Google To End Google.cn Redirect 183
shmG writes "Google Inc. has announced a 'new approach' in China after the government said the company could no longer automatically redirect users to the unfiltered Hong Kong site. This gives Baidu Inc., which already has a greater than 60% share in Internet search in China, a chance to expand. It has announced new plans to hire US engineers to enhance its technical skills and propel its growth globally."
Update: 06/29 18:27 GMT by S : Changed the headline to more accurately reflect what Google is doing. They're ending the redirect and applying for a license renewal, so it's still in question whether they'll actually go dark in China. However, they say they're also looking for ways to continue allowing uncensored search, such as putting a high-profile link to their Hong Kong site on the google.cn landing page.
Official Notice and Explanation (Score:5, Informative)
We have therefore been looking at possible alternatives, and instead of automatically redirecting all our users, we have started taking a small percentage of them to a landing page on Google.cn [google.cn] that links to Google.com.hk [google.com.hk]—where users can conduct web search or continue to use Google.cn services like music and text translate, which we can provide locally without filtering. This approach ensures we stay true to our commitment not to censor our results on Google.cn and gives users access to all of our services from one page.
Over the next few days we’ll end the redirect entirely, taking all our Chinese users to our new landing page—and today we re-submitted our ICP license renewal application based on this approach.
It's kind of funny, the "landing page" is a false image of a search box [google.cn] and when you click anywhere on the page, you go to Google Hong Kong [google.com.hk]. How this is okay as opposed to a redirect, I'll never know ... and once that page starts eventually taking users to unfiltered results of Tiananmen Square, I think the Chinese Government will take a few more steps to stop it.
Of course it looks like ibtimes has a policy that only allows them to link to more ibtimes sites instead of -- you know -- the original source of all their quotes.
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Ah, the "our enemies are morons" strategy. I wouldn't bet on its success.
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:4, Insightful)
Rather than lose China, I'd comply with the government's wishes and obey the law (i.e. filter). Nice guys who "do no evil" ultimately finish last.
On the other hand, they have my vocal support. I'm glad I went with an Android based phone. I'm glad I've developed only on Android and not iPhone. I never used Bing. I never used Bing Cashback even though my friends told me it was giving them money back. And I'm glad I've used Google. Given two competing products of the same functionality in the future I'd go with Google's. At the same time I am aware they are flawed, have privacy issues and will play ball with the American government by folding faster than superman on laundry day.
I'm not a blind stark raving idiot fanboy but upon hearing of Google's commitment to move to unfiltered search results, they have achieved something in my mind and brought themselves to a level of idealism that I identify with.
Does it hurt their pocketbook? You bet. But to say it does nothing else is disingenuous. You may not consider my admiration monetarily worth anything but it is something.
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Yeah that's great, but if they continue following this path of disobeying Chinese law, then by 2020 Baidu will be the world's #1 company with 1.5 billion users while Google is just a has-been (like Atari or Amiga today). Baidu might even gain enough power to come to the US and dominate our market too.
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:4, Insightful)
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What's more valuable? 1.5 billion consumers with a very limited purchasing power or developed countries where eyeballs are actually worth paying for?
I think Google should not submit to Chinese bullying at all. It's not a market worth chasing given the effort and bad karma required to be a participant.
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What's more valuable? 1.5 billion consumers with a very limited purchasing power or developed countries where eyeballs are actually worth paying for?
Not all of China is poor and undeveloped.
1/3 of 1.5 billion is 500 million. Roughly the same as the population of North America.
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Isn't China one of the fastest growing markets? Aren't people getting more and more money to spend? Positioning yourself in China now is vitally important if you want to be part of one of the most important and profitable markets in the future.
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:4, Informative)
Considering the average foxcon worker makes $200 a month, or $2400 a year, and the average US high school drop out makes $20,000 a year. So you need roughly 8 chinese users to equal one high school dropout in terms of buying power. So yes, china has the most number of internet users, however, they are quite literally worthless.
