Why the US and China Are Squabbling Over This One Wire

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Video written by Ben Doyle
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[@samuelekatama197]

The idea of using electric eel because lack of footage is hillarious

[@zac9311]

Theyre morays not electric eels

[@Code7Unltd]

@@zac9311 That's *a-moray!*

[@BrenBarnes]

That's a moray

[@a-l-55]

I help the environment by tossing car batteries to feed the electric eels. A fun and legal thrill

[@rennoc6478]

@@a-l-55help the environment too much and environmental engineers will be out of a job

[@sesmeltz1965]

I’m impressed Sam went a whole 7 minutes and never made a single potty joke about the cable being named “See Me Wee.”

[@somtu3780]

He did. You just didn't sea it.

[@rohankishibe8259]

It's not Sam tho

[@goinkosu]

​@@rohankishibe8259He might not have written the script, but who was going to stop him if he made the joke anyways?

[@rohankishibe8259]

@@goinkosu what??!

[@bathamsteryt]

It's the new ICUP

[@keineahnungabervieldavon]

Using redstone repeaters as a icon is just amazing ❤

[@Hack--rz1io]

It made me so happy

[@michaelwells529]

Where?

[@sainaro2335]

@@michaelwells529 2:09

[@5301abhi]

@@michaelwells5292:08

[@raznaak]

@@michaelwells529 2:09

[@1.4142]

Scientists still have not documented how underwater cables reproduce, and their numbers are dwindling due to high demand for unagi leading to overphishing.

[@1224chrisng]

Fun Fact: Sigmund Freud once tried to disect internet cables to find its reproductive organs, only to find that they'll only have organs during mating season

[@chucklebutt4470]

I take any chance to talk about underwater cables that is presented to me! They're just so damn cool and interesting! They have extending hidden jaws just like xenomorphs from Alien and one species can flop itself up on land and use it's extendo-jaw to grab stuff like crabs lol.

[@amyx231]

I do love câble avocado sushi 😅

[@jacksonbruns9429]

this is way funnier than it deserves to be 😂

[@kokujin5446]

😂😂😂

[@Dr.Kraig_Ren]

*"They'll install spy devices on cables!"* _~80 years of US cable laying experience_

[@DescendingVelocity]

Lmao I was thinking the same thing. That’s why it doesn’t matter where you are in the world, if you threaten the president you’ll have someone knocking on your door

[@emmah1408]

Yep

[@petergerdes1094]

So it sounds like they are probably right. But FYI, that's not how the US does it. We have special submarines that install special devices after the cable is laid. Totally different.

[@dansands8140]

@@petergerdes1094 Questionable. Splicing fibre optic cable is generally impossible. Copper, sure. I think Subcon is probably not a real company.

[@petergerdes1094]

@@dansands8140 I don't think you need to splice it. I believe you can carefully bend it until some of the light leaks out and capture that. Maybe it has to be at an amplifier...not sure. And yes that does involve cutting through the exterior cable but a multi-billion budget lets you do alot...or maybe they can splice it but I don't think we keep around the special submarines just for copper wires.

[@nityodaytekchandani701]

I was wondering if we could, you know, just cover the wire in bricks and then lay them in the ocean?

[@BojanMilic84]

I wish bricks were mentioned on this channel more .

[@nityodaytekchandani701]

@@BojanMilic84 absolutely! Bricks are such an integral part of our lives. This channel is a disappointment for not being able to deliver us the bricks content we need.

[@briishteabag]

​​@@nityodaytekchandani701it actually is lol, thinking about it, bricks are used to create houses, which give warmth and shelter to us

[@videogames8261]

@@briishteabag no way really???

[@briishteabag]

@@videogames8261 yeah man i really definitely just realized!!1!!!1!11

[@N1ckelD1me]

this postmodern approach to b-roll. im obsessed with the eel labelled "im a cable" getting buried on land by a bulldozer. truly pushing the boundaries in the art of stock footage usage.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Half as Interesting has mastered the use of stock footage to the point where it's an entirely new artistic medium.

