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IOC Admits Internet Censorship Deal With China
Dave writes "BEIJING (Reuters) — Some International Olympic Committee officials cut a deal to let China block sensitive websites despite promises of unrestricted access, a senior IOC official admitted on Wednesday.
Persistent pollution fears and China's concerns about security in Tibet also remained problems for organizers nine days before the Games begin.
China had committed to providing media with the same freedom to report on the Games as they enjoyed at previous Olympics, but journalists have this week complained of finding access to sites deemed sensitive to its communist leadership blocked.
'I regret that it now appears BOCOG has announced that there will be limitations on website access during Games time,' IOC press chief Kevan Gosper said, referring to Beijing's Olympic organizers.
'I also now understand that some IOC officials negotiated with the Chinese that some sensitive sites would be blocked on the basis they were not considered Games related,' he said." But yet somehow the mainstream media will ignore this because the Olympics are patriotic or something.
[sarcastic]Yeah, because Reuters is not at all associated with the mainstream media.[/sarcastic]
The only thing that would make a difference is if mainstream media, including NBC, threatened to boycott coverage of the Olympics, not just bitch and moan about Chinese censorship. The Chinese government would hop to right quick if their biggest PR stunt since the rise of Communism was going to get no coverage in the foreign media.
But it's not the "patriotic" element that will keep print and broadcast media chugging along. It's the money many press/media outlets have already invested in getting over there and positioning their people to get the best coverage. NBC Sports would continue Olympic coverage even if Chinese soldiers were making a public show of bludgeoning dissidents to death in the street. NBC News and Brian Williams would express shock and outrage, but you'd have someone from GE holding a gun to Bob Costas' head if necessary to keep him from walking off the air in disgust.
And if Costas did walk off, you'd have some wannabe ready and willing to fill in for him, thinking this was his/her big break.
The Olympics are a HUGE revenue source for a lot of people, and as we've seen quite often, economics will trump ethics 9 times in 10.
- Greg
Start a happiness pandemic
Browse through a VPN to company HQ.
Or are VPNs banned too?
Do you need to access the Amnesty International website to cover the Olympics?
Huh? I find more than a thousand stories about this and I saw it mentioned on CNN last night. What's your definition of "mainstream?"
everything in moderation
...or a VPN to their home office.
SOMEbody needs to teach them how to do that...
The only *power* the Olympic Committee has, at this point, at least I think, would be to *cancel* the Olympics. What other power do they have over China at this point? It's not like the IOC can impose sanctions on China, can it?
"But yet somehow the mainstream media will ignore this because the Olympics are patriotic or something." Good thing I read it on cnn.com and msnbc.com before seeing it on here.
Yes, the mainstream media... like Reuters, who is the source of your story.
n/t
Communists like to control information. It will backfire on them...
If you can read this... 01110101 01110010 00100000 01100001 00100000 01100111 01100101 01100101 01101011
If the reporters need to use the internet that badly, they should just use satellite internet to bypass the great Chinese Firewall.
Giving China the Olympic games will go down as either an unconscionable endorsement of their prison state, or as an indictment of the same.
Anything and everything that can be done to undermine and destroy the police state that rules China should be done.
Muslim community leaders warn of backlash from tomorrow morning's terrorist attack.
This shouldn't really surprise anyone. Beijing has been way too tight-fisted about internet control to suddenly decide that everything is now fair game. I'm actually amazed they allowed as much as they did. Oh well, if you need to see Amnesty International then maybe encrypt your traffic or use a VPN.
But yet somehow the mainstream media will ignore this because the Olympics are patriotic or something.
Or it could be they will ignore it because everyone already knows China censors. The exact details of the matter are probably not interesting, and most likely don't matter. I mean, really, what did you expect? Did you expect China to give unfettered access to the internet? If everyone knows what's going to happen, it's really not news. News is for......new stuff, not protesting your favorite injustice.
Qxe4
Boycott the 2008 Olympics.
Everything i hear about the Olympics in China make me want nothing to do with it.
I'm boycotting it and wont watch any of the events.
MABASPLOOM!
The IOC has agreed to China's restrictions on soup with buffet.
http://twitter.com/OLDTELEGRAM
Nothing that tor or a vpn tunnel can't fix.
When it comes to pure, mealy-mouthed, underhanded douchebaggery, it's difficult to beat your basic European upper class snob. The IOC, of course, is completely infested with the creatures.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
The eternal divide remains: make money, or do what is perceived as "right"?
