Posted on 03/24/2006 9:07:35 AM PST by Esther Ruth
State Department Is Criticized for Purchasing Chinese PC's
By KEITH BRADSHER Published: March 24, 2006
HONG KONG, March 23 — A State Department purchase of more than 15,000 computers built by the Lenovo Group of China is starting to draw criticism in the latest sign of American unease about the role of foreign companies in the American economy.
The computers, worth more than $13 million, are coming from factories in Raleigh, N.C., and Monterrey, Mexico, that were part of the personal computer division that Lenovo purchased from I.B.M. last May. Sean McCormack, a State Department spokesman, said at the department's daily media briefing on Wednesday that the computers were intended for unclassified systems and would be serviced by the former I.B.M. division.
The computer contracts are drawing heat from a diverse group of liberal and conservative critics who have been warning about China's growing power for years. These critics have been encouraged by the Congressional scrutiny given to a plan by a company controlled by the royal family of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to acquire operations at six American ports; the company has since agreed to give up those operations.
The critics warn that the deal could help China spy on American embassies and American intelligence-gathering activities, using hardware and software planted in the computers.
"The opportunities for intelligence gains by the Chinese are phenomenal," said Michael R. Wessel, a member of the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which was created by Congress to monitor and report on the bilateral relationship.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Try to find a non-Chinese Pc these days....
Nothing is made in America anymore. The Chi-Coms already own us. We've sold our sovreignty for a few pieces of silver.
Don't we favor them mostly?
Hey, it's the State Department!
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| The critics warn that the deal could help China spy on American embassies and American intelligence-gathering activities, using hardware and software planted in the computers. I'm laughing so hard at this statement that I'm about to wet my pants. Talk about tin foil wrapped idiots. |
You can start with Dell and Gateway, both of which are made in the USA.
Another brain-dead purchasing agent educated in our liberal colleges, after getting educated in our liberal high schools, after getting educated in our liberal grade schools.
I wish I was an employer. Would fire this jerk in a heartbeat.
It IS possible. Microsoft plants stuff in their Windows OS's that phone home to redmond with where the browsers have been.
Most Chinese made PCs come with a pirated version of OSX, anyways. Why couldn't they have fixed it up in some way?
We should NEVER give the Chicoms business like this. In fact, we should EMBARGO them.
I guess I'm one of the tin foil hat crowd.
I just got a Lenovo Z60t and won't even come close to activating the fingerprint reader.
Oh yea, tin foil for sure, like they really could spy on us. Are folks paranoid or what? We have nothing, absolutely nothing to worry about. Are government has a very clear understanding who the enemy is.
Just saw this on Drudge with the other headline "US Hiring Hong Kong Firm To Run Radiation Detector In Port" - I'm sure it's all just dems trying to undermine W.
The computers, worth more than $13 million, are coming from factories in Raleigh, N.C., and Monterrey, Mexico
Importing from China?
Your paranoia is a tad overclocked. PCs that can run OS X, and the Intel version of the OS, are so new that the Chinese haven't had a chance to clone them yet.
The problem is one of supply. Cheap PCs have been made in China for years. Now if you want to go high-end and get a ThinkPad, these now come from Lenovo, another Chinese firm.
The closest you can come to actually buying American is to get an Apple. Those are made in Kiaosiung, Taiwan.
Bingo.
These myopic luddites just want to force us back to using the abacus...
...oh, wait a minute...
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| "It IS possible." Yeah, your right. It is possible to put whatever you like on a machine. It is however, impossible to keep it from being discovered. Having spent 30+ years as a EE and systems engineer I can positively promise you that anything loaded on these machines will be discovered. I can't imagine Lenovo jeopardizing a relationship with a very large market. BTW: IE doesn't phone home to Microsoft. |
(We made some brain-dead deal with a Hong-Kong company within the last few days. I think they're smokin' something strong there in Washington)
These days, there is a whole new wave of "reinventing government" - dot.govers are walking around with their copies of "The World Is Flat" and are playing out the script.
Or, the agent was ordered by his or her bosses to read "The World Is Flat" and to source globally, with a completely blind eye.
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