[@sillum]

Infomation in cables is actually coded in the wave function, not if its on or off, but how infomation is encoded in the wire could be a full Wendover Production, so i understand the need for simplification.

[@Fs3i]

They actually did one for mobile cell towers, so they definitely understand the concept!

[@Blex_040]

Since the wavelength of visible light determines as what color we perceive it, that means it's more like... blue/red (or UV/IR etc.) instead of on/off?

[@asdasd-hb3vg]

​@@Blex_040More like blue + red + whatever other wavelengths they can manage. More wavelengths = higher bandwidth. Google wavelength-division multiplexing if you're curious.

[@iworms]

@@asdasd-hb3vg So... Wouldn't that be fundamentally the same as FDM in the traditional (RF) networking world?

[@asdasd-hb3vg]

@@iworms Pretty much so.

[@FAB1150]

To be completely honest I don't really trust the US to not spy my internet traffic either

[@erni2619]

Well as early as 2 years ago, they were caught spying on their own allies in Europe lol

[@srs419]

As much as I don't trust the US government, I don't trust the Chinese government far more.

[@kongmw]

Oh I complete trust the US to spy on my internet traffic. 😂 enjoying the boring ass content I browse I guess.

[@vyros.3234]

I'd personally rather the US than China considering the US wouldn't care about me.

[@doujinflip]

If something happens to your data though, would you rather deal with a Western democracy one, or a Mainland China one? If you think there's a non-NATO/Russia/China/Middle East neutral territory you can trust with your data, think again -- they're likely influenced by foreign intelligence services because that's how they get the funding to provide international-level service.

[@LOLquendoTV]

damn, the spam bots are out in foce today

[@NathanSimonGottemer]

I appreciate the use of redstone repeaters as a stand-in for amplifiers

[@brianmccormick9918]

As captain of Cable Ship DURABLE our crew is extremely proud to have been featured in this video!

[@moredots]

But do you wish he would have used a more recent picture? 😉 I got to tour one of the ships in Baltimore back in 2014. Always loved hearing stories from the Subcom guys back when it was part of TE!

[@brianmccormick9918]

@@moredotsWe just came out of the shipyard in May and have a totally diffferent color scheme! Either way we enjoyed being the only vessel mentioned in the video!

[@CasterAzucar]

I wish I could lay cable around the clock. what a life

[@d9zirable]

me summoning a shark to bite the cable:

[@Dr.Kraig_Ren]

They are very strong. Sharks can't do anything

[@jotch_7627]

​@@Dr.Kraig_Ren me summoning a very strong shark to bite the cable for your home internet connection:

[@diablo.the.cheater]

@@Dr.Kraig_Ren what about a sharknado, but underwater?.

[@MrPaxio]

US summoning a boat drone to obliterate the cable:

[@TojiFushigoroWasTaken]

​@@jotch_7627me making the cable as hard as diamonds and giving smg's to defend itself

[@yourguysheppy]

The market: decides The US government: hang on now

[@heffeque]

It's interesting how the US government used the same tactics with NordStream 2... and when the scare tactics and sanctions didn't work (they only delayed the construction) and it was actually finalized, "Russia (with an economy that depended on NS2) blew it up" and we haven't heard about NS2 in the news again. Yup, an attack on European/NATO soil, and the result is secretive investigations and total silence on the news front. All very normal.

[@tardonator]

the market didn't exactly decide fairly, considering the heavy chinese subsidies. so its more like china: hang on now usa: nuh uh

[@TonyYarusso]

I was surprised at the cost. “As you can imagine, this is all expensive.” Then says only $40,000 per mile. Bike trails cost more than that.

[@tweezerjam]

0:50 I genuinely lol 😂

[@eth3792]

Haven't laughed like that at an HAI joke since "smaller than [small country], [small country] and [small country] *combined*"

[@edd17sp74]

I now would really like to know what those massively thick cables connect to on each end and how exactly whatever it connects to knows what to do with the millions of data points being broadcast through it.