Apparently, this guy has never visited another country other than America.
That 2400 dollars a year won't work in America, because all of the exorbitant prices we have because we have people making 20,000 a year.
I was in Thailand in May of 2010. I just got back from Taiwan, three days ago. A double quarter pounder meal in America, specifically California will run you about 10 USD easy (oh and taxes). Do you know how much that exact same meal, at Mc Donalds in Thailand cost? The exchange rate is about 32 to 1, so a Thai national would come to America and 320 baht price tag and think "my god"; you see, in Thailand, that meal (including imported American beef patties) costs maybe 20 baht... less than an American dollar. Oh, did I mention, that's expensive for eating at a restaurant in Thailand too? Food and services is very cheap there, as they are in Taiwan too. Taiwan has a similar exchange rate, Thai Baht is almost 1 to 1.
Housing? Cost of living? Not so much in Taiwan, but food costs seem regulated to keep them down and affordable in Thailand. So those people only making 2000 baht a year, are still eating far better than upper middle class American families, yes upper middle class. Thai nationals literally can have lobster tail and top sirloin steak every meal every day. How many Americans do you know can afford to eat a 30 dollar Lobster meal every day for every meal?
Clothes, Thailand and Taiwan both have extensive textile industries... something America used to have but no longer. Clothes are very cheap in these areas, knock-offs or the real thing. The only time things get expensive are in high-class malls (which do not exist in America at all, the Paragon Mall in Thailand has a Lamborghini, Maserati, BMW, Porsche, Lotus and Bentley car dealerships INSIDE the mall... complete with multiple show cars, on the fourth level... you never seen anything that up scale in America) for their own and global wealthy elite. The Taipei 101 mall in Taiwan is absolutely ridiculous that can rival any stupid little American show on high-rollers in Las Vegas; these malls have watch stores that make Cartier look like a cheap Timex watch on the shelf at Wal-Mart.
So we aren't that high class. We aren't making that much money. Our numbers are very big... but it's akin to a Thai national to brag to you about how much money he drops at the club with his exchange rate being 31 to one... and calling you skimpy. Not fair is it. Nor is it fair for you to use raw numbers to think we have more purchasing power than the chinese who only make 2400 a year. Because, they have PS3s just like you. They have flat screen HDTVs just like you. They have cars, one or two per house hold just like you. Their girls sport Louis Vuitton items, just like the American girl who saves up three or four paychecks to get one herself. They go to clubs, parks and museums, rock concerts and other outings just like you.
If you think the average Chinese population doesn't have purchasing power... you obviously have not been there and looked around. They have night markets galore. They have their own multi-billion dollar companies that you never heard of. They have more expansion and construction building cities up than you have ever witnessed in America at any point in it's history.
Do they have poverty? Oh hell yes. So does America. But, then again. In America poverty equals high-crime and ignoble activities... in China, it's mostly just poverty (you don't stand the chance you do in getting mugged, raped or killed there as you do in American ghettos). Most Americans avoid poor areas of their cities... like the plague. So they get online and talk about how poo
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Because, they have PS3s just like you. They have flat screen HDTVs just like you. They have cars, one or two per house hold just like you. Their girls sport Louis Vuitton items, just like the American girl who saves up three or four paychecks to get one herself. They go to clubs, parks and museums, rock concerts and other outings just like you.
No, they really fucking don't. How did this get modded up? The Chinese market isn't just useless because of the vast poverty of the overwhelming majority of its citizens, you can't even sell to them, without partnering up with the party *cough* a local business, and one of the rules of entering the Chinese market is that you have to hand over whatever technological I
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Baidu might even gain enough power to come to the US and dominate our market too.
Only way this could ever possibly happen is if every other search engine available in the US decided to start charging for access.
There is a huge difference between buying cheap, shoddily made Chinese manufactured physical objects & trusting a free Chinese search engine.
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:4, Insightful)
Baidu might even gain enough power to come to the US and dominate our market too.