The Olympics is going to be a gigantic spectacle, a media event and a profit center, whether it's under a "freedom"-loving liberal democracy, or totalitarian propaganda staged in stadiums built on heaps of dead dissidents.
A consumer boycott might unite 1% of the citizens of the United States, most of whom are east coast liberals who weren't going to watch it anyway (sports are for blue collar people), and cost the organizers enough to make them think differently -- but the next Olympics isn't in China anyway, and by the time another "oppressive" (not "freedom"-loving) state hosts the Olympics, the decision-makers will be retired or promoted to different positions.
So in short, fold your arms and do nothing. There's nothing you can do.
Anti-Globalism, Traditionalism, and FreeBSD.
I hate crap-tastic 'news' websites as much as the next guy, but PLEASE do not EVER copy the entire text of a copyrighted article into the Slasdhot comments. You are inviting a lawsuit by the copyright holder against Slashdot. Slashdot can probably pass on the buck to you, maybe, but since you posted as anonymous coward, that probably leaves /. holding the buck. Setup your own damn website to violate copyright.
Every site deemed sensitive to China's communist leadership should add something about the Olympics on their website to become "Games related".
...for to improve Stamina and Sporting Achievement!
One is ruled by ruthless despots. And so is China.
UNIX/Linux Consulting
If the reporters QUIT reporting on china, then china will stop this insane approach. Bad press is better than NO press.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
"Son, there are certain books in the library in this house that you are not allowed to read. We are the parents and know more than you do, so we get to make these kind of decisions and you have no recourse other than to shut up and agree.
Now then, I am locking the books you are not allowed to read in this cabinet. Your father and I have the only keys to it. So that is that."
To this day, I'm glad that How To Pick Locks and other tomes of that kind weren't locked in that cabinet. And I hope that the suits at NBC and other media outlets had a mother like mine.
No mod points, no meta-moderating/Firehose/all the other free work Slashdot wants me to do.
So...they're using a blacklist, eh? And any server anyone puts up -- which your browser can have an SSL connection with -- can be reached until China desides otherwise?
What we need is a kind of online broker between webmasters who run their own server, and a single reporter who would like to piggyback on each one. I'm sure many of us sys admins would do it for free, but a whole lot of administrators would be glad to do it for $50.
In sum, folks, this is a technical problem in serach of a technical solution. It should take a senior web developer who runs his own servers and knows about developing scalable web apps twenty minutes to engineer this "trading center" that anonymously connects reporters -- while they're still in the US -- with likewise American sys admins.
Though I must add that I'm damned if I know what those twenty minutes are.
No surprise here. I'm boycotting them (and advertisers) this year, anyhow.
There is a war going on for your mind.
The Olympics are the best kind of patriotism. Everyone can get really excited about their country for arbitrary reasons, and so far as I know there have been no wars over the outcome of the 100m dash.
You are definitely an anonymous (racist) coward to espouse such crud.
"The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into the tiger's den."
The nations retail goods are so tied up in China right now that if we pissed them off, all they would have to do is squeeze the tube a little to bring the whole world to its knees.
Thanks to file sharing, I purchase more CDs
Thanks to the RIAA, I buy them used...
But yet somehow the mainstream media will ignore this because the Olympics are patriotic or something.
My friend repeatedly tells me how sickening it is that people protest the torch, and how disgusted she is that world leaders would even consider boycotting the games. When asked why, she explains that the Olympics are about ignoring national disagreements, and coming together as a people to participate in a global event where we can celebrate Human achievement.
I usually refrain from pointing out that the Olympics is actually about product placement and advertising revenue. Somehow I don't think that would go over well.
If I had a nickel for every time I had a nickel, I'd be richcursive!
I think they mean well, but they often make up their minds based on what the situation is, before getting any of the facts. And often they rely on few sources that present a very black and white biased view, when the real situation is shades of gray.
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
BEIJING (Reuters) -- Some International Olympic Committee officials cut a deal to let China block sensitive websites
I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't let you do that.
mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
Really, this only appears to be an issue if you are a reporter (and perhaps athelete and/or random attendee). So, you show up at your hotel or Dorm, or whatever, and you get the same censored internet that every Chinese national gets. Do you expect all the rules to be lifted because you are special? Wouldn't it be hypocritical to give you unfettered access to the internet while the citizens do not? It would be an administrative headache and to what end? If you don't like it, fly home and use your own damn ISP.
I'm not defending the filtering of the internet, but don't really understand why guests to the country would/should be treated differently... I would guess that the Falun Gong and Amnesty International are blocked for Chinese nationals too.