[@royce9018]

so you want someone to explain to you how computers work?

[@circuit10]

@@royce9018 Not computers in general, specifically the equipment specialised to deal with these extremely high volumes of data. A normal computer wouldn't be able to handle anything near that amount of data, they probably need specially designed hardware

[@chucklebutt4470]

That sort of information isn't very accessible unfortunately

[@ALZlper]

@@chucklebutt4470 Sadly true

[@RyanTosh]

I believe it'd be a big Internet Exchange Point, or something similar. The cables first go to a landing station that provides power, then they can continue on land for some distance to a termination station where it interfaces with the land-based network. Presumably this is just a giant warehouse of switches (and hardware for decoding the fiber optics signals)

[@aroindotexe]

I thought it was the submarine he was talking about at the start

[@SneakerBiscut]

An eel is an underwater electric “nope rope”.

[@DaLoveDonkey69420]

I too want to lay cable around the clock.

[@naegibh]

cant believe hai made the amateur mistake of using stock footage of moreys instead of eels

[@Croz89]

It's honestly really impressive that you can run an undersea cable halfway around the world for less than the annual budget of a mid-size US city.

[@snailsaredumb9412]

Yet that same city can't fill potholes or improve like 3 schools with that amount of money 😂

[@doujinflip]

Too many voters are "I got mine" retirees who have the time to go to the polls (because convenience for students/young adults/homeless/expats/"certain" neighborhoods is not seen as important) and vote to cash out and live a life of consumption at the expense of their descendants, moving to Florida if they're not appeased.

[@Olivia-W]

​​​@@snailsaredumb9412 I'm not surprised. The US seems to love ridiculously wide lanes, massive swathes of asphalt, and carburbia. The upkeep cost of that is enormous. Denser cities, trains, trams, buses, and narrower lanes/less parking, and suddenly not only is it more pleasant to live in, there's a lot fewer potholes, too. Even NYC, the city with the best transit in the entire US and honest to god actual sidewalks, has way, way, WAY too much asphalt everywhere.

[@Croz89]

@@Olivia-W Mid size US cities wouldn't exist at that density, all those people would be displaced into larger US cities and there would just be empty land.

[@Joesolo13]

@@Croz89 nah that's just silly. My suburban town it's the car by decades, and had a couple trolleys and trains running through it. Most areas need more minimalistic road infra. Back roads should be gravel etc

[@tylerdotapp]

those most afraid of spying are the most likely to spy on you

[@breadcreaddick9197]

the eel thing killed me.

[@Poverty_Welder]

I like the minecraft repeaters in the cable.

[@TS_Mind_Swept]

1:14 Shark Bitage 😂😂😂😂

[@IShowVelocity.]

2:10 redstone repeater

[@RemoteAccessGG]

POV when you forgot that traffic gets encrypted at least 5 times and it isn’t possible to somehow decrypt it:

[@1.4142]

Looks like the sharks are promoting crypto scams.

[@abdirahmaanmohamed1582]

The US 100% Spies Undersea cable

[@salvsays]

Sharks also attack it often

[@jerrychandler7094]

Since it’s cheaper by the kilometer, they should use that instead of by the mile.

[@laurasisson1611]

Why not just do it all by the meter then? Plus I think inches might be the best deal but idk im not a tech expert

[@ryuuguu01]

That's why everyone outside the US does use km.

[@hedgehog3180]

@@laurasisson1611 You have to pay a significant cut to inch worms whenever you use inches so that actually raises the price back up.

[@anushervontabarov8568]

modern internet was built around the idea that all communications would be spied on. everything on the internet is encrypted.

[@13thravenpurple94]

Great video THank you

[@DodoLP]

so if its easy to put spying equipment there, why does USA want it so hard ? just to put spying equipment there ?

