clock.

Today, more than 40 million people living in the U.S. were born in another country, accounting for about one-fifth of the world’s migrants.

Unskilled job market shrinking:

MIT: Study finds job-replacing tech has directly driven the income gap and loss of jobs for the unskilled continues.

Within industries adopting automation, the study shows, the average “displacement” (or job loss) from 1987-2016, displacement was 16 percent, while reinstatement was just 10 percent.

In short, those factory positions or phone-answering jobs are not coming back.

Bureau of Labor Statistics:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a variety of news releases and publications on economic data. BLS employs many surveys and statistical methods developed and refined over the course of the year. This is an excellent source to use for original research data. Strategic Plan, FY 2020-2025.

However, keep in mind that data is frequently updated during the year. Always recheck the source for changes.

Free money for all: 

AP News: In experiments across the country, dozens of cities and counties — some using money from the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package approved in March.

Proposed levels of payment are $500 to $1,000 each month to do with as they please and tracking what happens.

United States Census Bureau: Income and poverty in the United States: 2020 – Current population reports.

Employment and Underemployment:

The nation’s workforce, including employment and unemployment levels, as well as weeks and hours worked.

Data collection also includes occupation, industry, and class of worker (e.g., self-employed, working for a private firm, or working for a government agency) in the American labor force.

Included are behavior and estimates of home-based work.

U.S. contribution to the U.N.

COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: The United States remains the largest donor to the United Nations, contributing roughly $11 billion in 2019, which accounted for just under one-fifth of funding for the body’s collective budget.

Included are the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the World Food Program (WFP).

Government Accountability Office:

GAO@100: A century of GAO activities in non-partisan fact-based work. The presentation is a modern web design with a graphic presentation of areas of interest.

Included are current trends in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Automation and the Internet of Things, Blockchain & Distributed Technologies, climate, health, and weapons, and more.

Cost of Violence as Percent of World GDP: 

VISION OF HUMANITY:  The economic impact of violence improved by 0.2 percent from 2018 to 2019. The biggest improvement was in armed conflict, which decreased by 29 percent to $521 billion.

In the ten countries most affected by violence, the average economic impact of violence was equivalent to 41 per cent of GDP.

Cost of lobbying exceeds $3 billion annually and over 12,000 lobbyists:

Open Secrets: The combined organization, OpenSecrets, merges the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP).

The total cost of lobbying, and the number of lobbyists continues to increase.

New World Order: 

The Atlantic: In 2016, Australia struck a deal with France to buy a fleet of diesel-powered submarines.

Australians will scrap their agreement with France and team up with Britain and the U.S. instead, forming a new “AUKUS” military alliance in the process.

Healthcare Swindle:

Alliance for Natural Health: It’s no mystery that American health care is a crony mess.

In many ways, this is because health care is treated differently than almost every other service.

$10 for an aspirin; $300 for a single X-ray; $8,000 for an emergency room visit.

World economic situation: 

United Nations: Global manufacturing-dependent economies are faring better, both during the crisis and the recovery period. Trade-in services, in particular tourism, will remain depressed amid the slow lifting of restrictions on international travel and fear of new waves of infection in many developing countries.

According to the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) mid-2021 report, following a sharp contraction of 3.6 percent in 2020, the global economy is now projected to expand by 5.4 percent in 2021,

Marijuana Trends Among 8th, 10th, and 12th Grades:

Monitoring the Future: Daily marijuana prevalence rose in all three grades in 2019, significantly so in the lower two grades, with a further increase in 2020.

It is noteworthy that among 8th graders, it showed little change between 1996 and 2019.

In 2020, in all three grades, daily marijuana levels were at or near the highest level recorded since 1991 (1.1%, 4.4%, and 6.9%). Refer to page 14.

U.S. $42 Trillion GDP loss: 

AP NEWS: US Economy grows 6.4% in Q1, and it’s likely just the start. The economy may have grown 6.4%, but from what baseline? Additionally, the U.S. GDP loss increased significantly.

