Once again, the Chinese (People's Republic of China, the commies) have pushed things too hard.
It seems that they've been
caught hacking into Google (which helpfully blocks search results the little commie bastards don't want their citizens to see). In response, Google has finally announced to World + Dog what the PRC has been up to -- and then gone so far as to say that they're damn well ready to pull out of China completely because they're tired of all the crap.
If you're interested in some reading material, you might be interested in
this report on Chinese "infowar" strategies, policies, and events (PDF download). It isn't
too long, and makes for some interesting reading. When you're done, though, you might find yourself asking "Now, just exactly
why do I need to buy my crap from this country?"...
UPDATEI was aware that the PRC was engaged in a lot of attempts to gain unauthorized access to various computer systems, but not really aware of how broad and deep that activity extended. One report I've found indicates that nearly TWO HUNDRED computers were infected to become part of a single information-gathering operation against
Tibet activists and the Dalai Lama; Computer Week reports that Googles revelation is, basically, just the tip of
a much bigger iceberg.
People, how much longer are we going to keep buying their crappy products so they can use our money to turn around and try to treat the rest of the world the same way they treat their own people? Does "Tiananmen Square" ring a bell for anyone? How about that airplane of ours that they screwed up, forcing it to land in China, where they held the crew hostage for a week (and kept the airplane)? Poisioned toothpaste and dog food? Date-rape drugs in the toys they sell us? Highly toxic cadmium and other heavy metals in the playthings for our kids?
HELLO?Boycott Wal*Mart, because the shift from American manufacturing to China can be laid
directly at their doorstep.