When China opts to censor Internet access, the IOC wrings its hands and thoroughly "regrets" it... but they don't dare, you know, actually *do* anything about it.
When Iraq dissolves their national Olympic committee (alleging corruption), the IOC is outraged and bans the country from participating. (They weren't nearly as outraged, for some reason, when the Husseins oversaw Iraq's Olympic representation and tortured athletes who failed to perform up to expectations.) I realize they've since lifted the ban, but the fact that they ever placed it is a travesty.
I, for one, refuse to support the current hypocrisy that is the Olympics.
The IOC spokesperson said one of the blocked sites belonged to Faulun Gong. "I would remind you that Falun Gong is an evil, fake religion which has been banned by the Chinese government."
So its OK, then. I'm just surprised that the IOC has an official position on Faulun Gong. What other religions does it characterize officially? What does the IOC think about Scientology? Islam? Would they agree that Luther was holier than St. Augustine? Who would do better at the 100m freestyle, Jesus or Mohammad? Could the Hindu pantheon stand a chance against the Greek pantheon at water polo?
Since the IOC brought it up, they should at least provide reporters with the IOC's own official list of religions its OK to block. This should be no problem as the IOC is really thorough when it comes to official lists.
I am more concerned about what comes next.
See, having been awarded the Olympics was like having a tighter and tighter leash applied to some of the more militant Chinese authorities. With it done and gone the gloves will come off. What happens to Taiwan? Especially if we get a new President who they perceive as weak or simply not interested?
It was a crime by the IOC to award China the Olympics in the first place but it was also criminal that the EU and USA stood by and didn't protest it either. Face it, our governments turn a blind eye to any other "equal". Piss ant countries like Iraq, Checyna, and the like, well their just screwed. Russia, China, US, and France, all have their whipping post nations or people (maybe Britain and Germany do too but I don't know them off the top of my head).
The fact is, none of the big boys deserves to host it.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
What, pray tell, are those?
I expect specifics and citations. Bonus points if your citations aren't articles from worldnetdaily or the like.
It's the money many press/media outlets have already invested in getting over there and positioning their people to get the best coverage. NBC Sports would continue Olympic coverage even if Chinese soldiers were making a public show of bludgeoning dissidents to death in the street.
It's one thing to broadcast it... it's another thing entirely if no one watches.
I won't be watching, but then NBC (and the other useless US networks) already know I don't watch their programming from reviewing the channel history right off my cable converter box.
Supporting events in China is a no-brainer to fail miserably, especially given the Nielson ratings from Italy in 2006, and declining numbers since 1984.
This years Olympic trial numbers from NYT
2006 numbers from Italy.
Here's an article which details exactly how much money was spent by NBC in Athens (2004), for less than 20% ROI.
An article from 2000 (Summer) shows the olympics averaged 13.3 and Sunday Night Football (in the SUMMER!) got a 10.3.
So, China blocks portions of the Internet - and always has - and suddenly its front page news.
But, in the USA, ISPs are blocking more and more sites every day - but it barely gets noticed by the same mainstream press.
If human rights violations and internet blocking are reasons to not hold an Olympics - then I guess the USA will never host another one.
I pointed out two more in a response above.
Interesting how the obamabots are desperately now downmodding my original post to try to hide even this. Imagine what would happen if more people actually knew the truth about their candidate?
The IOC without doubt would cooperate with western censorship in order to, lets say, prevent the athletes to share so called "intellectual property" freely, which is considered holy in the west. I dont see much difference with them now simply respecting Chinas weird laws protecting their fucked up "communist intellectual values" in order not to be prosecuted by the chinese.
If you have issues with the Chinese *government*, you can always choose to not support the olympics by not watching.
http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=174
China: The world's biggest prison for journalists and cyber-dissidents
Around 30 journalists and 50 Internet users are currently detained in China. Some of them since the 1980s. The government blocks access to thousands for news websites. It jams the Chinese, Tibetan and Uyghur-language programmes of 10 international radio stations. After focusing on websites and chat forums, the authorities are now concentrating on blogs and video-sharing sites. China's blog services incorporate all the filters that block keywords considered "subversive" by the censors. The law severely punishes "divulging state secrets," "subversion" and "defamation" - charges that are regularly used to silence the most outspoken critics. Although the rules for foreign journalists have been relaxed, it is still impossible for the international media to employ Chinese journalists or to move about freely in Tibet and Xinjiang.
