If you don't hand them over, and they have a search warrant, they are allowed to break the lock. They can't do that with thoughts in your head. Not yet, anyway...
I've been to Burma twice and spent around two months there.
Chances of smuggling in equipment for a satellite internet connection? None.
The Eastern border with Thailand, although remote, is very heavily monitored due to the drug trafficking issues there.
Burma also borders Laos just north of Thailand in this area as well, however the problem with this border point is the Mekong river. The Mekong separates the two countries and I figure it would be pretty easy to be spotted trying to cross illegally by a small boat. Although, it probably wouldn't be too tough to persuade your average Laos villager to assist with his boat if you were inclined to try. All it would take is the right amount of money.
The South-Eastern border with Thailand is where most of the tourist day-trips into the country start from. It's probably not a good starting point for smuggling with the Thais monitoring their side of it as heavily as they do.
The North/North-Eastern border with China is extremely remote and mountainous, to the point where it's effectively ruled out as a feasible entry point. Even if you did attempt to cross into Burma's northern Shan State or Kachin State via this border, you would be so far away from anywhere worth-while (like Mandalay) that it would increase your risk of being caught (and probably executed) trying to get from there to wherever you were headed quite substantially.
The North-Western border with India and Bangladesh is another remote entrance point. The problem, again, is that you're still incredibly far from anywhere that smuggling in that technology would be able to be made useful.
The Western border of Myanmar is the Indian ocean.
The real problem:
Even if you managed to enter the country at any of these points, you risk being caught at government vehicle check-points and by civilians that act as spies for the government all over the country as you travel toward wherever your ultimate destination is. Entering anywhere in the Golden Triangle area (Laos, Northern Thailand, Southern Thailand) means that you're in drug country and you run the risks associated with that as well.
Remember also that you would probably need to smuggle in computer equipment to use the dish with as well, since you can't just buy that stuff anywhere in Burma and the government will monitor any electronics stores/sales. Also remember that if you get caught, you're probably getting killed along with anyone caught helping you.
Even in Rangoon/Yangon, Burma's largest city, most areas only receive electricity for around ten hours a day. After the electricity goes off around 9pm, civilians who can afford it (not many) switch over to large truck batteries stored in their homes to have power after dark. Take this into account when thinking about how and where you would use this equipment from. Hiding out in the hills with a generator isn't as easy as it sounds, either.
What a great way to teach kids how to use computers by trying to block access to the things they want most.
This proposed addition of a porn filter is completely, though accidentally, genius. Now people will have to learn things about computers they normally wouldn't have had to know about just to circumvent these filters.
Furthermore, who are we to impose our moral "values" on these people? What if their society doesn't believe that porn should be blocked? Did anyone ask them what they wanted?
My girlfriend has an advanced degree from Yale and is originally from the Philippines. She says that the other US visa types you're referring to are called F1 and J1, both normally provided by academic institutions, both allowing the holder to work.
According to her:
The F1 visa type is a "student visa." She says many people exploit this visa by enrolling in community colleges while working in fields unrelated to their area of study.
The J1 visa type is typically reserved for specialized research, training, teaching, scholarships, and so forth.
My girlfriend has a J1 visa and can work within the US so long as her occupational field is related to her academic field.
There are theoretical loopholes in the J1 visa and F1 visa types that would allow her to work at a company such as Google for an extended period of time without an H1B. Here's what would have to basically happen: My girlfriend would have to convince Yale that working at Google would enhance her academic research in order to keep her J1 visa sponsorship and Google would have to hire her as an employee under the J1 visa which Yale would then supply.
According to her, this is not an impossible, nor far fetched scenario. This is exactly how many people like her work legally without an H1B in the United States.
If her J1 expires she will be unable to work within the US unless she attains an H1B visa type. If Yale is interested in hiring her, they can assist her in acquiring an H1B by acting as her sponsor. This sponsorship would otherwise have to be provided by a company or other organization interested in employing her.
Thanks for the clarification. I appreciate it. My girlfriend and I were having a discussion about the comment and your reply cleared a lot of confusion up.
