Just because we got Iraq, North Korea, and assorted t’rists to kick around, we can’t forget the big Commie evil still out there: China. Amnesty International took a break from protesting the execution of child murderers so they could actually expose some real injustice, finding that thirty-three people have been imprisoned in China for doing nothing more than expressing their opinions online. Two have died in custody. That’s murder in my book, but we can’t just storm in there and rightfully execute all the government officials involved because of a little thing called “diplomacy.” Goddamn diplomacy.
What we can do is not help the Commie bastards. According the report, technologies from such companies as Websense, Sun Microsystems, Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks, and Microsoft were used to filter content and track down dissidents. Now, I’m all for capitalism (I’ll beat the crap out of anyone who doubts it) but there are some moral responsibilities American companies need to follow. They know if they sell software to evil Commies, those Commies are going to turn around and use that software for Commie evil – the sort of evil that leaves people dead. I know if I had a software company, and the Chi-Coms came to me for software, I’d just kick them square in the nuts, say, “Screw you, you Commie bastards,” and toss them right out of the building. Real American companies should shun business that helps Commies, and instead work on software that fights filtering and helps dissidents remain anonymous. If your company can’t make a product that actually kills Commies, then at least make stuff that frustrates them.
And a great big round of applause for Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, California’s contribution to the ChiCom Chorus, profiting from slave labor.
I will give Nancy Pelosi this: She may be a socialist but she has not shied from criticizing the Chinese government.
One more reason to be thankful today.
Sadly, there are too many who put business ahead of our security, let alone the lives of the Chinese who dare to dissent.
Our policy was supposed to expand freedom and rein in the worst excesses of the overlords, but it may be expanding freedom while bringing out the worst; the two are not mutually exclusive, and may well go hand in hand.
BTW, Thanks for your hilarious & trenchant work, Frank…and Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks, Noel. I just hope more companies are wary about doing business with the Chinese government in the future.
Actually, I would argue that letting MicroSloth deliver their unbelievable crap to the Chinks is probably one of the most evil things we’ve ever done to them. More than likely, all of the ChiComs are sitting around in front of their terminals staring stupidly at a blue screen as a result.
But the CEOs of the other companies should be rounded up and shot.
2 questions (and a subquestion).
question 1
If we stopped selling are stuff to the chinese, wouldn’t they buy it through middlemen?
subquestion
Do they already buy it from middlemen?
question 2
If we stop selling them our stuff will we be helping them by reducing competition for their stuff in their own market?
Just about any technology we sell non-democratic nations could be used to oppress people in those countries. Should we refuse to sell China copies of word processors because they could be used to draft orders to arrest dissidents? Or video cameras because they might be used to spy on dissidents? Or steel because it could be used to build prisons to house dissidents? Cell phones because they might be used by secret police?
If you’re calling for a general economic embargo of China, you are consistent, but otherwise there is no reason to single out technology companies.
It would be one thing if the Chinese government were merely purchasing commodity products from US corporations and then putting them to evil use; these companies are actually building the system themselves, with their employees working in China and designing the system from the ground up with the goal of stopping and catching people attempting to use the Internet as a tool to oppose their repressive government.
There is no “might be used” about it, they are selling repression as a packaged product and they should get their asses kicked for it.
Ah.
This makes more sense now. Thank you for the clarification.
Of course, the moral thing to do would be to take the commie money, then do the crappiest job possible on these systems. Also, leave some embedded systems that let us frame their own most effective agents of commie evil as dissidents.
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