Applying the 250% formula as depicted in New Rules, the cumulative GDP loss since 1992 is $42 Trillion.

Harvard: U.S. Competitiveness: A Recovery Squandered. Structural failures in the U.S. political system continue to prevent meaningful progress on actions needed to improve U.S. competitiveness.

Drug and Alcohol Use Among College Students:

Addiction Center: College students make up one of the largest groups of drug abusers nationwide. Starting out in college produces some natural social anxiety for many students.

As students are facing the high demands of coursework, part-time jobs, internships, social obligations, and more, many turn to drugs as a way to cope.

Alcohol is involved in the vast majority of substance-related problems on college campuses. Because drinking is often socially acceptable.

Political gridlock: 

FiveThirtyEight: How much longer can this era of political gridlock last?

Divided government is probably imminent, and the electoral pattern we’ve become all too familiar with — a pendulum swinging back and forth between unified control of government and divided government.

New Jobs are STEM:

Pew Research Center: The STEM workforce (science, technology, engineering, and math) has grown rapidly in recent decades.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics identifies projects for strong growth, many are STEM. Increasing diversity in the STEM workforce is closely tied to the educational system.

Fiscal outlook and debt:

Congressional Budget Office: CBO projects a federal budget deficit of $2.3 trillion in 2021, nearly $900 billion less than the shortfall recorded in 2020.

At 10.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the deficit in 2021 would be the second-largest since 1945.

Federal debt is held by the public—which stood at 100 percent of GDP at the end of the fiscal year 2020.

Charter Schools:

EducationWeek: A charter school is a tuition-free school of choice that is publicly funded but independently run.

Conceived over 25 years ago in Minnesota as a means to loosen red tape around public schools and free up educators to innovate, charters have since grown into a national movement that spans 44 states plus the District of Columbia and includes around 7,000 schools and 3 million students.

Status of the U.S. Economy

Economic models used, and predictions derived from them, tend to have a narrow and shallow understanding. There are thousands of economists at work predicting current and future outcomes. Unfortunately, however complex the models are, the capability of providing accurate outcomes is in question. Currently the economy is in a recessionary state, and applying this narrow and shallow approach will always be behind the real world outcomes. As the saying goes, “they are playing inside the sandbox, and oblivious to their surroundings.”

Decisions made always have a future outcome, not always knowable in advance. However, failing to attempt or predict and monitor outcomes for revision, will usually produce an undesirable outcome. In the case of trade deficits, they are reported and knowable. The 17+ Trillion trade deficit is funding provided to other trading partners in pursuit of their growth objectives at the the expense of U.S. futures.

Prior to 1998, trade deficits were manageable. Over the period from 1998 and 2022, imports have resulted in increasing loss of real income and degradation of the U.S. infrastructure. Today, the suggested method of improving the infrastructure is to borrow. Prior the this time taxes and fees from production paid for these items.

Additionally, the trade deficit can be used by trading partners to build their infrastructure, military, shipping, and buy other assets. China has routinely purchased raw materials resources previously used by the U.S. when manufacturing was performed in the U.S. China has also made agreements with countries such as Italy and Spain to secure shipping ports.

The data below indicate much of the 30+Trillion in deficit is, in fact, an outcome of taking a global perspective, where China and other countries have not reciprocated. A case could be made the U.S. is funding Chinese and Russian aggression.

Recession seems to be a long-term prediction. With the possibility of international conflict, shortages will more likely occur than not. Plan for depression.

United States Census Bureau Provides data for Imports vs Exports and resulting trade deficit for the period of 1992 – July 2001. All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.

This is an update of the New Rules: U.S. Economy and International Trade posting, which states that the Most Favored Nation (MFN) status was given to China by Congress in 1992. Refer to that posting for a background discussion.

The chart indicates that before 1992, the trade deficit was relatively minor. Since 1992, the overall trade deficit has continued to grow. Reviewing data provided by the United States Census Bureau indicates the majority of the U.S. trade deficit is with Asia, mainly China.

The total trade deficit for the period 1992-2021* is 17 trillion, 132 billion, 255 million.