Doesn't each version of the Bible have it's own linguistic style? Exactly which Bible are you referring to? Seems to me that there are quite a few variations floating around.
No, but I do remember that the best part of Sim Copter was dropping people out of my helicopter at high altitudes and watching them plummet to their deaths.
Does what we can teach through gaming actually matter in real life?
Think about how a child playing a game like Grand Theft Auto uses a little top-down radar/map in the corner of his screen to navigate from objective to objective.
Ever think about how many people in this world don't know what a map is or how to use it?
I do a lot of traveling in poor countries, and it's quite common for me to show a local resident a map only to have them look at me like I have three eyes. Things like the AutoMap in Doom were a major part of my skills development regarding map-reading and learning the relationship between a top-down viewpoint and the real world.
The point that I'm trying to make is that even if the games children are playing are not specifically made for educational use, the children playing them are learning things and gaining skills without even realizing it.
I'm just scratching the surface here. Use your imagination to go beyond my example.
Visit anywhere in China that isn't Beijing, Shanghai, or Hong Kong and tell me it's not a "developing" country. I have no experience with Russia, on the other hand.
Waterproof Bags: Make sure you have at least one waterproof bag to keep all your electronics inside within your backpack. This way, if your backpack gets soaked, since most of them are not entirely waterproof, your electronics will be safe.
GPS Trackstick: This is a nifty, tiny little device that tracks every single step you take, your altitude, speed, everything at whatever interval you choose. Decent battery life: even on the fastest recording interval setting (5 secs) you get a full days worth. It plugs right into your USB port and then the program converts the waypoints into Google Earth and overlays the paths you took on the satellite data. Works on two AAA batteries. Really fucking cool for checking out your hikes on satellite data. Needs to have line of sight (meaning as long as no metal or thickass shit's in between it and the sky it'll get signal -- so having it inside somewhere near the top of your pack is fine) You can purchase one here or alternatively there's another model here that I haven't tried but sounds more promising since they hint it doesn't have to have direct line of sight with the sky (aka can be mounted under a car).
Extra Camera Batteries: You'll need these if you have a digital camera. In some countries electricity access can be few and far between.
USB Thumb Drive: Great for storing data, documents, etc. I keep a backup scan of my passport and vital information on one in my pack secured using TrueCrypt.
Load it with portable versions of applications like Tor, Firefox, Gaim, Gimp, Open Office, and so forth. Lots of countries censor the internet and you might need a tool that allows you to get around the blocks.
Many of the computers at internet cafe's are riddled with viruses and spyware. This is why you use portable Firefox instead of the spyware riddled IE loaded by default on the machines. It may not protect you much more, but it's better than the alternative.
This bit is very important: Try and get a USB Thumbdrive that has some sort of write protection switch on it (if that exists) so that you can make sure no data can be erased from it. Make sure when you use USB card-readers or plug your digital camera into a computer to offload photos to a website or something that you SWITCH ON WRITE-PROTECT on the memory card first.
I've lost everything on my USB drive and and 2GB worth of irreplacable photos from my memory card due to virus's that erase everything on any inserted media instantly and load a self-replicating virus on in the data's place. I've since made practices like I described here a habit I never forget.
Getting burned like that hurts. Don't make the same mistake yourself.
At the moment I'm spending a year going through Asia and a few other countries around the globe. I carry with me:
Garmin 72 GPS Device: If doing any trekking into remote jungle areas or mountains, geocaching, confluence hunting, etc, get one of these. They're waterproof, rugged as hell, some models have backlit screens, and so forth. Check Garmin's website for model information.
Water Purification Devices: I carry multiple systems. Firstly I carry an electronic pen-shaped device that purifies water using a concoction created using rock salt and some electronic process which you then dump into your water container/nalgene bottle.
Hands down the best water purification gadget is the standard pump filter. They're fairly compact, lightweight, and relatively inexpensive at around $100 for a good one. They're especially handy since they're simple to use, require very little setup, and provide instant clean water from any source. Iodine drops and other purification methods usually require you to wait around 30+ minutes before drinking your treated water.
