North Korea has only two internet connections - one through China and one through Russia. Total traffic through those two connections is about what would be generated by a single small company in the West. *News items, pictures, and video are from various sources as attributed - please follow the links provided, read, and comment below. Commentary here is my own* From the South China Morning Post #### [How did barely connected North Korea become a hacking superpower?](http://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/2131470/north-korea-barely-wired-so-how-did-it-become-global-hacking-power) North Korea has only two internet connections - one through China and one through Russia. Total traffic through those two connections is about what would be generated by a single small company in the West. Yet its hackers, trained in Shenyang, China, have pilfered $80 millions through spoofing SWIFT transfer requests to help Pyongyang survive the economic sanctions, have looted targets in neighboring countries, and as far away as Mexico, and been responsible for encrypting and holding files for ransom in most of the world's countries. Also in the SCMP - an accident which has severely affecting air force morale, but which may be a result of China trying to downplay its military preparedness #### [‘At least 12 crew members killed’ in Chinese military plane crash](http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2131643/least-12-crew-members-killed-chinese-military-plane) > Incident during exercise in Guizhou shows ‘imperfect’ aircraft might not be up to the task of intensive drills in the region, military source says in the Shanghaiist #### [Workers shovel snow from Huashan’s perilous cliffside plank path](https://medium.com/shanghaiist/watch-workers-shovel-snow-from-huashans-perilous-cliffside-plank-path-f929b40f6f3d) https://youtu.be/8E2oqItlYn0 In the Shanghaiist. We'll be at home, thank you, except for a short trip to Nanning for a medical exam required for my visa. I get a three year, unlimited stay residence permit through our local PSB. #### [Spring Festival travel rush officially begins! 2.98 billion trips expected to be taken](https://medium.com/shanghaiist/spring-festival-travel-rush-officially-begins-2-98-billion-trips-expected-to-be-taken-1366b098a3bf)
https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*MhktUO97bEWnHXYvegyjSA.jpeg *picture from the Shanghaiist > About 2.98 billion trips are expected to be made during the 2018 Spring Festival travel rush, known as the Chunyun
. . . and the SCMP video https://youtu.be/wffxHRrljsQ
Also in the Shanghaiist - Apparently, it snows in Shanghai about as often as it does in Houston #### [Incredible photos of Shanghai covered in snow](https://medium.com/shanghaiist/look-incredible-photos-of-shanghai-covered-in-snow-b59b301c2720) > https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*JfUnK_xNeN7q2yrkXJ_m6w.png
. . . and in the Shanghaiist for those foreigners wishing to take advantage of China's cashless economy. I have a Chinese bank account, so I won't need this, but those visiting temporarily may find this VERY useful ## [You can now tie foreign credit cards to your WeChat Pay account!](https://medium.com/shanghaiist/you-can-now-tie-foreign-credit-cards-to-your-wechat-pay-account-f8d282fc2c2)
#randyw http://tinypic.com/erbo02.gif [![alt text](https://i.imgsafe.org/fb/fb5500bbd1.jpeg)](https://steemit.com/@randyw)
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