Yup. I can't wait to use products from a company who's in the back pocket of the Chinese government.
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And this is exactly why Google can't win.
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Yea, I know i want to use a search engine which up front tells me it will censor for the powers that be. And that it gives results biased and censored to be pro-communist chinese government position.
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I'm Canadian and I'm usually up for bashing the Americans, but I don't see this as the eventual outcome. The Internet and high technology are US-centric to the point that Russians write source code using Englis
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I think it is a better than even bet that censorship will end (at least in its current form) in China. Once the citizens become aware of how much the truth is being obscured from them they will demand it and the government will have no way to justify it. Based on this, I think it may eventually be good business decision for Google to refuse to censor. In 15 years when the information revolution happens in China Baidu may be shunned as a willing arm of government censorship while Google will be seen as t
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heya,
Probably not going to happen.
I'm Chinese (but not from the mainland), but I deal a lot with mainlanders - friends, uni, colleagues etc, my father's businesses etc.
The thing is, they've bought into the kool-aid over there. A lot of them *know* it's censored, but they don't want to rock the boat. And culturally, they're heavily money-centric. So since things are going well, in terms of growing monetary power, they don't really care that they're being censored, or oppressed or whatever (unless of course y
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At the same time I am aware they [...] will play ball with the American government by folding faster than superman on laundry day.
Based on their past behavior [pbs.org] I'd say you are wrong.
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Every man has his price. I'd gladly go tell Baidu everything I know. My price for that would be... hmmm... $150K up front and $200K annually, after taxes. If I don't have to actually live in a communist country while helping out, then it's half that amount. Call me, Baidu!
Thanks But No Thanks (Score:2)
Maybe you should try developing for the iPhone.
Hey, I'd love to. Could you send me an computer that I can install the development package on? And an iPhone to test? And waive the $100/year App Store fee?
Maybe you should try searching on Bing.
I toyed around with it when it first launched, never used it really though. Wasn't satisfied with it evidently I wasn't alone [wordpress.com].
But most of all, maybe you should stop patting yourself on the back for being so closed minded and get outside for a little while
I am so utterly confused. To date, I do not believe I have purchased a product from Google. I have a Motorola DROID phone with their OS on it, I have used their search engine, I probably have given them ad revenue but I cann
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Insignificant business expenses. Surely your app ideas are good enough to recoup the costs and then some?
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:4, Insightful)
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It can even be considered protection of goodwill.
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I think Google is putting their long-term ability to make money under the vision that their founders (who also, IIRC, retain disproportionate voting rights) established ahead of short-term returns.
I think ethics may play a part, here, but I don't think its as simple as ethics vs. profits. I think that ethics shaped their basic business model, which shape their long-term approach to profits, which gui
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You can still get married and have kids while being a nice guy. In fact it greatly helps!
Love does not involve hitting a woman over the head with a club and dragging her back to your cave, you know. :)
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Love does not involve hitting a woman over the head with a club and dragging her back to your cave, you know. :)
NOW you tell me!!!!
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Is that what I've been doing wrong all these years? I better start working on that before the woman gets wise and runs off.
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In response: Here lies commadore64_love. He was a mighty jerk who hailed from a long line of jerks. He spawned 27 little jerks to carry on his legacy. His only contributions to the world were his strong opinions and strong ambition
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It's a tendency that gets bred out of the population, by and large.
Which incidentally is the reason why trying to control human population is rather hopeless in the long term... Our only hope is to develop technology faster than human population grows, because if we don't, we'll hit the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. Even with interstellar travel, expansion probably is ultimately limited by lightspeed in 3 dimensions, which leads to polynomial growth of living volume, while population growth is exponential.