The World Trade Organization (WTO), established in 1995, has the objective of facilitating international trade.

Several articles and research papers have been written on open free trade. Review the CATO INSTITUTE for background issues that impact global trade.

U.S. GDP Growth Rate data for 1992 – 2020

<a href='https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/gdp-gross-domestic-product'>U.S. GDP 1960-2021</a>. www.macrotrends.net. Retrieved 2021-09-27.

macrotrends website provides U.S. GDP Growth Rate data for 1992 – 2020.

The question frequently asked, “what is the ideal growth rate?” A healthy rate keeps the economy in an expansion phase of the business cycle. U.S. GDP growth rate for the period is 2.38%, within the desired rate of 2% and 3%.

Factors included in determining the quarterly GDP are published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. GDP reflects data internal to a specific economy. Economists use varying definitions and formulas for determining GDP.

As data presentations, the chart and tables are interesting and provide some limited information regarding the health of the U.S. economy. However, are not sufficient to evaluate, understand and make predictions on the future.

Summary:

The American Presidency Project  website contains Federal Budget Receipts and Outlays 1930 – 2020 with estimates to 2026.

The website contains a Presidential Documents Archive with collections of public messages, statements, speeches, news conference remarks, documents such as Proclamations, and Executive Orders.

Growth in deficit spending began in 2009 following the 2008 market slump. Future deficits over $2,000,000,000,000 may be an annual occurrence.

Annual Interest payment on the national debt exceeds $550,000,000,000, nearly the total cost of education for K-12 schools, or the Department of Defense budget.

Annual borrowing is required to fund the difference between federal tax revenue and expenditures.

Horizon scanning is the observation of issues from a high level and is frequently referred to as viewing activity from 40,000 feet (eight miles up). The point being, that occasionally organizations and society become so engrossed in the detail, that they miss the overall picture and can’t see the forest for the trees.

Data identified in the figure and table for Imports vs Exports & Trade Deficit indicate the total trade deficit for the period 1992-2021* is 17 trillion, 132 billion, 255 million. That is 815,820,238,095 on an annual basis.

Information in this posting will be addressed in the SOTU: BACKDROP SUMMARY for 2021-2028.

End of Posting

International Cyber Security

Roadmap of an interconnected system of universities specializing in computer science and cyber security. This system originated in India with funding provided by the USSR. The campus consists of over 500 buildings on 500 acres.

Several faculty from the USSR were assigned to the campus, and faculty from the India university attended universities in the USSR. Major international corporations provided their hardware and software under contract for updating and distribution by students and faculty. This may have led to graduates with significant knowledge and experience on accessing and manipulating these resources, thereby compromising the international digital communications network.

Given the knowledge and experience of graduates, they are highly sought after, and are employed in organizations worldwide.

Background:

Horizon scanning without a specific agenda. Refer to the "About" link on the Online Education website. Additional postings are listed in the Research Category.

Computer science and associated professional fields are the roadmaps and gateways to communications for social, business, government, medical, logistics, industry, space, military communications, and more.

Cyber security is a necessary component of a digital communications network. Aggressors, be they competitors, enemy states, or the curious and mischievous hacker, need to be prevented from accessing digital communications and information. Cyber Security is a growing field of study and employment.

Note: For a broad discussion on the subject refer to the ink and embedded video titled NATO Cyber Defense Center launches cyber threats 2030 overview, a discussion on digital, social, cyber, conventional, AI, and international cyber warfare at the bottom of this posting.

The following examples demonstrate the results of applying horizon scanning to interconnected and independent events. Observation research can be initiated by the information presented on TV, radio, printed media, conferences, or other sources. Rarely, does an observation represent a single state of a single issue. Often they are complex, complicated, or confusing issues.

Keep in mind that findings do not reflect decision-making outcomes, and are considered a null hypothesis until agreed on by at least three independent researchers, or documented and verified information sources.

After initiation of research, there is no contact between the researcher and the organization or persons under study. Organizations and persons under study tend to change strategies and tactics frequently in response to changing environments. Therefore, revisiting initial outcomes prior to publication is necessary.