Carry iodine or some other tablets as a backup.
Lockpicks: I also carry a set of lockpicks. I've had to hotwire a motorbike so far, unlock half a dozen guesthouse rooms for myself or others due to misplaced keys (usually following a night of heavy drinking). These things maybe aren't technically "gadgets," but they're handy.
Universal Electric Conversion Kits: You can find these at Brookstone or wherever. Great for plugging in your devices for charging anywhere in any outlet. The little cases are fairly compact as well. Make sure you get one that also does voltage/power conversions since not all countries provide the same amounts of electricity out of their sockets and might fry your electronics.
Space blankets: Not technically a "gadget," but MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AT LEAST ONE SPACE BLANKET in your backpack. You know... those highly reflective little bundles of silvery stuff that repel heat in case of fires and such? They're also great in intense cold by retaining body heat around you. I've literally had my life saved by one once a few months ago when I got trapped in a cave in Tibet up around 4000m in elevation. I would have frozen to death without it.
I also built a shelter out of it when I camped on the Great Wall of China because it was pouring rain and I was miles away from anywhere. They're very versatile, and quite large.
That's about it beyond ipods and other less useful gadgets that I carry more out of choice than any sort of necessity. Obviously don't neglect essentials like bug-spray and rope... but that's it off the top of my head as far as electronics go.
"If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him"
-Cardinal Richelieu (French Minister and Cardinal. 1585-1642)
Re:It's the all encompassing .com that's the probl
on
Utube Sues YouTube
·
· Score: 1
Unfortunately, using your system, things get a little hairy right around list item number one, and then things go downhill pretty quickly after that.
A lot of companies are in more than one market -- hardware, software, etc -- therefore sticking someone like IBM into a vendor.software or whatever domain would probably REALLY piss them off because they also manufacture tons of hardware related items and offer various other services.
You can't organize like that because so many people/businesses do so many things.
Rural families are allowed two children, the third is subject to a massive tax.
Most people cannot afford the third child. That doesn't stop them from having them, however, and since they cannot afford to register them due to the cost, many children in rural areas are not enrolled in schools and other programs.
I agree with a lot of what you've said here. Let me first explore the security issue.
At the one internet cafe out of thirty I was required to present ID for, I told them I didn't carry it on me, and then just wrote down "Billy Bob Trousers" for my name and put in some random number for my passport on their log sheet. At the same internet cafe I noticed that Chinese people paying in cash were not asked to present ID, and that most of the people coming in had cards they used instead of paying cash. I assume it's an internet cafe credit/debit card. Let's safely assume that in order to get that card they had to present ID and give their ID number which is stored in a potentially vulnerable computer.
So yeah, I think you're probably on to something there. I would guess, however, that there is a better chance of having your ID stolen, or other input logged, on a user-machine that everyone uses vs. the one central machine they use for registering people.
Let me also say that I completely agree with your last paragraph. Sometimes I'm not so sure that I don't feel more free "walking down the street" in China. I'm betting China will eventually be consumed by the same shit we did as far as rules and regulations go. Societies seem to evolve like that. Hopefully they can learn from our mistakes. Doubtful though.
But I just touched on what I really think the difference is between the two countries regarding how I feel being a resident in each. Don't get me wrong, I do value having the opportunity to grow up in a country that gave me the ability to see more than one side of things. In the United States, we have too many common laws that try to protect us from ourselves. In China, not so much.
Perhaps a stupid example: On my first flight back home on United Airlines(Yeah, yeah, I know.) the first thing I asked for was two beers. I figured I would save the woman a trip. This female flight attendant looked at me with an "I hate my life" expression on her face and said none too nicely "How about one at a time, sir." The second she gave me the first beer, I poked a hole in it and shotgunned it in five seconds. I turned and looked at her as she was about to walk away and said "Ma'am, about that one at a time thing."
In China, nobody fucking tells you "one at a time, sir." It's up to you to police yourself.