[@jannegrey593]

if at any point it goes on land in their controlled territory - they don't need to, they can listen to it from there. Otherwise they can use UUV's for seabed warfare to install some listening devices regardless. And of course they can bribe the country in which it goes on land to "help them" as well. Currently couple countries have similar Seabed Warfare capabilities. China is among them. So this wasn't about espionage really. It was about tech superiority and controlling companies who have such expertise.

[@hedgehog3180]

@@jannegrey593 Yeah US intelligence kinda relies on the internet being more or less invented in the US so the entire modern internet routes through the internet. And they also have had a very easy time getting allied countries to work together with them to tap internet cables in their territory, it's called the 5 Eyes Alliance and the 7 Eyes Alliance.

[@jannegrey593]

@@hedgehog3180 Denmark for example quite readily spied on other EU countries for US. I wouldn't look only for 5 eyes or 7 eyes, but more widely. Most countries that are allied with US will share at least part of intelligence with it. Usually all of it - if US reciprocates.

[@NeostormXLMAX]

They already do Snowden leaked it before

[@jannegrey593]

@@NeostormXLMAX yup

[@scottdavis3860]

"down where the light dares not go" is pure poetry

[@MrGeekGamer]

I got a line on big long ropes...

[@dzejty]

shartbiteage is my new favourite word

[@SRT_TY329]

The amount of times it wrapped around the moon plus earth and more😱

[@marvintpandroid2213]

What's to stop the Americans from doing what they were saying the Chinese would do? Oh, yeah, nothing.

[@ordinaryperson-my7qr]

AMERICANS SPYING????? they would NEVER

[@dbob132]

It is much harder for America to contain its international spying. That's why most people know of the spying the US has done, because US news outlets did their jobs and reported on it and guess what they didn't get executed by their government. I wonder what would happen in China if the same thing happened? (The answer is they would be executed)

[@SpazzyMcGee1337]

But it's FREEDOM spying. 😅

[@wilh3lmmusic]

If the american cables glow green, would the chinese ones glow red?

[@zibbitybibbitybop]

The difference is that the US government has limitations on its ability to force private companies to disclose their data for spying purposes. The CCP does not, and routinely forces Chinese companies to cough up any data the government wants. If you think these are equivalent, then you don't understand how the either government works.

[@der.Schtefan]

Underwater electric rope: mind: blown

[@princem5155]

Uhh a story about laying pipe. Called “see me wee”

[@remcovandermeer9360]

I lost it at shark sharkbite-age

[@oriolopocholo]

Your latest content is strangely China friendly

[@kimarna]

And we thought sharks were the biggest threat to global internet

[@CrazyPlayer-pf2hv]

"To resist... crushing" Bad timing...

[@brovid-19]

"crush resistant armor to resist" Falling in love

[@awtenter]

Let me guess, nobody is sus on oceancuck being part of this that dropped to the bott?

[@leeshepherd834]

3:18 such an uncomfortably long handshake 😅

[@Turtle_13lol]

i like how sam put a drawing of a minecraft repeater because he couldn't find a picture of an actual SMW6 booster. 2:10

[@CuriousEarthMan]

Shout out to the good ship The AT&T Long Lines. Where are you now old friend?

[@koharumi1]

2:26 the ocean gate titan submersible could of use that so it didn't implode

[@andrewpinedo1883]

have*

[@Granolora]

​@@andrewpinedo1883 Of still works, this is a KZbin comment, not an English language exam.

[@aled_jones]

"shark bi-tage" 😂

[@AOsama355]

It goes through Egypt (Ras Gharib, Red Sea Governorate, Egypt)

[@eldrago19]

Because when they do it, it's bribery, but when we do it, it's a training grant.

[@nickcrees4847]

Next unicorn start-up idea: use eels as fibre-optic oceanic cables ✅

[@Genzphilosopher]

Spy eels that can relay information from other countries. Genius!

[@artbk]

Get and train eels to line up and shock in sequence so that they can carry signal

[@fss1704]

don't forget to call it quantum AI transmission

[@oglcn11]

Name the company CableGate. Don't forget to make the cables from carbon fiber. I've heard that they are really strong underwater...