I saw it on MSNBC before I saw it here
-- 73 de KG2V For the Children - RKBA! "You are what you do when it counts" - the Masso
.. how a known criminal and terrorist like Dr Eggman aka Ivo Robotnik can be allowed to participate in the Olympics.
Death by Scrabble, a short story:
So the journalists can write a rant on China; those articles probably get more readerships and thumbs up than articles on the sports.
When I want my kids to start reading I'll do that to them too. "Don't read these Evil Books!"
Best Slashdot Co
And to answer the PP:
So, he knew a guy who had a company that had one big financial issue, and did 5 hours of work for him in the 6 years he was in office. And this suddenly makes him a huge criminal?
No, he:
-actually refuses to release the records showing how much work he actually did.
-is on record as naming the guy as one of his "best friends."
-Got nearly a million dollars' "discount" from the guy on his house in two deals, in addition to extremely sizable donations to every one of his campaigns.
So he went out there and checked to make sure that their signitures on the ballots were taken in a legal method?
No, he tied up the petitions to get on the ballot in legal maneuvering till the due-date expired. Plus, keeping people off the ballot is what they do in socialist/communist countries like China and Cuba and Venezuela, not civilized countries.
I have no problem with a potential president who wants rule by law.
I'd love to have one. Too bad neither the Democrats nor Republicans are running one.
How does that make him dirtier than a guy who takes openhanded bribes and hides them in his freezer?
It makes him just as dirty. And you should, as the above responder mentions, instead be asking the question: why are the democrats running a guy this dirty?
The Chinese government would hop to right quick if their biggest PR stunt since the rise of Communism was going to get no coverage in the foreign media.
Not in the way you'd think. The massive attention they've been getting has apparently resulted in a surge of patriotism and xenophobia. We're seen as goodie-twoshoe, meddling complainers by many Chinese...and they're especially sensitive to criticism.
The Chinese government (and IOC) response would be to accuse said agencies of "politicizing The Games". Media would never do it anyway- the purpose of TV is to provide programming to attract eyeballs for advertisers. Advertisers have already signed contracts and paid money for ad space- and networks have already signed contracts and paid money for broadcast rights. A boycott would might not bankrupt them, but it would be an enormous financial blow.
Please help metamoderate.
Because they're too busy reporting on Obama being a secret Muslim terrorist? If he was just a run-of-the-mill dirty politician, he'd be no worse than the rest of the senate and hardly "newsworthy".
Support Right To Repair Legislation.
Horny male athletes would be easily distracted by hot women spectating at the event:
"Okay just three more hurdles, I should be able to stay ahead, just gotta remember this one's ta...Whoa nice rack! I'd like a *TRIPTHUMPSKID* AARRGHH!!"
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
When you cover the Olympics, one thing you cover is how having an event like that affects the local population. That has been true for every Olympics in recent memory. One reason that cities compete like hell to GET the Olympics is for the effect it can have on the local economy, just as a start.
This Olympics is a test - to see if a Communist shithole like China can even run a facsimile of the open setup necessary to make the Games a success.
China may be hosting, but the Olympics is an international, not Chinese, event. If China can't behave in a civilized manner for the bare minimum amount of time the Games are present, then I think we should know. If they can't stand the fact that people might actually have something to say about how they treat their citizens? Well, that's their problem, and they don't have the right to impose their nonsense on the people who are present for the international event that is the Games.
Just blocking a few websites that they had no business going to in the first place doesn't seem unreasonable.
"Just a few websites"... that's how it starts. "Just a little bit..." "oh look, that wasn't bad, a little more isn't unreasonable..." "Well since we've gone this far, we might as well..."
NO. Starting down that road is non-negotiable. How the hell do you think China turned into such a shithole in the first place?
I don't watch anyhow. :-p
For a few weeks every four years, we get to pretend that all the problems of the world are nothing more than a few games between athletes, interspersed with advertisements for male enhancement and foot cream.
99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name
also... fuck oic and fuck china... and olympics too btw
Ferchrissakes, if they still aren't filtering stuff like 4chan /b/ (which is off and on lately in China where I am), then how can anyone bitch? Yea, they recently blocked piratebay... and?
I don't particularly LIKE it, but give it a break.
Their country, their rules.
China is probably smart enough not to disappear any journalists for getting through the Great Firewall. Could the /. community set up a few new proxies, or educate journalists on how to ignore the firewall a la the 2006 guide to getting around most of the non-IP filtering (http://www.lightbluetouchpaper.org/2006/06/27/ignoring-the-great-firewall-of-china/)?