Maybe after spending more time there my views will change, but that's the feeling I have so far.
The price I quoted was roughly (~) 5RMB/hr. Most decent sized internet establishments residing in populated areas in China (this is as of a month ago) charge 3-5RMB/hr. Rarely more than that, unless you end up at a very touristy place. That price is charged to westerners AND locals all the same. These places are PACKED 24/7 with Chinese people. Not westerners.
The general observation I made is that the further northeast you go, the more expensive the internet gets. Beijing is, of course, on the "rape" end of the scale. Especially anywhere near Mao's box.
In the rural areas my internet access was much cheaper, but also much harder to come by. Also it needs to be said that most of the rural population pays nothing for what little internet they use, if any. If you're friendly with someone or you are part of the community, the internet is generally free along with a lot of other things.
My experiences may have differed from yours across the board. I've only spent time in Hong Kong, Yangshuo, Guilin, Chongqing, Chengdu, Kangding, Danba, Luding, Ya`an, Leshan, Juizhaigou, Songpan, Xian, Pingyao, Taiyuan, Datong, Beijing, and a LOT of the surrounding area of each. A lot of those places have tourist destinations, some of them don't. However, having spent a respectible amount of time at each one, I feel ~5RMB/hr is a reasonable estimate to give someone when asked about what people generally pay for internet in a cafe in China.
Maybe you have information that I don't that leads you to believe that the vast majority of internet users in China pay less than 3/hr. Perhaps prices across the board have gone up since you've been there. How long ago was it?
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I've been to Burma twice and spent around two months there.
Chances of smuggling in equipment for a satellite internet connection? None.
The Eastern border with Thailand, although remote, is very heavily monitored due to the drug trafficking issues there.
Burma also borders Laos just north of Thailand in this area as well, however the problem with this border point is the Mekong river. The Mekong separates the two countries and I figure it would be pretty easy to be spotted trying to cross illegally by a small boat. Although, it probably wouldn't be too tough to persuade your average Laos villager to assist with his boat if you were inclined to try. All it would take is the right amount of money.
The South-Eastern border with Thailand is where most of the tourist day-trips into the country start from. It's probably not a good starting point for smuggling with the Thais monitoring their side of it as heavily as they do.
The North/North-Eastern border with China is extremely remote and mountainous, to the point where it's effectively ruled out as a feasible entry point. Even if you did attempt to cross into Burma's northern Shan State or Kachin State via this border, you would be so far away from anywhere worth-while (like Mandalay) that it would increase your risk of being caught (and probably executed) trying to get from there to wherever you were headed quite substantially.
The North-Western border with India and Bangladesh is another remote entrance point. The problem, again, is that you're still incredibly far from anywhere that smuggling in that technology would be able to be made useful.
The Western border of Myanmar is the Indian ocean.
The real problem:
Even if you managed to enter the country at any of these points, you risk being caught at government vehicle check-points and by civilians that act as spies for the government all over the country as you travel toward wherever your ultimate destination is. Entering anywhere in the Golden Triangle area (Laos, Northern Thailand, Southern Thailand) means that you're in drug country and you run the risks associated with that as well.
Remember also that you would probably need to smuggle in computer equipment to use the dish with as well, since you can't just buy that stuff anywhere in Burma and the government will monitor any electronics stores/sales. Also remember that if you get caught, you're probably getting killed along with anyone caught helping you.
Even in Rangoon/Yangon, Burma's largest city, most areas only receive electricity for around ten hours a day. After the electricity goes off around 9pm, civilians who can afford it (not many) switch over to large truck batteries stored in their homes to have power after dark. Take this into account when thinking about how and where you would use this equipment from. Hiding out in the hills with a generator isn't as easy as it sounds, either.
It's basically not going to happen.
What a great way to teach kids how to use computers by trying to block access to the things they want most.
This proposed addition of a porn filter is completely, though accidentally, genius. Now people will have to learn things about computers they normally wouldn't have had to know about just to circumvent these filters.
