China

[Barbara]

More on the computer hacking from within China from The Hal Lindsey Report:

"An insidious computer virus recently discovered on digital photo frames has been identified as a powerful new 'Trojan Horse' virus from China. Computer Associates, Co., a prominent computer security vendor, analyzed this latest virus. It recognizes and blocks ani-virus protection from more than 100 security vendors, as well as the security and firewall built into Microsoft Windows.

Brian Grayek is head of product development at Computer Associates. He described the virus this way: "It downloads files from remote locations and hides files; which it names randomly, on any PC it infects, making itself very difficult to remove. It sperads by hiding itself on photo frames and any other portable storage device that happens to be plugged into an infected PC. It is a nasty worm that has a great deal of intelligence."

The creators of this virus are too sophisticated to simply be hackers in an internet coffeehouse. Grayek went on to warn that the authors of this new 'Trojan Horse' must be "...a well funded group of professionals whose malware has specific designs to capture something and not leave traces...this would be 'the nuclear bomb' of malware."

This new cyberthreat has also been detected in Singapore and the Russian federation. Pravex, a security vendor headquartered in England, says this virus has at least 67,500 variants.

The director of National Intelligence, Michael McConnell, testified before Congress last week. He said that the Cyber threat to America is evolving. It has grown from passive intelligence colleciton, to agressive cyber strikes aimed at crippling our computer networks and infrastructure. McConnell told the House Intelligence Committee, "Threats to our information tecnology infrastructure are an important focus for this communityl. We assess, as we have assessed for a long time, nations such as Russia and China to have had the technical capability to target US information infrastructure for intelligence collection, and what I want to emphasize here is - intelligence collection."

Last year Chinese military hackers penetrated an unclassified network close to Defense Secretary Robert Yates. China's information warfare capabilities are the function of the Peoples Liberation Army, 4th Dept. Many of the Chinese hackers are actually acting on direct orders from Bejing. McConnell noted that the threat is not merely that somebody might steal our secrets, he told Congress, "Some countries and potentially terrorist groups could target our information infrastructure sysems not for passive intelligence collection, but for degradation and destruction."

Last year a cyber attack against Estonia was traced back to Russian gov't. servers. The NY Times called it 'the first war in cyberspace.' The attack shut down Estonia's government websites and crippled the country's digital infrastructure. Estonia's biggest bank posted losses in the millions of dollars as a consequece of the attack. The Russian Gov't. denied any involvement. But the lesson was clear.

If you don't own a computer then you probably aren't all that concerned about cyber warfare. And even if you do chances are you still aren't too worried. Even if somebody hacks into your computer it isn't likely you've got the plans for a nuclear bomb sitting on your desktop. The enemy hacking into our government's computers to get secrets is certainly a scary prospect. But most people don't feel it affects them individually. But the attack on Estonia proves otherwise. It was aimed at shutting down the entire digital infrastructure of the country. And when it impacted Estonia's largest bank it affected everyone who dealt with that bank. If my use of the phrase 'infrastructure' makes the problem sound too obscure and non-threatening, consider this - America's digital infrastructure has become as real as it's bricks and mortars infrastructure, and vastly more important.

An attack on the nation's Air Traffic Control System would endanger every commercial aircraft in the air, and cause many to crash. And this, without a hostile shot fired. An attack on a major city's traffic control system would strand hundreds of thousands of motorists and clog the national transportation system. A cyber attack on a city like say, Los Angeles, would cut it off as effectively as a siege. It would virtually shut off the delivery of food, water and fuel. It would snarl traffic so badly that few people could escape the city.

America's communication system is almost entirely digital. Hacking into the satellite network would blind our defensive systems, shut down television and cellular phones, and most radio. It would render our GPS guided weapons arsenal useless, including our ICBM's and anti-ballistic missiles. It would blind us to incoming ICBM's. The national power grid, on which everyone depends, and which is almost completely managed by computers, is equally vulnerable.

Imagine the elderly in high-rise buildings trapped in their apartments without working elevators or air conditioning or heating. Hospitals would be forced to depend on minimal electricity provided by emergency generators.