IOW, we're screwed. Wether we deal with the problem intentiona
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It's amusing you still believe "nice guys finish last" while you're fine with being evil but have to resort to begging for other people's used, cast-off hardware. The lesson seems to be lost on you, but in a nutshell it's a myth that evil tri
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It's not superstition. It may be false, but it's not simple superstition. To be "good" means (among other things) that you have obligations beyond your own advancement; these obligations can (obviously) interfere with your own advancement. It can be as complex as the whole China thing, or as simple as sabotaging a co-worker (and thus competitor on the corporate ladder). To be evi
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The problem is that being selfish and doing everything you believe necessary for your own advancement can backfire. One can easily end up been isolated and left in the cold. In my experience, those who have taken their time to help others, establish trust and rally people around their own interests do better in the long run. You have to give a little to get a little. Selfishness is a huge turnoff.
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Being evil can include long-term thinking of that sort as well. The good person establishes trust because he's
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No, it's more like not burning bridges before you've crossed them.
This is the reason you only Defect in the last round of a Prisoner's Dilemma competition.
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It *can* be superstition. It all depends on why you believe as you do.
OTOH, game theory can show that in some circumstances being good is a benefit, where as in others it's a detriment. But figuring out whether to be good or evil in a circumstance is a sure path to failure unless either time is no consideration, or you've pre-calculated the environment.
Generally in a social setting people who do good, do well. In many zero-sum situations, however, this isn't true.
Now as to superstition: Superstition see
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ah, man, I hate getting modded down when a moderator doesn't get the reference [imdb.com]. I thought that would be a pretty universal reference. That'll teach me to put the link alongside the joke.
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Nice guys who capitulate to evil still finish last, and feel bad about themselves besides. If you want to win by being evil, you have to embrace it, not merely capitulate to it.
Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:4, Insightful)
It's not a matter of being nice. It's a matter of having a spine and not selling your principles the second it becomes convenient to do so. And actually bragging that you would... well. I guess you just set the new record for being pathetic. Congratulations.
I could also comment on how your eagerness to cooperate with the Chinese dictatorship combines with your frequent implications of libertarian leanings to create the picture of a truly pitiful individual, one completely devoid of any values besides personal gain and completely undeserving of any freedom yourself since you're willing to help remove it from others for money, but frankly, why bother? You're not going to care, and anyone else has sufficient knowledge to ignore you and your worthless opinions from now on.
Crawl back to under the rock you came from, worm.
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Re:Official Notice and Explanation (Score:4, Insightful)
Nice guys who "do no evil" ultimately finish last.
No, actually, they don't. In short: cooperation is beneficial, and it's easier to find cooperative partners if you have a reputation of being "nice". If we're talking about a one-round zero-sum game, then nice guys finish last. Most practical "games" don't fall into that category.
Yippee can't wait (Score:4, Funny)
I can't wait!
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No need to wait!
Baidu, bringing Chinese internet censorship to you since 2000
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Oh boy! Another crappy search engine, this time with incomplete results on purpose! Whoopee!!
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Oh boy! Another crappy search engine, this time with incomplete results on purpose! Whoopee!!
I hope you're aware that Google filters search results.
Last week on google.co.uk I got the message saying a result had been removed from view, with a link to Chilling Effects. It was also missing on the .de site, with a similar message. It was missing on the .com site, but there was no message (exactly the same results as the .co.uk site), which surprised me. It was visible on the .se site (one extra result compared to the other sites), although it was a link to a forum which wasn't working.
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I for one welcome our new Chinese overl...
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You meant to say:
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Yawn...Fox News has been doing it for years for the good ol' USofA...
China is the model the west wants to emulate (Score:2, Informative)
Fuckface Leiberman and his internet kill switch. Government control of citizen access to information. You can bet your bottom yuan that when China starts producing serious IP they'll crack down on p2p. Their weak enforcement of copyright is simply Chinese mercantilism. Why send money overseas to pay for stuff that can be copied for free? Preserve capital at home. Joe Biden would love to have a Great Firewall of America.
Very disgusted with both sides of the issue. If we're not getting screwed by military-ind
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- You could vote for Libertarian-republicans (like Ron Paul) who would end all wars, bring all soldiers home, and end the military-government hegemony.
