State Department computer purchase from China draws fire

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/23/business/lenovo.php

A U.S. State Department purchase of more than 15,000 computers produced by Lenovo Group, a company controlled by the Chinese government, 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, North Carolina, and Monterrey, Mexico, that were part of the personal computer division that Lenovo purchased from International Business Machines 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 IBM division.

<snip>

The computer contracts are nonetheless drawing criticism from the 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 relinquish those operations.

The critics warn that the computer deal could help China spy on American embassies and intelligence-gathering activities by planting extra hardware and software in the computers.

"The opportunities for intelligence gains by the Chinese are phenomenal," said Michael Wessel, a member of the U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission, which was created by Congress to monitor and report on the bilateral relationship.

Lou Dobbs was all over this story earlier this week.

[SoCalDem]

1. It's getting kind of ridiculous, isn;t it?

We sell off our assets and companies, so it;s getting harder and harder to find "American" products..even "American" products are made of components not made here..

[babylonsister]

2. Whatever DID happen to that happy mantra, "Buy American?" nt

[skooooo]

3. Didn't Bush have it as a backdrop behind ...

...one of his speeches a few years ago?

[RamboLiberal]

4. BoxGate - Good memory

President Bush stands in front of boxes which had "Made in China" labels obscured.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/01/22/bush.boxes/

Someone wanted the right setting Wednesday as President Bush traveled to the Midwest to deliver another pitch for his economic plan.

When the president delivered his remarks, he did so from the floor of a warehouse with American flags in the background along with the logo "Strengthening America's Economy" on a backdrop of boxes. The boxes were stamped "Made in U.S.A."

One problem: The boxes were made in China.

And that was evident despite an effort to hide labels on boxes surrounding the stage. The boxes placed on the side of the stage had "Made in China" labels covered up with white pieces of paper.

[Debau2005]

6. Good lord...

well the stupidity ever end?

[CountAllVotes]

5. Lenovo = IBM

I have one of these "new" ThinkPads (I bought it used on eBay for $500 and it is still under warranty). I also have another ThinkPad (same model) that came out before IBM sold out.

As for this new Lenovo ThinkPad I now have ... well ... I haven't had it for very long but I don't expect it to last for very long, I'll say that much. It seems ok, but :shrug:

I didn't want to buy a Dell and I don't have the $ for a PowerBook so this is what I have now.

:dem: :kick:

[TreasonousBastard]

7. How paranoid are we...

that this is a problem?

I'm not thrilled that just about every motherboard in every computer in the US is made in Taiwan or China, but for years places like Citibank and Merrill Lynch have been buying Asian-built computers and the Yellow Peril hasn't brought down our financial system yet. Why worry about government computers all of a sudden?

Have the evil Asians put little spying devices in the TVs and other electronics they make? How do we know a tiny little camera or microphone isn't hidden in there?

It's getting a little ridiculous, isn't it?

[MrPrax]

8. Oh...more nativist scapegoating...

Yeah blame China for the fact that American crooks, corrupt politicians and stunning corporate greed threw out even basic economic practices...

Yeah blame the Chinese, UAE, Canada...etc for a shocking economic mess that was predicted years ago...who in the chinese government told Congress to keep taxes low and the debt out of control?

This whistleblower isn't blaming China:

"...But this week, for the first time, Natsios publicly gave vent to his long-suppressed frustrations over the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq occupation. In an interview with NEWSWEEK on Tuesday, he harshly criticized the Coalition Provisional Authority led by L. Paul Bremer III for botching the reconstruction effort and allowing ill-qualified or corrupt contractors to dominate it. "They didn't have systems set up. They were very dismissive of these processes," he said. His U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was marginalized despite its expertise, and the CPA "didn't hire the best people," he said. "We were just watching it unfold. They were constantly hitting at our people, screaming at them. They were abusive."

Breaking the Silence

Funny...long article...no mention of the Chinese anywhere...

[apnu]

10. Wow Senor is a moron

Dan Senor, former spokesman for Bremer’s CPA, dismissed Natsios’s criticisms, saying the insurgency in Iraq made ordinary contracting procedures impossible. "I'm not familiar with the traditional USAID program that was recommended,” Senor told NEWSWEEK. “If it was traditional and conventional, it may have made sense for the reconstruction of Switzerland. But it sounds like it was completely irrelevant to the facts and conditions on the ground that we found in Iraq.” Senor added that the CPA had "recruited some of the top career Foreign Service officers from the State Department to serve in the CPA's management roles. We would have welcomed

Good link BTW!

(edited for spelling)

[pinniped]

9. Good, now the Chinese companies can't infiltrate our....

State Department's puter systems with their inferior motherboards and other components enbedded with the Red China secret self-destruct source codes.:eyes:

[unc70]

11. Actually, there is a LOT to worry about in this area

Realize the incredible security risks exposed by all the intelligent peripherals in use. Each "smart" piece of hardware could be causing all sorts of problems with hidden code that only appears when activated (maybe at boot initialization). Think about disk drives with hidden blocks that are undetectable because the SCSI or USB interface helps hide them. Or even consider hidden code in digital cameras, keyfob "disks", ipods, etc.

It only takes a few bad actors to subvert most of the security we currently have.

BTW I have about 40 years experience in this industry.

[suston96]

12. Slow boat from China...

Actually, my Macintosh G5 was assembled in China. When I bought my iPod from Apple, I tracked it from Shanghai, China where it was built and actually shipped from.

So, folks. Get used to it.