America's economy is almost entirely based on the digital transfer storage of information. Apart from the cash in your wallet or purse the rest of your money is on a computer hard drive somewhere. Metropolitan fresh water supplies and sanitation treatment are controlled by computers.

In their 2007 report, Symantec, a computer security company says, at least 20 countries have been developing ways to use the internet as a weapon, mostly targeting the US. A similar report from the anti-virus company, McAfee, says that China is at the forefront of cyber warfare. China has been accused of cyber attacks on India, Germany, and in the US. From at least 2003 to 2005 a series of coordinated cyber attacks hit the US military, government and contractor websites with reckless abandon.

Perhaps one of the most important milestones in the growing trend toward cyber war was the 1999 publication in China of 'Unrestricted Warfare', a book authored by 2 Colonels in the Chinese Liberation Army. In it, they argue that access to the internet has removed traditional boundaries, and expanded the arena beyond traditional war techniques and strategies. They wrote, "This kind of war means that all means will be in readiness, that information will be imnipresent, and the battlefield will be everywhere...It also means that many of the current principles of combat will be modified, and even that the rules of war may need to be rewritten. "

Do you suppose China's advances in cyber warfare have been helped by the American super computers Bill Clinton allowed China to purchase during his administration? Unfortunately, he sold super computers to Russia, too. Thanks Bill."

[HisDaughter]

Do you suppose China's advances in cyber warfare have been helped by the American super computers Bill Clinton allowed China to purchase during his administration? Unfortunately, he sold super computers to Russia, too. Thanks Bill."

As a nation we have pretty much sold our soul in more ways than one.

[Soldier4Christ]

Toxic trade: 67% of 2007 recalls were China imports

While China continues to promise to impose higher safety standards on exports, a WND study shows two of every three products recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission last year were Chinese imports – with an upward trend of defective, unsafe products found in every quarter of 2007.

The CPSC recalled a total of 447 products for safety concerns last year. Of those, 298 were manufactured in China. Only 62 were made in the USA. The rest were made in other countries.

In 2006, the CPSC recalled a total of 467 kinds of products – 221 of which were Chinese imports. Only 113 were for products made in the USA.

As recently as 2002, the figures were virtually reversed – with 150 U.S. made products being recalled and just 99 from China.

The trend illustrates not only vastly different standards in safety between the two countries, but also a massive shift in manufacturing from the U.S. to China. The Chinese products recalled in 2007 include:

    * Portable baby swings that entrap youngsters, resulting in 60 reports of cuts, bruises and abrasions;
    * Swimming pool ladders that break, resulting in 127 reports of injuries, including leg lacerations requiring up to 21 stitches, five reports of bone fractures, two back injuries, two reports of torn ligaments and eight sprained ankles;
    * Faulty baby carriers that result in babies falling out and getting bruised, getting skulls cracked and hospitalizations;
    * Easy-Bake Ovens that trap children's fingers in openings, resulting in burns;
    * Oscillating tower fans whose faulty wiring results in fires, burns and smoke inhalation injuries;
    * Exploding air pumps that have resulted in 13 lacerations including six facial injuries and one to the eye;
    * Bargain-priced oil-filled electric heaters, selling for less than $50, that burn down homes;
    * Notebook computer batteries that burn up computers, cause other property damage and burn users;
    * Circular saws with faulty blade guards that result in cutting users, not wood.

Last year Chinese imports were hit for poisoning America's pets, risking America's human food supply and reintroducing lead poisoning to America's children.

Electrical products made in China represent a significant percentage of the recalls. The CPSC noted the market is saturated with counterfeit circuit breaker, power strips, extension cords, batteries and holiday lights that are causing fires, explosions, shocks and electrocutions.

"Many counterfeit products are made in China and CPSC is actively working with the Chinese government to reduce the number of unsafe products that are exported to the United States," said the alert issued in May.

The agency suggests that if the price of such an item seems to be too good to be true, it could be because the product is an inferior or unsafe counterfeit.

You might think an attractive, normal-looking table lamp would be safe. But 1,500 manufactured in China had to be recalled because of faulty light sockets that posed the risk of electrical shocks and fire hazards.