- You could also join the "Free State" project to take-over New Hampshire, kickout the R's and D's, and turn into a Libertarian stronghold.
- Or you could just keep doing nothing.
Your choice. :-)
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- You could vote for Libertarian-republicans (like Ron Paul) who would end all wars, bring all soldiers home, and end the military-government hegemony.
- You could also join the "Free State" project to take-over New Hampshire, kickout the R's and D's, and turn into a Libertarian stronghold.
- Or you could just keep doing nothing.
Your choice. :-)
Change the last one to "just keep doing nothing.except bitch about it" and you will have 99% of the population happy.
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Sorry dude...I agree with many of Ron Paul's ideas, but just like any other politician, he promotes and cares only about his own agenda, other people's opinions be damned.
He listens to other people, he respectfully responds, I'm not denying that...but in the end, if you don't agree with him, there is absolutely no way he would ever change his way. Someone that rigid shouldn't be in charge.
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>>>Ron Paul promotes and cares only about his own agenda, other people's opinions be damned.
And that makes him different from the rest of us, in what way? We ALL do that - following our own agenda/beliefs. Besides I happen to agree with his agenda (downsize government, pay off the debt, restore freedom in a Pro-Choice fashion, end all wars), so I'm just fine to continue supporting him and others like him. PLUS he keeps getting reelected so apparently his home town likes him too. They are satis
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All I'm saying is that someone who's views are so set that he would never possibly change them shouldn't be in charge.
Yes, I'm aware that this is what most politicians do...which is why I rarely vote:-)
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So true. He is a perfect embodiment of an ideologue.
Re:China is the model the west wants to emulate (Score:5, Insightful)
The Free State Project is basically an example of a few hardcore extremists being cheered on by a bunch of the same people you decry: they sit around and complain but when push comes to shove, they do nothing. That project has been around for many years, and so far the vast majority of people who claim to support it aren't moving and have no real concrete plans to move. Even if they somehow got enough people to move they'd quickly realize what has become apparent in some of the tea party organizations: beyond a general anger at the government, the people in the movement agree on very little. They have no unified plan as to how to fix any of our problems other than "kick everyone out and stop taxing me", which is not really a useful plan.
The people on the extreme right today have the same problem as the extreme left of the 1960s: they're great at protesting and getting attention, but they have no real practical solutions to any of the problems we face. They're heavy on idealism and ideology but very light on pragmatism and reason. They don't represent a feasible alternative to what we have now, which is why they have so much trouble gaining traction beyond their far-right base, and why we're still stuck with the same old government we've always had.
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Goodness, it would be awesome if all the Libertarians would move to New Hampshire and squawk to themselves so the rest of us don't have to hear about it anymore. Don't get me wrong, I love New Hampshire, I went to college there and it's a beautiful place. But if we can find a corner of the country to keep all the kooks, that would be swell. Even better, it would be a wonderful teachable example of how that kind of immoderate ideology leads to ruin, but it would be sad to watch a great state go on for probab
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"Rather than lose China, I'd comply with the government's wishes and obey the law (i.e. filter). Nice guys who "do no evil" ultimately finish last. [slashdot.org]"
Sorry, but I don't trust your advice, and don't think that anyone should.
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There are no serious Libertarian candidates. That's the nature of Libertarianism. No serious, thoughtful person takes that ideology seriously. It makes perfect sense as explained, it just doesn't happen to jive with the reality of human behavior, so it is forever assigned to the minds of people who choose to believe simple platitudes instead of paying attention to the vagaries and difficult-to-explain nuances of human nature.
And Ron Paul is a great example of that.
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Libertarianism is extremely useful as a fringe party. They serve as a reminder to the Republicans that there are actually real people who actually favor small government, and as a reminder to Democrats that there really are genuine conservatives out there. As a serious contender for President? No way. No Libertarian would be able to swing enough "main stream" vote.