This seems like an excellent chance to get to play at breaking the firewall without risking dissident lives.
Returned Peace Corps IT Volunteer
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=630713&cid=24404635
I think their criticisms of the Israeli government/army are overblown, but they're certainly not the rabid "apartheid states" lunatics you get elsewhere.
Where I find fault with AI is their failure to likewise criticize the Palestinian groups - for the ill treatment of their own gay population, for deplorable treatment of prisoners and criminals in their jails, for deliberately using civilians as shields (in violation of the Geneva Conventions), for indoctrinating children and dressing them up as military, for the use of tactics to deliberately hide arms and disguise soldiers as civilians (again in violation of the Geneva Conventions), for attacking humanitarian convoys and stealing the food and supplies meant for civilians and using them for the military instead, for assassinating foreign diplomats, for routinely forcing hostages to make propaganda statements and then murdering them, and so on...
No, rather, because there will always be dimwits popping up to claim, that America's attempts to censor child pornography are the same thing, and we should stop criticizing others until we clean-up our own first.
And the rest of the world, fear of Russia having ebbed for a while, are happy to see a challenger to America rise (just to spite us) and will gladly forgive China sins far worse, than anything America has done.
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
But yet somehow the mainstream media will ignore this because the Olympics are patriotic or something.
Huh? Someone sprained an ideology tendon or something.
Anyway.
China: We want to censor web sites. ... Oh.
IOC: OK.
China: Now, don't argue with- wait... what?
IOC: We said OK.
China:
IOC: (blank smile)
China: Can we censor phone calls and email?
IOC: You got it!
China: Our guards would like to strip search the athletes.
IOC: OK!
China: Hourly.
IOC: No problem! Deep cavity searches?
China: Um, yes?
IOC: Agreed.
China: Make them wear ball gags, tie their hands behind their backs, jump around and shout "squawk squawk squawk" after singing the My Little Teapot song.
IOC: Yessir!
China: Of course our athletes are exempt from this.
IOC: Okey Dokey!
China: (pause) Can we put nipple clamps on you and kick you all in the crotch?
IOC: That would be just tickey-boo! With pants or without?
China: Sweet!
Anyone able to get themselves elected president should on no account be allowed to have the job.
While I heartily agree - seriously, we can't do better than Obama or McCain? I mean shit, I wouldn't trust either of them to be able to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, much less actual policy.
On the other hand, it's interesting watching the mod scores go up and down as the obamabots desperately try to downmod anything that speaks a bit of truth about their candidate.
There is no such thing as honor anymore. No one with the power to actually influence some change regarding the games will do anything. There may be some idle threats but that's about it. Too many people are making too much money off of the games. Relocating the games or even boycotting them will cut into profits. So it won't happen. It sucks but it's the truth.
Interesting.
I've never heard of the Falun Gong trying to drive someone to suicide.
I have, however seen plenty of them having peaceful protests (literally doing a variant of tai chi in public) getting the shit beat out of them by Chinese police.
.. they held and an Olympics and no one watched? No one supported business who directly support the Olympics?
Boycott the Olympics in 2008.
China out of Tibet, NOW!
Don't rush me, Sonny. You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles.
Typical, well nearly, you seem to be willing to throw Bush under the bus finally. Also, Ted Stevens seems to have a pass from your rant, which is odd because criminal charges have just been filed against the senior senator from Alaska. McCain has more than his 'fair share' of controversies, but you don't mention him. You're just another bully throwing out wild accusations and exaggerations, hoping to cloud the real problems with distractions.
I mean, it's the Olympics. For at least half a century, it exists for exactly two things: selling consumer products and selling countries. Anything that might get in the way of that goes. So just consume your bread, watch your quadrennial circus (and make sure you pay for both with your Visa(TM) Card!) and stop asking silly questions you should have damn well figured out the answers to back in 1936.
Reading this thread, I am amazed (as I often am) at the naivete of the Slashdot crowd. But then, what do you expect from folks who think that a handful of geeks refusing to patronize the big record companies is going to bring the RIAA to their knees?
The IOC should ban China's team from participating? Yeah, that's gonna work. And China's going to lay right down and take it, huh? They will simply counter-threaten to shut the games down entirely. Beijing holds most of the cards here.
Withdraw the U.S. team in protest? Yeah, that worked real well in Moscow, and look how it changed the world. All that does is penalize the athletes who have worked hard for years to get where they are, and effectively make them disposable pawns in a political chess game.