Or how about emergency lights that look just like other emergency lights but whose circuit board malfunctions, preventing illumination during emergencies? The CPSC recalled thousands of those in 2007.

And be careful which heated massaging recliners you relax in. If you choose one of the 1,700 manufactured in China and recalled by the commission last year, you might have found yourself medium rare because of an overheating and burn hazard discovered.

Even the simplest, most inexpensive items from China seem to pose massive risks. About 2,700 $12 pine cone candles had to be recalled when it was determined the exterior coating, not just the wick, caught fire.

The problem is Americans see a cheap electrical power strip with a circuit breaker and assume it does what it is supposed to do. That is not the case with many Chinese counterfeits. They are not only counterfeits in the sense of improperly using brand names, they are actually counterfeits in the sense of pretending to do something they were never intended to do.

But big problems occur when an over-taxed power strip doesn't trip a circuit. Fires can occur. Property can be damaged. People can be killed.

Likewise, when Americans buy attractive-looking glassware at a bargain price, they might ask themselves: "How can I go wrong?"

Pier 1 Imports found out when 180,000 pieces of glassware were ordered recalled by the CPSC because the items broke for no apparent reason, sometimes cutting the hands of those holding them.

How could one go wrong purchasing an attractive kitchen stool engraved with a rooster on the seat? After all, it was only $30. Well, several people found out when the stools collapsed, even under the weight of small children.

You might want to think twice before entrusting your child to something as simple as a crib made in China. For years, American manufacturers scrupulously lived up to the exacting safety standards imposed by agencies like the CPSC. Not so with Chinese manufacturers.

Some 40,000 cribs had to be recalled when it was discovered directions instructed consumers to assemble them in ways that would result in the baby falling out and becoming entrapped. Additionally, locking pins on the side of the crib could pop off and cause a choking hazard.

About 450,000 infant car seat carriers manufactured in China had to be recalled when it was determined infants were falling out because of a faulty design. The Evenflo Co., which imported the carriers from China, received 679 reports of the handle on the car seat releasing for no reason, resulting in 160 injuries to children, including a skull fracture, two concussions and cuts and bruises.

American manufacturers also adapted years ago to requirements that products designed for young children avoid small parts that could result in choking accidents. But, again, based on a survey of recalls in the first six months of 2007, this seems to be a foreign concept among Chinese companies.

Even books for young children have been found to contain plastic squeaker toys that have become lodged in babies' throats and metal clips that break off, potentially injuring kids.

Graco received 137 reports of infants mouthing, chewing and sometimes choking on tiny pieces of its soft blocks tower toys imported from China. At least 32 infants were found gagging on the pieces and 49 choked on the plastic covering. In all, 40,000 had to be recalled.

It's not just the CPSC turning away Chinese imports. The Food and Drug Administration was busy in 2007 as well. A slew of Chinese exports were banned or turned away by U.S. inspectors, including wheat gluten tainted with the chemical melamine that has been blamed for dog and cat deaths in North America, monkfish that turned out to be toxic pufferfish, drug-laced frozen eel and juice made with unsafe color additives.

As WND reported last year, China, the leading exporter of seafood to the U.S., is raising most of its fish products in water contaminated with raw sewage and compensating by using dangerous drugs and chemicals, many of which are banned by the FDA.

The stunning news followed WND's report that FDA inspectors report tainted food imports from China are being rejected with increasing frequency because they are filthy, are contaminated with pesticides and tainted with carcinogens, bacteria and banned drugs.

China consistently has topped the list of countries whose products were refused by the FDA – and that list includes many countries, including Mexico and Canada, who export far more food products to the U.S. than China.

While less than half of Asia has access to sewage treatment plants, aquaculture – the raising of seafood products – has become big business on the continent, especially in China.

In China, No. 1 in aquaculture in the world, 3.7 billion tons of sewage is discharged into rivers, lakes and coastal water – some of which are used by the industry. Only 45 percent of China has any sewage-treatment facilities, putting the country behind the rest of Asia.

The Chinese government has actually blamed WND's reports for fanning the flames of hysteria about the safety of Chinese products.