Furthermore, who are we to impose our moral "values" on these people? What if their society doesn't believe that porn should be blocked? Did anyone ask them what they wanted?
My girlfriend has an advanced degree from Yale and is originally from the Philippines. She says that the other US visa types you're referring to are called F1 and J1, both normally provided by academic institutions, both allowing the holder to work.
According to her:
The F1 visa type is a "student visa." She says many people exploit this visa by enrolling in community colleges while working in fields unrelated to their area of study.
The J1 visa type is typically reserved for specialized research, training, teaching, scholarships, and so forth.
My girlfriend has a J1 visa and can work within the US so long as her occupational field is related to her academic field.
There are theoretical loopholes in the J1 visa and F1 visa types that would allow her to work at a company such as Google for an extended period of time without an H1B. Here's what would have to basically happen: My girlfriend would have to convince Yale that working at Google would enhance her academic research in order to keep her J1 visa sponsorship and Google would have to hire her as an employee under the J1 visa which Yale would then supply.
According to her, this is not an impossible, nor far fetched scenario. This is exactly how many people like her work legally without an H1B in the United States.
If her J1 expires she will be unable to work within the US unless she attains an H1B visa type. If Yale is interested in hiring her, they can assist her in acquiring an H1B by acting as her sponsor. This sponsorship would otherwise have to be provided by a company or other organization interested in employing her.
Thanks for the clarification. I appreciate it. My girlfriend and I were having a discussion about the comment and your reply cleared a lot of confusion up.
Learn something new every day, ya know?
Doesn't each version of the Bible have it's own linguistic style? Exactly which Bible are you referring to? Seems to me that there are quite a few variations floating around.
Zonk, quit proof-reading posts with your eyes closed.
So like... if I eat baby tomato in front of papa tomato, it's gonna get angry?
No, but I do remember that the best part of Sim Copter was dropping people out of my helicopter at high altitudes and watching them plummet to their deaths.
I am not saying that the US is as bad as China, but no government is above trying to censor things they dont aggree with for any number of reasons.
I'm currently in China and therefore I cannot view your Wikipedia link, but I'll take your word for it.
Think about how a child playing a game like Grand Theft Auto uses a little top-down radar/map in the corner of his screen to navigate from objective to objective.
Ever think about how many people in this world don't know what a map is or how to use it?
I do a lot of traveling in poor countries, and it's quite common for me to show a local resident a map only to have them look at me like I have three eyes. Things like the AutoMap in Doom were a major part of my skills development regarding map-reading and learning the relationship between a top-down viewpoint and the real world.
The point that I'm trying to make is that even if the games children are playing are not specifically made for educational use, the children playing them are learning things and gaining skills without even realizing it.
I'm just scratching the surface here. Use your imagination to go beyond my example.
Visit anywhere in China that isn't Beijing, Shanghai, or Hong Kong and tell me it's not a "developing" country. I have no experience with Russia, on the other hand.
Waterproof Bags: Make sure you have at least one waterproof bag to keep all your electronics inside within your backpack. This way, if your backpack gets soaked, since most of them are not entirely waterproof, your electronics will be safe.
GPS Trackstick: This is a nifty, tiny little device that tracks every single step you take, your altitude, speed, everything at whatever interval you choose. Decent battery life: even on the fastest recording interval setting (5 secs) you get a full days worth. It plugs right into your USB port and then the program converts the waypoints into Google Earth and overlays the paths you took on the satellite data. Works on two AAA batteries. Really fucking cool for checking out your hikes on satellite data. Needs to have line of sight (meaning as long as no metal or thickass shit's in between it and the sky it'll get signal -- so having it inside somewhere near the top of your pack is fine) You can purchase one here or alternatively there's another model here that I haven't tried but sounds more promising since they hint it doesn't have to have direct line of sight with the sky (aka can be mounted under a car).
Extra Camera Batteries: You'll need these if you have a digital camera. In some countries electricity access can be few and far between.
USB Thumb Drive: Great for storing data, documents, etc. I keep a backup scan of my passport and vital information on one in my pack secured using TrueCrypt.