The best are the folks who say that we should not watch the Olympics in protest. Sure. That will make about a 0.00000000000000000000000001% dent in the Nielsens. Utterly useless. Hey, I disagree strongly with some of the NCAA's policies -- does that mean I should protest by not watching my alma mater's football games on TV?
No one with half a brain didn't see this coming. In fact, I think the IOC and pretty much everyone else associated with the Games expected it. Considering all the ways in which Beijing could fuck up the Olympics, I think the repercussions of journalists not being able to reach websites about Falun Gong or Tiennammen Square during a sporting event is not too bitter of a pill to swallow. Is this censorship a breach of what China agreed to? Absolutely. Is it worth creating a political brouhaha and potentially screwing the Olympics over? Absolutely not.
"Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket." -- Eric Hoffer
And all payed for with American money, now who's stupid?
There are other types ?
"Kill 'em all and let Root sort 'em out"
"But yet somehow the mainstream media will ignore this because the Olympics are patriotic or something." This comment is full of contempt for patriotism. It insinuates that patriotism is something to be scoffed at. Frankly, I do think the author of this comment has an ounce of patriotism in their body, nor do they understand the concept - or what the Olympics are about.
No.
And Tibetans will continue to be oppressed no matter how much you self-aggrandizing hot air-blowing do-nothings "progressives" pout.
Really want to liberate Tibet? Send in the U.S. Army.
It worked in Iraq, didn't it?
Didn't it?
Ha ha ha!
Most humans make descisions based on their gut (in this case, how much they like the guy), then rationalize later.
You see this in ./ moderation
* votes
* hiring choices
* firing choices
* warnings vs traffic tickets
* arrests
* vendor purchasing decisions
* business deals
*
There is a large group of people who *like* Obama and are motivated by him. McCain doesn't have that many supporters, so much as Obama detractors. The decision of who is President is going to come down to likeability and dislikeability above all other factors and there is not a lot that can be done about that.
Incidentally, CEOs are hired for who they know and what networking they can bring to a company. Their skill or knowledge is secondary. Of course there are a few exceptions to that rule (Gates,Jobs,Iacocca,Hughes).
As for the Olympics, not rocking the boat comes to the fore. It *is* about Olypic ideas for some people, and it is purely about money for others. For China, its about making it to the world stage and are hell bent on giving the illusion of perfection.
Amazing how cheaply freedom of speech, democracy, heck even a country! can be purchased, eh?
"a completely legal application of the electoral rules of Chicago that sounds fairly well in keeping with the political climate in the city?"
It saddens me that you're not bright enough to understand what the political climate in that city is.
Yeah sure, I'd LOVE a President who thinks the way the do things in CHICAGO is ok...
God damn man, do you even realize why that statement is retarded?
Far more than Falun Gong are being blocked. Among the 'senestive sites' being blocked are:
abc.com
altavista.com
arizona.edu
cbs.com
daily.stanford.edu
China has failed to fulfill the promises made when awarded host status, and the IOC is spinelessly rolling over. Chinese athletes should be blocked from participating in the same way Iraqi athletes were blocked last week.
See a list of blocked websites here:
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/filtering/china/China-highlights.html
Is anyone reporting on the fact that the US Congress has only a 14% job approval rating while Bush is at least above 25%?
Insufficient majority to overcome obstructionist Republicans.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
You mean like Jimmy Carter? Obama is dangerously close to him both in policies and experience level. And you remember the damage Carter did to us in just four years.
It took less than one for his successor to declare "open season" on workers of all types in the US. 2009 is just a chance to end the damage he's caused.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
"When you cover the Olympics, one thing you cover is how having an event like that affects the local population."
I see. And to see how the event affects the local population one needs to be able to look at the Amnesty International website. That makes perfect sense. Wake me when they start restricting the movements of everyone and following them around, which they will. But let's save the outrage for something actually outrageous.
When it comes to pure, mealy-mouthed, underhanded douchebaggery, it's difficult to beat your basic Far-Easterner. The IOC, of course, is completely infested with the creatures.
Fixed that for you.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
Name and shame the committee member that voted for this. How much of a kick back did they get !
God I hope it rains for the whole time
The IOC is corrupt to the core. They routinely award the games to whoever comes up with the biggest bag of money. It is one of the most corrupt organizations in the modern era.
I laugh at the paranoids in the US who see "one world government" as a threat at every turn. The United Nations IMO is one of the great achievments of the 20th century, imperfect as it may be. The International Olympics Committee, on the other hand, should not be a model for anything. It should be called what it is: a greedy self-serving bunch of criminals.