In addition to understanding the event under observation, information may indicate changes occurring in the future, and impact other events.

Interconnected Events

Observation Research Event I - Initiation

While attending a conference on higher education, attendees introduced themselves and exchanged business cards. In addition to administrators and faculty in attendance, members of commercial organizations providing services to K-12 and higher education schools participated with the intent of acquiring new business relationships.

Discussion concerning course preparation and support services provided to universities, an expanding field of business, was presented by an attendee. Information printed on the attendee's business card was researched on the internet with positive results. Further research of the attendee revealed that in addition to working as a representative of the company, was an active member of a local school board. Such relationships are not uncommon in education.

The company identified on the card is an organization listed on the page of the previous support services link. CEO of the company was a previous member of a top international internet search firm. Activities of the commercial support services organization were researched revealing it is a recent startup. CEO of the organization has academic roots in the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, India.

Observation Research Event II - IIT Bombay of India

IIT Bombay: English is the language of instruction.

Wikipedia: Provides an overview of the university.

Department of Computer Science and Engineering

U.S. News Education Rankings

As stated on the page for IIT Bombay, it was established in 1958 under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), with funds provided by the then Soviet Union. Vision and Mission of IIT Bombay (Staff Handbook, page 10-11 the .pdf)

The Institute received substantial assistance in the form of equipment and expert services from the USSR through UNESCO from 1956 to 1973. It also received serval experts (59) and technicians (14) from several reputed institutions in the USSR. The UNESCO also offered a number of fellowships (27) for the training of Indian faculty members in the USSR. (page 10-11 of the .pdf)

The campus is a fully residential institute, comprised of several hundred buildings on several hundred acres. All students and most faculty for all programs live on the campus. Students are accommodated in its 15 hostels with in-house dining. The campus also provides individual homes for families and excellent amenities for sports and other recreational facilities. Included are medical services for the entire family, and stores for shopping.

Freshmen study in an open classroom environment.

Sophomores assist as teaching assistants for the freshmen class and are encouraged to work with commercial organizations as interns during the year.

During the junior and senior years, students begin researching and contracting with the largest international organizations that provide current hardware and software for student projects.

Graduates of IIT Bombay are highly prized by international corporations. International students are limited to no more than ten percent, with the traditional number around one percent. The number of employers desiring to hire graduates is restricted by invitation as demand for graduates far exceeds availability.

There is limited coursework in the humanities and social sciences. The tight focus on the program of study produces highly qualified and effective graduates. This approach is also common outside of the United States making it difficult for U.S. students to compete. Computer Science faculty in the U.S. are highly populated by graduates from outside the country.

It is common among institutions of higher education to have collaborative student transfer and research agreements.

IIT Bombay has partnerships for the doctoral program with the Monash University of Australia and the National University of Singapore.

Observation Research Event III - Monash University of Australia

Monash University of Melbourne Australia: English is the language of instruction.

Wikipedia: Provides an overview of the university.

Department of Computer Science

U.S. News Education Rankings

Monash University is Australia’s largest university with extensive courses and study options, research projects, and international exchanges. This combination of assets provides an education that sets graduates apart from their peers.

Monash provides students with all the tools, support, and resources needed to study online, on-campus, and everything in-between as part of the course of study.

Prior to entry to the university, students must complete a “Diploma” which is a combination of technical courses including science, math, and information systems. As with IIT Bombay, there are few requirements in the areas of humanities and social sciences at the degree level.

Students from over 170 countries attend the university. Monash has an international campus presence and cooperative programs in Italy, Malaysia, India, South Africa, and the Peoples Republic of China at the Suzhou Dushu Lake Higher Education Town, inside the Suzhou Industrial Park, home to several thousand foreign companies and research institutes.

Observation Research Event IV - National University of Singapore

National University of Singapore: English is the language of instruction.

Wikipedia: Provides an overview of the university.

