It looks like Facebook is blocked

Sigh...

Are we all to blame what's happening in Xinjiang for this? Or perhaps
the River Crabs are just a little childish.

I'll fix it when I get back

Looking at my previous post with sneakme.net, I can see that emailing
the story in can lose the html coding.

I'll fix it when I get back.

Candy and Bambi

<a href='http://opinion.globaltimes.cn/top-photo/2009-06/439205.html' target='_blank'>Green Dam, Google and Internet regulation</a>

<blockquote>[sniip]

With the world's largest online population, China is a lucrative market no Internet company can ignore. The porn industry, especially from the West, is penetrating this market as well.

[snip]

Any regulation has to win wide public support before achieving the desired result. But Western media shouldn't overly politicize the Chinese government's intentions in regulating the Internet.

Only viewing China through a political lens doesn't lead to a true understanding of the country, and the government's efforts to clean up the Web shouldn't just be seen as politically motivated.

[snip]</blockquote>

:) It's the West's fault. Funny though, much of my Green Dam information also came from Global Times. I'm greatly critical of the West's reporting of things that happen concerning China, especially in 2008. But the nameless author of this piece has to know that at some point invoking the Western Narrative becomes something that seems to be better covered under <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law' target='_blank'>Godwin's Law</a>. Certainly the majority of the "heat from public reaction" mentioned in the article must be domestic, otherwise the government would just ignore it. The embarrassment the government should face and remedy is how poorly vetted the software was. From the reports I've read, suspicions of the use of pirated software should have been raised from an inspection of the files it installed. The buffer overflow security issues also could have been quickly exposed if the government had asked a software security professional to examine it. The question is begged... exactly what was the vetting process and were the "techs" called "Candy" and "Bambi?"

The government's battle against pornography is just as murky and misdirective as the US's War on [pick the flavor]. The government isn't just targeting pornography. It is also targeting anything that it deems unhealthy. And that is a very broad swath. Pornography is a convenient censorship poster child as everybody agrees that the kiddies should be protected from it. What sort of degenerate would risk exposing children to it? It is the natural, perfect cover for broad and general censorship.

The problem with broad and general censorship for a government is that it erodes the people's trust. A government's <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandate_of_Heaven' target='_blank'>mandate from heaven</a> relies on trust. Look at the <a href='http://blog.foolsmountain.com/2008/07/02/wengan-how-the-state-media-hurts-china/' target='_blank'>riot last year at Weng'an</a> and <a href='http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/21/content_11576546.htm' target='_blank'>more recently in central China</a>.

Trust. The people need to trust that the government is telling them the truth. Censorship communicates that the government has things it wants to keep hidden, that it has lies. It is a really tough balance that the government has to find. Control of information to keep society harmonious is important. But too much control and you risk everything....

There is also another dynamic. If you and I are both cheating each other and we both know that we are cheating each other and by how much, we can still do business. I will just factor in an amount for you to cheat me out of. You will accept that amount as it gives you room to cheat me and you still know you get value for what you pay for. We can even be like brothers to each other. But if either you or I earnestly accuse the other of cheating, the game is up. Our brotherhood is lost and we become enemies. The Great Firewall of China and the silent deletion of comments or pages, along with the netizen's efforts to work around them are like old business partners cheating each other. The Green Dam software is like the government calling the netizens on the carpet as cheaters. The effort was too direct to be comfortable.

chase

I don't particularly like the chase. But I can't think of a way to
tweak it better. How can you possibly tell who is right for who
without it. What does "right for" even mean?

There is a woman floating in my life. She is beautiful. ... but
allusive. There are small red flags on the field. Warnings. Perhaps.
Perhaps. Or just red petals drifting across the field only looking
like warnings.

What is the variance? Where are the bounds? the conditions? Clear the
mist a bit so I can see but in seeing does one discover his foot
across the edge? Ever elusive certainty.

Muddled thought. Why does she not reply to my text message? Perhaps it
is all just old patterns playing out again.

What does it matter. I'll go ride my bike. Perhaps sip coffee and read
a book. Enjoy the sun. Enjoy the crowds.

periodically looking at my cell phone

Blocked in China

A week or so ago, blogspot was also blocked. It joins youtube in the
ranks of unwelcome Internet visitors from abroad. When the river crabs
do silly things like block youtube or blogspot, I think it becomes
fair game to speculate wildly on why as arbitrary stupid actions beg
for in kind. Nothing is as mockable as a crab trying to cover its nuts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_crab_(internet_slang)