Load it with portable versions of applications like Tor, Firefox, Gaim, Gimp, Open Office, and so forth. Lots of countries censor the internet and you might need a tool that allows you to get around the blocks.
Many of the computers at internet cafe's are riddled with viruses and spyware. This is why you use portable Firefox instead of the spyware riddled IE loaded by default on the machines. It may not protect you much more, but it's better than the alternative.
This bit is very important: Try and get a USB Thumbdrive that has some sort of write protection switch on it (if that exists) so that you can make sure no data can be erased from it. Make sure when you use USB card-readers or plug your digital camera into a computer to offload photos to a website or something that you SWITCH ON WRITE-PROTECT on the memory card first.
I've lost everything on my USB drive and and 2GB worth of irreplacable photos from my memory card due to virus's that erase everything on any inserted media instantly and load a self-replicating virus on in the data's place. I've since made practices like I described here a habit I never forget.
Getting burned like that hurts. Don't make the same mistake yourself.
At the moment I'm spending a year going through Asia and a few other countries around the globe. I carry with me:
Garmin 72 GPS Device: If doing any trekking into remote jungle areas or mountains, geocaching, confluence hunting, etc, get one of these. They're waterproof, rugged as hell, some models have backlit screens, and so forth. Check Garmin's website for model information.
Water Purification Devices: I carry multiple systems. Firstly I carry an electronic pen-shaped device that purifies water using a concoction created using rock salt and some electronic process which you then dump into your water container/nalgene bottle.
Hands down the best water purification gadget is the standard pump filter. They're fairly compact, lightweight, and relatively inexpensive at around $100 for a good one. They're especially handy since they're simple to use, require very little setup, and provide instant clean water from any source. Iodine drops and other purification methods usually require you to wait around 30+ minutes before drinking your treated water.
Carry iodine or some other tablets as a backup.
Lockpicks: I also carry a set of lockpicks. I've had to hotwire a motorbike so far, unlock half a dozen guesthouse rooms for myself or others due to misplaced keys (usually following a night of heavy drinking). These things maybe aren't technically "gadgets," but they're handy.
Universal Electric Conversion Kits: You can find these at Brookstone or wherever. Great for plugging in your devices for charging anywhere in any outlet. The little cases are fairly compact as well. Make sure you get one that also does voltage/power conversions since not all countries provide the same amounts of electricity out of their sockets and might fry your electronics.
Space blankets: Not technically a "gadget," but MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AT LEAST ONE SPACE BLANKET in your backpack. You know... those highly reflective little bundles of silvery stuff that repel heat in case of fires and such? They're also great in intense cold by retaining body heat around you. I've literally had my life saved by one once a few months ago when I got trapped in a cave in Tibet up around 4000m in elevation. I would have frozen to death without it.
I also built a shelter out of it when I camped on the Great Wall of China because it was pouring rain and I was miles away from anywhere. They're very versatile, and quite large.
That's about it beyond ipods and other less useful gadgets that I carry more out of choice than any sort of necessity. Obviously don't neglect essentials like bug-spray and rope... but that's it off the top of my head as far as electronics go.
Are you REALLY sure you want to post?
"If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him" -Cardinal Richelieu (French Minister and Cardinal. 1585-1642)
Will we get access to cool new rulesets too? Can we filter all emails with crying faces to the "Crying Face Email" folder?
D00d, that would be such a ruthlessly efficient method for organizing emails! Sweet!
Why in gods name was this comment ever modded "funny?"
It's a really damned good question if you ask me.
You "Cheers" folks should all save yourselves some time and just put the word in your signatures.
If cops keep doing this shit there is going to be serious bloodshed VERY soon.
Kids will start to violently resist in mass during situations like this.
Then cops will call for backup, and people will end up being shot.
Congratulations, Police! You just went from checking college ID's to fucking KILLING PEOPLE.
Just handcuff the kid, pick him up, and carry him out. We didn't even get to see what they did to him after they got him to the station.