How else do you suppose the national debt of the USA is going to be paid off, hmm?
The Government *needs* to make more money and it does that by raising taxes or hiking up the interest rates.
Well, it could do nothing... ...but then your American dollar would become worth very little internationally and (for example), the USA to Europe would be like Mexico to the USA.
I expect you and many other Americans don't like this reality, but consider the alternatives: higher taxes or greater America becomes like greater Mexico - poor.
Oh, and you have one person/political party to thank for that:
G.W.Bush and his Republicans.
As the parent pointed out, it's not surprising that this sort of thing is happening. Many people could see it coming, which is one reason U.S. leadership is not boycotting or otherwise using the Games as political leverage.
Why would they need to? It seemed likely that China would shoot themselves in the foot with this sort of activity. What they hoped would be triumphant display of their world influence is becoming an exercise in sunlight being the best disinfectant. With this foreknowledge it is easy for the U.S. leadership to take a "high road" in their official capacity. Our free press is more than capable of providing the criticism.
Many Western journalists in China went there looking for this sort of story to cover. From their perspective the gift of the Olympics to Beijing was a trojan horse.
Build a man a fire, he's warm for one night. Set him on fire, and he's warm for the rest of his life.
..for unrestricted *reporting* abilities, not unrestricted porn access. Has anyone mentioned anything about China restricting *outgoing* communications? Else, where's the *actual* promise documented? It seems to me this story is getting blown way out of proportion, ironically, by a sort of blogger Chinese whisper.
Your response makes no sense to me. Please enlighten me.
"For you, there are." - What do you mean? For me there are other than fake evil religions?
I'll be the judge of that, thank you very much. So far IMHO Evil 23 Good 0.
"Else you can't be a mere agnostic" - My views have been described as militant agnostic, but why the "mere"?. Atheism can, I agree, be but another dogma, who's to say what's where and how fast it's going ; )
Still, my post was but a jest, and if I've offended anyone (here's looking at you Anonymous Coward)
GET OFF MY INTERNET!
There is no truth, there is only perception. Maybe.
"Kill 'em all and let Root sort 'em out"
Blah blah blah, censorship, blah blah blah.
Actually, as anyone with half a brain knows, all Internet restrictions here in China can be circumvented using a VPN. I do it everyday. Any international media organisation without the smarts to provide their journalists with VPN access deserves what they get.
Is anyone else surprised at how keen the Chinese authorities are to report on terrorism related events, such as the bus bomb, or the 'foiling' of 2 potential terrorist attacks? I mean, how long did it take them to admit anything to do with SARS, or bird flu, or *anything* that happens in China that might imply things aren't so wonderful as they would like? Yet, all of a sudden, we hear about terrorist plots. How does something like that happen in a country so controlled as China?
I expect we will see this being used as the excuse for increased security crackdowns.
MrCreosote Meow!Thump!Meow!Thump!Meow!Thump! "You're right! There isn't enough room to swing a cat in here!"
Seriously, who can't get around the Great Firewall of China? This thing shouldn't be called "Great." Use proxies or a VPN. The media can surely get around this, and they should have the expertise to do just that.
Now, the average citizens may not which is the problem. But I don't think China ever promised to open it up for them. Anyway, in my experience a lot of them actually do know how to use VPNs and proxies. This may be a topic for geeks in the rest of the world, but not out of the ordinary in China.
They should have worked out a deal to block the outgoing spam from China in exchange for blocking the incoming "anti-Chinese propaganda". At least in producing spam China is still #1 in my mailbox.
Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
Nobody cares about you
Did you really think China would value
Democratic values?
Democracies would LOVE to screw their people like
China does. No civil rights. No freedoms.
No right to protest anything.
The USA gov't is already a dictatorship.
Spying on every single american/non-american
through AT&T internet backbone network/system.
THEN AT&T gets away with it in the new law
that the USA passed. I forgot the name of it.
Good job. China does this too. But they don't
need to pass any law to spy on their people.
Nice trolling but it is the other way around.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
I for one won't be watching the Olympics on NBC.
... Communist shithole ...
Disclaimer: I am not an active Obama supporter. I believe that while the third-parties would do considerably less harm than a McCain administration, their utter disdain for anyone from the mainstream parties will work against them (as in, instant lame-duck President. Don't they realize they also need to control Congress as well? At least Dr. Paul groks this...).
On the flipside, it's always unfortunate when the media are complicit with the government anywhere.