Department of Computer Science

U.S. News Education Rankings

The National University of Singapore (NUS) is the oldest higher education institution in Singapore. According to most rankings, it is considered to be one of the best universities in the Asia-Pacific region, and in the world. NUS adopts features of the British system, such as small group teaching tutorials on top of regular two-hour lectures, and the American system of course credits.

In September 1904, Tan Jiak Kim led a group of representatives of the Chinese and other non-European communities to petition the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir John Anderson, to establish a medical school in Singapore. The school has grown over the years and now consists of Duke-NUS Medical School, a postgraduate medical school jointly established with Duke University.

Yale-NUS College is a liberal arts college and was established in collaboration with Yale University It is scheduled to merge with NUS by 2025.

The School of Computing (SoC), established in 1998, has two departments – Computer Science and Information Systems and Analytics.

The department of Computer Science offers two undergraduate degree programs – Computer Science and Information Security. As with IIT Bombay, graduates of this program are highly sought by international companies and universities. Refer to the bottom of the linked-to page for commercial and academic organizations cited.

The department of Information Systems and Analytics offers two other programs - Information Systems and Business Analytics.

NSU has the largest virtual supercomputing facilities in the region and uses Internet2 technology to make distance learning possible. Students from Singapore and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology can learn and interact with one another in one virtual classroom.

The international digital pathway between universities provides the ability for administrators, faculty, and students to share information, collaborate, and cooperate on projects in virtual cyberspace.

It has become routine for universities and independent international organizations to create opportunities for students and others to test and demonstrate knowledge and skills acquired in the computer science field of study. The intent of these opportunities is to enhance understanding and performance in cyber security.

Observation Research Event V - Cyber and Social Hacking

DEF CON Workshops is one of the popular independent organizations demonstrating real-world security and social engineering measures for physical sites and applications for cyber security. It may be considered productive or counterproductive. The intent is to determine threats and countermeasures to provide cyber security to sites. On the opposite side of the coin, participants may learn how to hack through the cyber security of sites to access or change the content of hacked sites.

The DEF CON category on YouTube provides a popular series of videos on hacking. It may not be what comes to mind when the term "hacking" is mentioned.

Summary Comments: Observation Research Events I-V

As stated in the opening, observation research is a method of horizon scanning to acquire information. It can be initiated by the information presented on TV, radio, printed media, conferences, or other sources.

Rarely, does an observation represent a single state of a single issue. It is a method of gaining insight into issues of the time and potentially offers a vision of the future. Upon initiation, no contact is made between the researcher and the organization or persons observed. Final conclusions regarding the outcome are seldom reached. It is a never-ending information-gathering process.

Comment I:

It appears from the information provided by the universities linked-to, that the education service industry is indeed global, and possibly covers every continent and culture. That there is a network of agreements between the universities that would provide a path for students to move freely between global universities and employers providing entrance and visa requirements are satisfied.

Comment II:

Computer engineering, in conjunction with electronic engineering and Computer science, are the hardware and network design components of the worldwide communication system. Computing and communication facilities are networked worldwide via telecommunication systems. Also, refer to Information and communications technology.

Communication between computers and peripherals internal to organizations is made possible with the application of local area networks (LANs). Communication between local LANs and external organizations is made possible with the application of wide-area networks (WANs).

Software Engineering is the design component for software that creates computer and peripheral operating systems, and application programs that create and manage information systems for commercial business and personal services.

Comment III:

Universities worldwide are developing large-scale interconnected campuses that resemble towns and factories. Examples of large-scale campuses are IIT Bombay, India, the National University of Singapore, and the Suzhou Dushu Lake Higher Education Town of the Peoples Republic of China. Refer to the links above.

Comment IV:

Entrance requirements for degree programs indicate completion of science and mathematics requirements must be met before acceptance and entrance to degree programs. Humanities and social sciences are not a significant part of the degree programs as they are in the U.S., where students who graduate from high school in the U.S. score 37th among major competitors.

Comment V:

In the physical sciences, virtually everything that is created can be reverse-engineered. Students in the above-referenced programs learn how to do it.