[@napoleon848]

I love how a user called kevin luo wrote under most gpt44x bots that they are bots, good work keep it up.

[@mikel2976]

I have been binge watching this videos all day long, a new upload feels like heaven right now.

[@o_s-24]

Lmao same. I was watching another of his videos and then this popped up. Coincidence? I think NOT.

[@ASMM1981EGY]

It's only important because it passes from EGYPT the centre of the world

[@overman138]

Sam did you record this in japan

[@WChocoleta]

Talking about government subsidy, did everybody not realize that the American companies have always been subsidized by the global use of the dollar, the economic sanctions that the US government imposes arbitrarily, and the military muscle of its armed forces?

[@princekyran4911]

happy new HAI video for all who celebrate

[@user-py7hf9zg5d]

I only focused on the music

[@619Gotenks]

I'm sorry, they called it what?

[@stelios2223]

Haha the random eel footage got me 😂

[@Bobby-lh2sx]

Would that make it phishing

[@killman369547]

My inner 5 yr old can't get over how the cable is named "sea me we". I had a good chuckle over that.

[@mixedbytc]

Cable ≠ wire

[@parkourhovey]

Ive noticed you changed your aspect ratio. Gotta have that subway surfer on below it....

[@kgmoome]

I bet this is why Blinkin went to China last week

[@andrew24601]

I like looking at eels way more than I like looking at cables. I’m very pleased.

[@tybois74]

@1:15: ...or in the case of the recent/current Northern Alaska outage, deep-sea iceotage. From Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow) to Kaktovik (near the US/Canada border) and the Prudhoe Bay oilfields, the entire area is without internet access due to deep sea ice slicing through a deep-sea fiber optic cable.

[@0pTicaL]

A High Line Moynihan Connector 260-foot bridge wooden bridge was unveiled in Manhattan, costs $50 million dollars, $49 million over budget. SubCom mad they're overcharging when the rest of the world can do it for way cheaper?

[@elijordan3195]

"lay cable around the clock" - me after taco bell

[@qdaniele97]

I love how the US, one of the most prominent countries for global surveilance, always trying to sneak backdoors everywhere they can and wiretap eveything that's wiretappable, is always like: "Are you sure you want to buy that Chinese product? They might use it to spy on you!" "Buy this US product instead, you will thank me later"

[@qdaniele97]

To clarify, it's not like I think china wouldn't try to spy on us if it had the chance to do so. It's obvious they would, like everyone else. I just don't like how some countries always prentend to be "the good guys" while they clearly are not.

[@dogfellow3848]

I guarantee you other countries do the same, its just in the best interest of every country to take information of others, and to keep its citizens' information as hidden as possible

[@Nope_handlesaretrash]

Also the US: muh free market *Government interference, tax payer subsidized bribery-by-other-names, and sanctions*

[@BigHenFor]

That's just being human. There's no such thing as a free lunch. There's always Someone who will try to game the system, because it benefits them. This is why the global economy is the crackerbarrel it is. It's a poker game. Everybody's lying about what cards they hold. So, nobody trusts anybody. Every relationship is contingent, And those running the show believe in hierarchies, and hegemony. So, that's never going to work out, as we don't learn from our mistakes. Generational forgetfulness plagues us, and we're making the same fundamental mistakes in our economy and politics, that destroyed civilisations in Antiquity. It's just that nice new labels are applied.