This is the most disturbing video I've seen in a long time, and I've seen a lot of disturbing videos. Those cops should be fired and put in jail.
thanks microsoft. didn't know you cared.
Unfortunately, using your system, things get a little hairy right around list item number one, and then things go downhill pretty quickly after that.
A lot of companies are in more than one market -- hardware, software, etc -- therefore sticking someone like IBM into a vendor.software or whatever domain would probably REALLY piss them off because they also manufacture tons of hardware related items and offer various other services.
You can't organize like that because so many people/businesses do so many things.
Common misunderstanding.
Rural families are allowed two children, the third is subject to a massive tax.
Most people cannot afford the third child. That doesn't stop them from having them, however, and since they cannot afford to register them due to the cost, many children in rural areas are not enrolled in schools and other programs.
I agree with a lot of what you've said here. Let me first explore the security issue.
At the one internet cafe out of thirty I was required to present ID for, I told them I didn't carry it on me, and then just wrote down "Billy Bob Trousers" for my name and put in some random number for my passport on their log sheet. At the same internet cafe I noticed that Chinese people paying in cash were not asked to present ID, and that most of the people coming in had cards they used instead of paying cash. I assume it's an internet cafe credit/debit card. Let's safely assume that in order to get that card they had to present ID and give their ID number which is stored in a potentially vulnerable computer.
So yeah, I think you're probably on to something there. I would guess, however, that there is a better chance of having your ID stolen, or other input logged, on a user-machine that everyone uses vs. the one central machine they use for registering people.
Let me also say that I completely agree with your last paragraph. Sometimes I'm not so sure that I don't feel more free "walking down the street" in China. I'm betting China will eventually be consumed by the same shit we did as far as rules and regulations go. Societies seem to evolve like that. Hopefully they can learn from our mistakes. Doubtful though.
But I just touched on what I really think the difference is between the two countries regarding how I feel being a resident in each. Don't get me wrong, I do value having the opportunity to grow up in a country that gave me the ability to see more than one side of things. In the United States, we have too many common laws that try to protect us from ourselves. In China, not so much.
Perhaps a stupid example: On my first flight back home on United Airlines(Yeah, yeah, I know.) the first thing I asked for was two beers. I figured I would save the woman a trip. This female flight attendant looked at me with an "I hate my life" expression on her face and said none too nicely "How about one at a time, sir." The second she gave me the first beer, I poked a hole in it and shotgunned it in five seconds. I turned and looked at her as she was about to walk away and said "Ma'am, about that one at a time thing."
In China, nobody fucking tells you "one at a time, sir." It's up to you to police yourself.
Maybe after spending more time there my views will change, but that's the feeling I have so far.
The price I quoted was roughly (~) 5RMB/hr. Most decent sized internet establishments residing in populated areas in China (this is as of a month ago) charge 3-5RMB/hr. Rarely more than that, unless you end up at a very touristy place. That price is charged to westerners AND locals all the same. These places are PACKED 24/7 with Chinese people. Not westerners.
The general observation I made is that the further northeast you go, the more expensive the internet gets. Beijing is, of course, on the "rape" end of the scale. Especially anywhere near Mao's box.
In the rural areas my internet access was much cheaper, but also much harder to come by. Also it needs to be said that most of the rural population pays nothing for what little internet they use, if any. If you're friendly with someone or you are part of the community, the internet is generally free along with a lot of other things.
My experiences may have differed from yours across the board. I've only spent time in Hong Kong, Yangshuo, Guilin, Chongqing, Chengdu, Kangding, Danba, Luding, Ya`an, Leshan, Juizhaigou, Songpan, Xian, Pingyao, Taiyuan, Datong, Beijing, and a LOT of the surrounding area of each. A lot of those places have tourist destinations, some of them don't. However, having spent a respectible amount of time at each one, I feel ~5RMB/hr is a reasonable estimate to give someone when asked about what people generally pay for internet in a cafe in China.
Maybe you have information that I don't that leads you to believe that the vast majority of internet users in China pay less than 3/hr. Perhaps prices across the board have gone up since you've been there. How long ago was it?