Google Suggest Disabled In China Due To Porn 106
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "The Chinese government has asked Google to disable Google Suggest because it has been suggesting that people search for pornography based on its analysis of the most popular search terms in China. This comes on the heels of a fake CCTV interview being used to support the government requirement that all new computers ship with the 'Green Dam' Internet censoring program, which is still in force, despite reports to the contrary." The story on the chinaSMACK site demonstrates that Chinese search engine Baidu features a comparable search-suggestion function, which similarly recommends adult-themed sites, but that the government has not attacked Baidu over the issue of porn.
Filtering is the Hijab of the Internet (Score:2, Interesting)
The day that government's and people in general get over their neurotic reactions to pornography is the day when you will see Authoritarianism die and Civilization flourish. Pornography, like it or lump it, is a signpost of Civilization and Freedom.
Re:Protectionism (Score:4, Interesting)
That's generally correct. And we can't do anything about it because China is our largest bank that gives us the biggest credit lines. They are now too big to fail as well. Before they became our Big Bank; they were our biggest allied fighting the Soviets in the 70s and 80s, and so the US had to give in to their demand as well. That's called deals.
For companies like Google, the easiest solution is just to buy up some right officials (via hidden means,) then everything will be fine. China has their weak spot too. In China, you can accomplish anything big by bribing some officials; illegal but doable. In the US, you can accomplish anything big by contributing to the campaign of some politicians, legal and doable.
Re:Protectionism (Score:4, Interesting)
In the process of replacing the USA, china will go thru all the same step.
All you America-bashers out there should listen to this particular A.C. Ask yourself this question: will the world be a better place when America is dead and gone and the Chinese government is running the show?
... if you're not, your successor destroys you or occupies you. Whatever, I'm just annoyed that it's likely to happen in my lifetime. I was kinda hoping that I'd be dead and gone before we go the way of the Dodo bird, but due to the three most basic human emotions exhibited by our government and corporate leaders (e.g., greed, greed, and, well, greed, with a healthy helping of shortsightedness, treason and general stupidity) the process is happening far more quickly than I'd prefer.
I know a lot of you hate us, but be very, very careful what you wish for. Not that it matters: all empires, whether they be military or strictly economic (like ours) eventually disappear. If you're such an empire, if you're lucky you just fade away
Do I blame China for what's happening to us? Nope. I blame us, because we're too goddamned STUPID to protect what our ancestors built for us, to protect our own interestes. We set up a free candy store, and the Chinese (and everyone else who wanted a free kickstart into the 21st century) just came in and took whatever they wanted, and when that wasn't enough, we gave them everything else. Now, most of us don't actually like that very much, but since we've elected an entire generation of fools and sellouts, we're kinda screwed now. Our Native American friends made much the same mistake. Huh, I guess history does repeat itself after all.
Re:Why Is Chinese Censorship News On Slashdot??!! (Score:2, Interesting)
What's one more stupid internet filter in light of all this?
You forgot a really important one.
The customs area at entry points to the US is now declared to be "in no country". Therefore customs officers can inspect, seize and retain for an unlimited time (eighteen months and counting, in at least one case) any object they care to.
You would think that "in no country", your rights as an American citizen would follow you. Not so. Some who are familiar with the New Testament may remember that the apostle Paul was once arrested and bound somewhere in the Roman Empire. He had only to say, "I am a Roman citizen" and his captors could not have made greater haste to release his bonds. It was a staple of Roman law that a Roman citizen could not be bound. Penalties for doing so were severe.
As a result of this US policy, some large corporations will do a clean install on a laptop to protect proprietary or trade secret data. A complete, restorable backup is then transmitted to the foreign destination. Before return, the offsite backup is destroyed and a clean system is reinstalled.
Apropos of government power over information, I'm now listening to a program on PBS about premonitions. One woman canceled a flight to the UN on 9/11 because of a premonition. Canceling such a trip is most strongly discouraged. In response to an idle comment where the interviewer wondered how many people had canceled flights that day, it turns out that any available data that has been collected by the airlines on such cancellations has been seized by the FBI and will not be made available for study or analysis.