No citations supporting this anywhere in this thread. Not even in alternative media. Ergo, this man is a conspiracy theorist. I'd love to hear his stories about who really is "responsible" for 9/11.
Kind of like in America. Is anyone reporting on Obama's shady dealings during his state and senate careers? No? I wonder why.
What citations he does issue are easily demonstrated to refute his claims. Ergo, he is at the very least a conservative or an Obama opponent. Karl Rove would love to have him on board, but I doubt this man would accept (see below). Notice also that this accusation is a favorite among 'net trolls who oppose Obama.
How is it that the press is all over a Republican who might-be-gay, but is amazingly silent on a Louisiana congresscritter who was caught on tape taking a bribe, then with marked bills in his freezer, during an FBI bribery sting?
This is shown to have a lack of common sense (gay Republican? From a party that is notoriously anti-gay? Say it ain't so!) and due diligence (there were reports, they just weren't that interesting unless it were Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!).
Is anyone reporting on the fact that the US Congress has only a 14% job approval rating while Bush is at least above 25%? No? I wonder why - maybe it doesn't fit the biased story the MSM wants to portray.
There are plenty of outlets reporting this, there just aren't that many compared to those putting the cameras and mikes on the Presidential election. Either he doesn't like to read/use Google, or he has a serious chip on his shoulder (mmm, and a bit of fish, too!).
How come the press isn't reporting on two latino political prisoners in US jail, who've been railroaded by the corrupt Bush administration and his cronies, for arresting a known Mexican drug smuggler? How come the financial and connective records of all the administration officials, the DA, the judge who illegally suppressed exculpatory evidence and prevented the jury from hearing that this smuggler had been caught more than a dozen times (including twice during his immunity agreement!), haven't been put through the microscope by the press?
Here he probably has a valid point, but the earlier references and reliance on common soundbytes from alternate parties damages his credibility. Later in the thread he touts Barr as a good candidate, revealing his affiliation.
Moryath is a competent rhetoritician, but many of his points are as disingenuous as any of Fox's implied connection of Obama to Islam/terrorism/anti-patriotism. I can't mod this thread, but given that he seems to claim a monopoly on the truth, and that he's calling everyone who disagrees "Obamabots", I would agree with the critical mods that his posts no longer seem "Insightful".
"We are Microsoft. You shall be assimilated. Competition is futile."
"How come the press isn't reporting on two latino political prisoners in US jail, who've been railroaded by the corrupt Bush administration and his cronies, for arresting a known Mexican drug smuggler?"
Arrested the drug runner? Better than that, they shot him in the ass. Jail time? Hell, they should have gotten a promotion.
Life is hard, and the world is cruel
"Oh, you mean by correctly predicting the energy crisis and proposing serious workable solutions, anticipating Peak Oil by three decades?"
Carter's "solution" was to shiver in a sweater, and have the rest of the country do the same. His solution was "less"; less energy, less prosperity, less freedom. To hell with that. At least Carter tried to set an example in his crusade, I suppose. Al Gore hasn't given up his private jet.
And the "peak oil" thing is, to put it bluntly, bullshit. The middle eastern wells may or may not have peaked, but we know there's a lot of untapped oil in the world; the Russians are trying to lay exclusive claim to what is almost certainly a huge arctic field, we're starting to wake up and go after new fields off of our coasts and in Alaska, and just this past year a massive new field was found off the coast of Brazil. Peak Oil is a sham. We're nowhere near peak oil yet. And that's not including things that can be converted to gasoline, like shale and coal. Our energy "shortages" are self inflicted and artificial.
Oil isn't a permanent solution, but what energy source is? You either run out of it or find something better. For cars and trucks, there is nothing better than petroleum for the foreseeable future. You're not going to get enough ethanol to meet the demand, let alone what it would do (and IS doing) to the price of food. Pure electric cars suck because batteries suck, and that doesn't appear to likely change soon. The best you're going to get is a gasoline-electric hybrid in that area. Like it or not, petroleum has powered the world's industry and economy for decades (bringing us tremendous prosperity in the process), and likely will continue to do so for at least decades more.
Life is hard, and the world is cruel
Comment removed based on user account deletion
But yet somehow the mainstream media will ignore this because the Olympics are patriotic or something.
No idea about the US, but in Germany that is pretty much all the media are reporting about. That, and the DNA doping China reportedly pushed very very far to make sure their athletes will be winning a _lot_ of medals. And the methods used to silence people who happen to disagree with the government.
From my German point of view, the Olympics are already a huge desaster for the Chinese government.
Is this different in other countries?