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China Bans U.S. Electronic Scrap
ReverseC writes "Think twice before you throw that those computer parts in the garbage. Do you really know where it's going? The Guardian reports China has banned US's electronic junk." We did a previous story about the U.S. dumping electronic scrap in China.
"Think twice before you throw that those computer parts in the garbage. Do you really know where it's going?"
Why yes, yes I do.
If I put it in the trash it goes to a dump.
If I take it to a recycle center it is more likely to be shipped to China.
Actually, China claims 200 miles of airspace surrounding its landmass, and the plane was 60 miles off the coast when the incident took place. Top Speed for an EP-3 is 345 knots, which could have put it over Chinese soil in 9 minutes. These are numbers that would alarm most Americans if the situation were reversed. Of course, many Americans also have a limited world-view, obscured by things like nationalism, so it does make sense that there weren't many Americans speaking against our actions.
But then, this isn't the first time the U.S. has thrown itself in over its head and had to demand that prisoners be released. Remember that little incident in Bosnia? There was a little tiff brewing in Bosnia where U.S. soldiers had been stationed that hardly got media play. If it did, it was always the last or next to last story on the news, coming just after the local story about the kitten being rescued from a tree. While on a training mission, traveling in Hummers, some soldiers accidentally crossed the border by several miles. When they did, they were captured. Suddenly it was the top story, and U.S. officials were practically calling for blood. The sentiment was "How DARE you capture and detain our soldiers who were illegally trespassing on your soil?!" Bosnian officials said that they were pondering trying these doughboys for their crime. Under the threat of harsh U.S. aggression, they were finally released and allowed to return home. The point here is that is was a non-story for Americans until 3 American soldiers were captured. Little did it matter that Bosnian civilians were dying daily from U.S. bombing missions that were hitting civilian marketplaces, and at one point, the Chinese Embassy. Its this kind of blind, stupid patriotism that gets us into trouble with the world community, and makes even our allies hesitate before hopping into military operations with us.
More tolerant than you'd think. While I was in the Navy, I saw more than a few Chinese/Russian ELINT outfitted trawlers out in SoCal. Never heard of China or Russia running airborne ELINT ops off our coast, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least.