Panda Punchers – #3
1. McAfee – the security software company released a report on Thursday about cyber-crime, noting that "government-affiliated hackers in
2. David Brooks of the New York Times – writing a short bio of Netcom’s Edward Tian, Brooks engages in the worst sort of stereotyping and syrupy prose imaginable:
With his lingering insecurity, with his fierce determination to prove and reprove himself, he is in some ways typical of the Cultural Revolution generation elite. But he is also a cultured man, and in that he is atypical. The Cultural Revolution swept away much of the old Chinese culture. It was followed by the wave of commercialism and materialism. Dignity is now defined by money and French and Italian luxury goods. The spiritual vacuum left by the Cultural Revolution has yet to be filled. Some set of values — good or bad — will eventually fill it, and at that point, the final aftershock of the hell will be finally felt.
This made me gag, seriously. Brooks figured out a way to criticize
3. Jack McLain, of the Constitution Party of Florida (i.e. nutjob fringe group). This quote speaks for itself:
It’s past time that Americans recognize: First, that Communist China is NOT a friend but have declared that we are their worst enemy who must be destroyed; Second, that standards of production of foods, toothpaste, or whatever in China are not equivalent to those of the United States; and Third, the extreme trade imbalance between the U.S. and China is leading to the ultimate showdown with the determined Communists to overthrow us financially as well as militarily.
Yikes. <LINK>
4. "The Obituary of the World" blog. This guy is seriously schizophrenic and needs medication (I think I mean that literally, so perhaps I shouldn’t even be poking fun at him . . .). Anyway, here’s part of his rant:
I once heard one of those Republican American Fascist commentators on Fox complain that China is no longer called "Red China", but the silly ass does not know Communist China has long since abandoned the Communist Revolution; and the workers are treated like crap; and medical care for "the people" is sky high; and gangsters have moved into the construction trade; and kids are shooting up; and capitalism is the new-crowned king–just like in the USA. The thing to note is not that Communist China is communist, but that is it better at capitalism than the USA.
Scary part of that one is that some of it is true. <LINK>
5. From the descriptively-entitled "Free-Fire Zone" blog:
Check the label. On anything! Even on your computer, its mouse, printer, cables, surge protector, desk chair, desk, mini-blinds, curtains, light bulbs. Suddenly (at least to me), everything we use is made in China. RED China. COMMUNIST China. China, where in the big public square downtown, they shoot their own citizens with tanks. China, where the government censors not only TV, radio, and newspapers, but even the internet. China, where all the capitalistic profits realized on their exports goes to the military for modernization, for anti-satellite systems, for new submarines, for aircraft and ICBMs.
This guy probably has a bomb shelter in the backyard and checks for Communists under the bed every night before going to sleep. God love ‘im. <LINK>
The difference in the labeling of the Russian exercises and the Chinese attacks is 1) everybody realized that Russia was our enemy, 2) the Russia exercises did not actually attack us.
I’m not up on the technical details of this, but if significant data was lost or systems damaged and this was done on purpose, then I would agree.
I don’t follow the Russia vs. China comment, though. The US and China have been war gaming each other for many years now. I see this as just another facet.
Remember that the US is providing weapons to what the PRC considers to be a rogue territory. Makes perfect sense for them to be researching ways to disrupt US systems in case something happens down south at some point in the future. Quite logical, in fact. Why does this freak everyone out?
Brooks column is pretty condescending, and he uses some sweeping generalizations. His most recent one is similar in some respects, in that he basically characterizes educated Chinese workers as mindless drones incapable of inspiration or innovation.
And the Freeze-Fire Zone blog refers to China as if its most common media over-representations play themselves out every day in the streets. No doubt the writer of that blog is still shopping at WalMart at week’s end though. Pathetic…
The US can not function without an enemy to keep its nationalism and military industrial complex going. Having China now creating a society where the Chinese can pursue their American dream in China must be a painful realization that other societies might be able to function well or at least make a serious attempt without a punch card fraud elected government. Had China been the US Taiwan would have been bombed to pieces already, it’s government replaced by a dicatorship etc. Remember Grenada? Panama? El Salvador? Nicaragua? Chili? Honduras? Guatemala? Iran? just to name a few.