It makes perfect sense as explained, it just doesn't happen to jive with the reality of human behavior
I have to agree 100%. Its an interesting and attractive ideal (to some), but not realistic in the real world. It serves a purpose thou
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Heh, whenever I type something like that it's a crapshoot whether I'll get modded insightful or troll. It's a bit of each, I suppose. Today I win! Tomorrow I'll lose.
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Okay, who modded this troll up?
.
"There are no serious Libertarian candidates"
Not true. Any sane definition of "serious candidate" would include the successful candidate(s). Ron Paul is a multi-term Congressman. I understand that Libertarian candidates have won numerous lesser offices.
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"No serious, thoughtful person takes that ideology seriously"
Now you are just being insulting. Replace that ideology with ANY ideology and it still is insulting. Libertarianism, Christianity, Flat Earth. Serious, thoughtful pe
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No, that's the nature of third parties in the US electoral system. There are plenty of people (leaving out the "No true Scotsman" problem in your statement) who take libertarian ideology seriously, but most of them that want to have the effect of advancing the ideology they believe in end up, at least in terms of voting behavior, as nose-holding Democrats or nose-hold
Re:China is the model the west wants to emulate (Score:5, Informative)
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I'm left. I'm from the US. I know exactly what I am.
Re:China is the model the west wants to emulate (Score:4, Insightful)
Socialism will meet the needs of the great majority of our people and lay the basis for solving our social, economic and environmental problems.
Now tell me, do you personally as an American trust government to meet the great majority of your needs? I could be wrong, but I don't think many people would say yes.
The whole dichotomy between left and right is so flawed that it is more a tool used to divide us than anything meaningful. For example, I favor government that works: I don't care if healthcare becomes state-run or remains independent as long as the more serious problems are fixed. I don't care if gays get married or do anything else they want, as long as it's not hurting other people. I do favor freedom to use guns, and all other basic freedoms. I do think we should help people who need help, whether with a welfare program or some weird faith-based initiative like Bush was pushing, I don't care, as long as it works.
A lot of people don't fit into the left-right mold, and breaking into teams only serves to help those who want us to be fighting (ie. politicians who are always looking for a reason why you should vote against the other guy). Don't give in to their manipulation, instead favor government that works.
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Socialism will meet the needs of the great majority of our people and lay the basis for solving our social, economic and environmental problems.
Now tell me, do you personally as an American trust government to meet the great majority of your needs? I could be wrong, but I don't think many people would say yes.
Well, first of all, there is a distinction to be made between wants and needs. Beyond that, though, those that deny that government can meet the great majority of the needs of its citizens apparently are blind to the myriad ways in which government already meets those needs, most of which are taken for granted. I'm referring to national defense, clean air/water/food, a functioning economic system (including currency, trade, insurance, banking, enforcement of private contracts, etc.), a functioning transport
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the myriad ways in which government already meets those needs, most of which are taken for granted
These aren't taken for granted by most people. That's a strawman that is typically set up by people who are trying to make the exact point you are trying to make.
I don't think we have a consensus that using guns, in particular, is a "basic" freedom.
Of course not, my statement was a partisan view. Republicans tend to want to keep guns as a basic freedom, Democrats want to relegate it to a second class freedom. Fortunately for the Republicans (and in this case, also for me), the constitution takes the view that it is a basic freedom which makes it difficult to limit them.
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Cut out the swearing, put it on headed paper, and send it to your elected representative. Otherwise, you're just another armchair revolutionary.
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Is it better to complain to your fellow man, who might listen, or to complain to your representative, who certainly will not?
I can see it both ways.
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Yes, that is what I meant; thank you for helping me be more clear.
Slashdot running CPC propaganda? (Score:4, Insightful)
That's what this reads like, pro-China PR. Bad round-eye company kicked out, good Chinese company on to world domination!
The only thing missing is the agitprop poster of the worker leading the masses to victory.
Uh, going dark? (Score:2, Insightful)
How on earth is this considered "going dark"? Google will no longer automatically redirect to .hk, but they're doing that specifically so they stay up in China. What's happening is the opposite of going dark.
