The Rise of the Dragon

According to this CNET.com article linked to HERE, they told-off more companies than just Google.  They  focused in on the leading Chinese search engine Baidu as well as 17 other leading search engine companies.  China has always been bent on keeping “vulgar” material (as well as any material they don’t like) off of the Internet.

I am usually a huge proponent of free speech (isn’t that what we call porn here in the US?  So maybe not ALL free speech) especially in China where way too much is restricted by the government.  I have heard way too many stories like the following:

At an international Internet summit in Athens, a government representative told an incredulous audience: “I’ve heard people say that the BBC is not available in China or that it’s blocked. I’m sure I don’t know why people say this kind of thing. We do not have restrictions at all.”

Stupid comment, sure.  But this time I have to disagree and side with the Chinese government.

But first, the author of the article went on to make the following calculation:

“If this were simply political speech, no doubt members of the U.S. Congress would be tempted to convene ritual hearings where China, Google, and various other companies could be ceremoniously denounced in front of the cameras. (Google has since apologized and vowed to work with the Chinese government.) But because we’re talking about porn, a Senate resolution applauding China’s censorial policies is probably more likely.”

I say good.  For some reason “us Americans” think that whatever we do is the “only” way to do things, and is the definition of what is “right.”  I am not saying that China is always right either, far from it.  I am not an expert on the constitution, but I am also not an idiot.

Do we really think that an out of control addiction to porn (as well as out of control spending, greed and an addiction to prescription pills) makes us as a nation better?  I would chose a few different things that make the US a great nation.  And I have digressed.

More on this next week…