International hardware and software companies provide academic organizations and students with their products to practice on and to make engineering changes under contract. Most cyber security breaches come from inside the organization. Sony Picture Studios Hacked.

Independent Events

The best security measures are provided by individual users. There are a large number of automated systems attempting to sell products and services or acquire users' personal and financial information.

Virtually everyone receives calls and emails from these systems daily. Commercial businesses and government entities routinely sell information of individual customers and citizens'.

 

It is best to assume anything can be hacked. Your phone, computer, car navigation, communication systems, and more can be hacked, and controlled by someone else with the tools and training to do so.

Email Examples:

1). Typical example is an email is received with the logo of a bank on it. The email contains a form asking the recipient to verify their information by entering their user name and password in the form. Placing the mouse cursor on the link, not clicking on it, will provide the actual address of the server the email came from.

The domain name is shown on the lower left-hand corner of the web page. The domain name is entered into the search area on the web browser. And, in fact, it is not the bank! In fact, it is a website located in Beijing with images of a large international corporation. The domain is listed as registered at the same address as the Chinese communist army. The location of the webserver is in Texas.

Webservers can have services that track the Internet Protocol (IP) address of sites that visit a company or private website. Checking the server log for results of visitors revealed that twenty-four computers located in Beijing, and eight computers in North Korea were crawling the website weekly. Search Engine Watch provides a full discussion on the issues.

Tools located on the bottom of the COM CENTER page were used to research the real domain registrant, and enter the actual domain in the URL space on the web browser. The result of the search revealed the site sending the email request was chinatonga.com, a domain name that has now been deactivated.

2). A second case as in 1). above. An email was received with the image of a bank on it. Once again the email requested the User Name and Password for a bank account. Placing the mouse cursor over the link revealed it was a personal email address. An email from a private account does not redirect to a web page as above.

However, unseen to the viewer or originator of the email, there is an IP address hidden in the header of the email. This email was not associated with the organizations in 1). above. Using tools from the COM CENTER again, it revealed the physical location of the originator of the email. Results of tracing the IP address led to the home of a senior executive of a company that held the accounting information of outside vendors.

Where is China Tonga -2016 - 2021

https://www.youtube.com/embed/BzCqQKnF9Oo

Summary

This posting could continue endlessly. Examples of cyber security breaches continue every day and night. An example: hacking school systems reveals such an example.

When viewing a Wikipedia page, read and test the reference links at the bottom of the page . . . there is a wealth of information to be revealed by doing so.

Example: Trade war and economic slowdown leave giant Chinese industrial estate scrambling to keep foreign companies.

Examples of Nation States Hacking:

U.S. Spy Agency Warns That Chinese Hackers Target Military, Defense Industry

Moving Against China's Military for Hacking U.S. Company.

North Korean hackers ramp up bank heists.

NATO Cyber Defense Center launches cyber threats 2030 overview. Web page and embed video. A lengthy cyber defense and horizon scanning presentation. (2:33.58)

Forward-Looking Predictions:

Education is international commerce and has become a big business. With the advent of current and future communications technologies, each organization is seeking new and growing markets, and hopefully access and increasing profits. However, there is a point at which expansion, growth, and competition dilute profits and sustainability.

Communications technologies are an outgrowth of engineering principles and associated products. With Increasing speed, engineering principles and associated products outgrow the last version. Within this process, errors in cyber security occur as products and management are not keep up to date. New hacking products create the need for putting in place more stringent control features, frequently overlooked.

This results in a continuous flow of funds from government funding, student tuition, and endowments to purchase new communication products and keep up with the education market.

If history is a lesson, this process as with all growth processes will hit a plateau and stall. Marginal competitors and those that overreached and became heavily indebted will be forced out of the education market.

Bolstering current expansion is the current imbalance of import and export markets. Future posting of the Real status of the U.S. economy. This will demonstrate how the U.S. and western economies are funding China's education, business, industrial, commercial, military, and territorial expansion.

Information in this posting will be addressed in the SOTU: BACKDROP SUMMARY for 2022-2028.

End of posting.