16 October, 2007

Rep. Chris Smith's (R-N.J.) Yahoo/China Statement Echoes AT&T/U.S. Relationship

I just read this and thought the (unintended?) parallel would be hilarious, if it wasn't so indicative of hypocrisy. From The Hill article, "House panel targets Yahoo," author writes:

“Last year, in sworn testimony before my subcommittee, a Yahoo! official testified that the company knew nothing ‘about the nature of the investigation’ into Shi Tao, a pro-democracy activist who is now serving 10 years on trumped-up charges,” Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) said.

“We have now learned there is much more to the story than Yahoo let on, and a Chinese government document that Yahoo had in their possession at the time of the hearing left little doubt of the government’s intentions," Smith said. "U.S. companies must hold the line and not work hand in glove with the secret police.”

Ahem...*cough*atandt*cough*... excuse me. Anyway, this coming from a guy who voted for warrantless wiretapping. Go figure. And according to his record, he actually seems more interested in the U.S. removing "the line" for companies altogether. Granted, he seems nicey-nice about this imprisoned activist, but I think Smith - as well as many a supposed Christian Republican - suffers from not heeding this classic Biblical quote when it comes to other countries: "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye" (Matthew 7:3).

Hey, New Jersey's 4th! What gives with this guy?!

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