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In 2006, there were congressional hearings on four Internet providers operating in China: Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and Cisco. At issue was, in complying with Chinese law, what did these companies do to get access to the Chinese market? It looks as if in their rush to take advantage of the new market they became part of the Chinese government’s censorship program that limits the free flow of information on the Internet.
What outstanding event has occurred in 2007? About midyear, BBC News reported that China had launched a rocket and with conventional explosives blew up one of their old weather satellites. The reporter asks, why would the Chinese want to take out an old weather satellite that was going to burn up upon re-entry?
After this initial report, the incident became a nonevent and I didn’t hear any more about it. But as time passed, it seems the event did have purpose. Taking out a satellite could adversely affect every American and render most of our nation’s high-tech weapons obsolete.
Anyone with the capability to take out GPS can take out your street address, disrupt your travel plans, football game, cell phone conversation etc., and you wouldn’t even hear the bang.
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