Had to re-post this one comment:
(btw: I wonder if Pelosi will get her wish, and have a green card stapled to the diploma of every foreign national who graduates from a US university?)
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daveschroeder (516195) * writes: Alter Relationship on Tuesday April 10, @07:20AM (#39628871) Your last comment comment about China is interesting:
The villain in the remake of Red Dawn was actually switched from China (realistic) to North Korea (ridiculous) [latimes.com] in order to not upset China (and its movie audiences). I guess the producers figured that "vaguely Asian-looking" actors could just as easily be viewed by American audiences as Korean.
There is "sand" involved here, though: heads are nestled deeply in it.
It's interesting that you and the parent AC believe this is somehow a "war on the academic sector". There is indeed a war, but it's not coming from within. First, a backdrop, beginning with the fact that China is on track to exceed US military spending by 2025 [economist.com]:
Chinese Insider Offers Rare Glimpse of U.S.-China Frictions
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/world/asia/chinese-insider-offers-rare-glimpse-of-us-china-frictio... [nytimes.com]
"The senior leadership of the Chinese government increasingly views the competition between the United States and China as a zero-sum game, with China the likely long-range winner if the American economy and domestic political system continue to stumble, according to an influential Chinese policy analyst. China views the United States as a declining power, but at the same time believes that Washington is trying to fight back to undermine, and even disrupt, the economic and military growth that point to China’s becoming the world’s most powerful country."
Asia's balance of power: China’s military rise
http://www.economist.com/node/21552212 [economist.com]
"NO MATTER how often China has emphasised the idea of a peaceful rise, the pace and nature of its military modernisation inevitably cause alarm. As America and the big European powers reduce their defence spending, China looks likely to maintain the past decade’s increases of about 12% a year. Even though its defence budget is less than a quarter the size of America’s today, China’s generals are ambitious. The country is on course to become the world’s largest military spender in just 20 years or so."
China’s military rise: The dragon’s new teeth
http://www.economist.com/node/21552193 [economist.com]
And now on to what's happening every day in US academic and business environments:
How China Steals Our Secrets
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/opinion/how-china-steals-our-secrets.html [nytimes.com]
China's Cyber Thievery Is National Policy—And Must Be Challenged
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052970203718504577178832338032176-lMyQjAxMTAyMDAwOTEwN... [wsj.com]
FBI Traces Trail of Spy Ring to China
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052970203961204577266892884130620-lMyQjAxMTAyMDAwNzEwN... [wsj.com]
NSA: China is Destroying U.S. Economy Via Security Hacks
http://www.dailytech.com/NSA+China+is+Destroying+US+Economy+Via+Security+Hacks/article24328.htm [dailytech.com]
Former cybersecurity czar: Every major U.S. company has been hacked by China
http://www.itworld.com/security/262616/former-cybersecurity-czar-every-major-us-company-has-been-hac... [itworld.com]
China Attacked Internet Security Company RSA, Cyber Commander Tells SASC
http://defense.aol.com/2012/03/27/china-attacked-internet-security-company-rsa-cyber-commander-te/ [aol.com]
Chinese Counterfeit Parts Keep Flowing
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=defense&id=news%2Fasd%2F2012%2F03%2... [aviationweek.com]
China Corporate Espionage Targets U.S. Firms
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-15/china-corporate-espionage-boom-knocks-wind-out-of-u-dot-... [businessweek.com]
U.S. Official on Cyber Attacks: "It's Getting Harder for China's Leaders to Claim Ignorance"
http://www.securityweek.com/uscc-commissioner-cyberattacks-getting-harder-chinas-leaders-claim-ignor... [securityweek.com]
China's Role In JSF's Spiraling Costs
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news%2Fawst%2F2012%2F02%2F06%2FAW_02_06_2012_p30... [aviationweek.com] ...and I could continue. A lot.
But yes, I guess China isn't really a threat, and doesn't view the West as a threat. China is really our "friend", and they don't really espouse ideals dramatically different than those of the West, don't really spam public internet services to suppress what they view as dissent [cfr.org], or ramp up coordinated cyber attacks [securityweek.com], or make their lawyers swear oath to the Communist Party [nytimes.com], or force real name registration on internet services [wired.com], or censor of social networks when deemed necessary [newscientist.com]. (Cue comparisons to things that people think the US has done that are similar, but in reality are utterly nowhere close to anything China has done.)
What is denial called in the face of overwhelming evidence? What is it called when you no longer wish to protect and project your own ideals and interests, believe your own government is working against your interests, and voluntarily capitulate to ideals that are diametrically counter to the ones you purport to uphold? (Cue talk of the "last throes of a dying empire", with people apparently content to believe that if the US didn't exist after, say, World War II, the world wouldn't be a dramatically different place —- and not for the better. You wouldn't have your precious internet for the "free exchange of ideas", either.)
As ugly and imperfect as the US may be, don't you think its principles and ideals and those of its allies are worth protecting?
"Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." - Winston Churchill (1874-1965), Speech in the House of Commons, November 11, 1947