[@mitchellscheer677]

Um... we know? It's about preference; I'd rather have the U.S. government (or the U.K., France, Germany, Japan, or other Low-Corruption Democracies) spying on me than China. All governments are going to spy to some degree, and all companies are adherent to the rules of their nation first and foremost. More information allows a nation to better make decisions, so all governments are going to spy to some degree. This, in turn, means all nations are going to want to counteract other nation's spying activities. So, whether its this internet cable or any other technological product that has the ability to store/transfer sensitive data, the U.S. is obviously going to attempt to prevent nations perceived as posing a security risk from ascertaining control. And since spying is going to have some benefits, they will partake in that as well. The U.S. is not different from any other nation (and doesn't necessarily present itself to be). I'm not sure where your getting this idea that Americans think that our government (or that of other nations) doesn't spy on us, as anyone who believes that would have to have been living under a rock for the past decade. There have been numerous scandals related to the U.S. govt. conducting surveillance on its own citizens, and that of allied nations. However, that is still the preferred outcome to the Chinese doing so.

[@truongtuanthanh7744]

And again the free market with honest and fair competition did win the day...

[@theendofthestart8179]

is it just me or is my left headphone way louder for this video

[@DoctorMikeWilson]

Sydney to Melbourne, far out that's a long way.

[@mwthekoopinator]

I was in Western Alaska a week and a half ago, and right before I arrived an undersea cable was believed to have been cut by an iceberg. Cut off non-satellite internet and phone service to all of Western Alaska from Utqiagvik to Nome. Crazy how little it takes to knock it offline

[@EdgyNumber1]

4:08 What are you talking about? IT _IS_ CLOSE TO THE CCP. This by Chinese Law.

[@yami39]

why don’t they use wifi instead of cable?

[@FlyingExplorer2022]

I have a PhD degree in fibre optics

[@ForrFree]

I wish countries would fight over the opportunity to sea me wee

[@JamesGilbert_]

I respect the consistency in the eel footage.

[@fischX]

Thangs good only the NSA makes a backup of my precious 0 and 1s💕

[@alastairward2774]

Does the route of that cable via the moon explain the apparently awful internet access in Australia?

[@travisolander4749]

I like the name of the cable. "GIMME THE SEE-MEE-WEE!!!!!!!!!"

[@Nesquikdab]

As an Aussie, hearing you pronounce Melbourne correctly made me so happy :)

[@safebox36]

I wasn't aware it was possible to pronounce it incorrectly...

[@namarrkon]

@@safebox36 They pronounce it mel-born

[@Earthboundmike]

@@namarrkon sounds like a burn to me

[@o_s-24]

Mellborrrrrrn

[@jordanwardle11]

melbs

[@pilotkid2011]

Was the voice generated by AI? There is something choppy.

[@christhorpe3664]

Ha, see me wee.... awesome video Sam

[@JanSuerth]

HAI sounds weird in this video.

[@AWelshEnglishman]

Laying cable is slang for having a long shit. Had quite the chuckle watching this video.

[@thediscrete1703]

Since nobody mentioned it, I might be wrong but I don't think it is Sam narrating. I don't know why, I could not even finish the whole video.

[@theoldantleredmyth]

Everything about this video just feels off somehow. Written and narrated by A.I.? Or did sam just hire a new guy that kinda sounds like him? Weird.

[@LMacNeill]

"The Chinese will install spy equipment on the cable!!" **cough cough** project ECHELON **cough cough** **cough cough** Edward Snowden **cough cough**

[@michaelwells529]

Giant underwater cables. One of those things that makes perfect sense for how the modern world works, but something I’ve never even considered might exist until now.

[@artbk]

Now think that the first one was put there in 1858.... The first to be used reliably was laid in 1865.

[@hedgehog3180]

@@artbk The landing site for it in Cornwall has become the Museum of Global Communication which is a really interesting place to visit because it's more or less where everything underlying global communication today was invented but also where most modern surveillance techniques were developed.

[@hedgehog3180]

Light is the fastest thing we know of so why not use it to transmit data?

[@MarcusH...]

5:52 replying to boatloads of emails? i thought emails traveled by eel, not boat..

[@lars_larsen]

So now its the US who gets to install surveilance equipment on the cable instead of China... yaaay..... what a massive difference all that made...

[@XKloosyvv]

The audio be janky big-daug

[@nicky_kitty_777]

bro just use repeaters set to 1