Hire US folks? (Score:2)
Honest question:
Does it really make sense to try and hire US software folks? Is local talent that bad that Baidu looks for US folks or folks outside the US?
The US has good software folks, but is it really that much better than places like Brazil, etc., where Baidu could probably get a bigger bang for their buck if global growth is a priority?
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Imagine Baidu building a search engine for various regions where censorship is desired. They'd certainly corner the market on oppressing information (if that's profitable I don't know).
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> They'd certainly corner the market on oppressing information (if that's
> profitable I don't know).
Profitable for the Chinese government? Of course. They'd gain influence over governments that made Baidu the sole permitted search engine in their territories while flooding such nations with pro-Chinese propaganda.
So can i search for Tienanmen square on baidu? (Score:2)
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If they really wanted to torque off China (Score:4, Insightful)
To really rub China the wrong way Google should move all "Chinese" operations to Taiwan with a statement that google.cn will still be available in the one bastion of free Chinese, Taiwan.
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Tha
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Not true. The Chinese who took over Taiwan after World War II and the Chinese who remained in China all agree that Taiwan is part of China, but the Taiwanese people who were in Taiwan prior to 1945 are not so sure. After 70 years of Chinese propaganda and forced Sinicization, they are split between those who say Taiwan is part of China those who say Taiwan and China are separate countries.
The typical news report in th
Run Tiananmen Massacre search on Baidu.com (Score:2)
Fine. Everyone go to http://www.baidu.com [baidu.com] and search things like:
tiananmen square massacre pictures
Re:Absolutely IMPORTANT! (Score:4, Insightful)
Might it be a tad dangerous for any one group to control something so vastly powerful and important as the media, something that all by itself can start wars, end wars, sway elections, and tell people what they should fear?
Might it be a tad dangerous that the media can influence people that severely? Who do you blame...the media for its influence, or the people that allow themselves to be influenced by it?
Re:Absolutely IMPORTANT! (Score:5, Insightful)
If the media were not influential it would be replaced by media that was.
Those that sit atop the Kingdom got there because they best understood the current game and won it.
Humans are social creatures, and ultimately a pack animal. I'm beginning to believe that the natural order for humans is in fact some sort of feudal system that has leaders ruling the pack. How the leaders are chosen varies over time but ultimately the Leaders rule the pack.
I say this in the context that it may be inherent in humans to be influenced (by those in [power|control|influential-position]). /.ers fall into some variation of this category.
Further, the more you are a free-thinker, anti/non-social or otherwise a non-conformist the less you are likely to accept this natural order and not only cry out against the injustice of the powerful but wonder why the rest of the people around you don't. And I suspect that most
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Further, the more you are a free-thinker, anti/non-social or otherwise a non-conformist the less you are likely to accept this natural order and not only cry out against the injustice of the powerful but wonder why the rest of the people around you don't. And I suspect that most /.ers fall into some variation of this category.
Bah, rebels are just the leaders of the future. All cries for rebellion are cries for power, so where does that leave the non-conformist/Leader divide?
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Good thing we have multiple outlets then. If you don't like what DNC-NBC is saying you can switch to FOX. If you don't like FOX News you can switch to CNN or PBS. If you don't like them, there's conservative or progressive talk radio. Or the internet which has websites for everything from Communism to Anarchism
Now is better than some imagined future where government hands-out money (controls) the media.
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All we need now is a law that makes blatant lying illegal and we'll be set.
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Since when is blame exclusive?
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It's not porn! It's graceful exhibition of things of nature by the glorious Workers of the People's Republic!
The great and supreme workforce of nature, guided by the great leader the Paramount Leader, is far too mighty and virile for blonde dyed plastic filth like American "porn"!
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heya,
The firewall blocks it...? Or it will shortly. I think this is just a stop-gap.
Or maybe it's just to educate people about the HK site.
Cheers,
Victor