Charles :
As a tean member it doesn't matter to me who posts a news story, or whatever, if anything hopefully this news article will Bring Home the point of the Value of your blog site : Freedom of Speech and so forth :
Sean...
Google agrees to censor results in China
Search giant gives in to free-speech limits in return for better access
Updated: 7:54 p.m. ET Jan. 24, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO - Online search engine leader Google Inc. has agreed to censor its results in China, adhering to the country's free-speech restrictions in return for better access in the Internet's fastest growing market.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company planned to roll out a new version of its search engine bearing China's Web suffix ".cn," on Wednesday. A Chinese-language version of Google's search engine has previously been available through the company's dot-com address in the United States.
By creating a unique address for China, Google hopes to make its search engine more widely available and easier to use in the world's most populous country.
Because of government barriers set up to suppress information, Google's China users previously have been blocked from using the search engine or encountered lengthy delays in response time.
The service troubles have frustrated many Chinese users, hobbling Google's efforts to expand its market share in a country that expected to emerge as an Internet gold mine over the next decade.
China already has more than 100 million Web surfers and the audience is expected to swell substantially — an alluring prospect for Google as it tries to boost its already rapidly rising profits.
Baidu.com Inc., a Beijing-based company in which Google owns a 2.6 percent stake, currently runs China's most popular search engine. But a recent Keynote Systems survey of China's Internet preferences concluded that Baidu remains vulnerable to challenges from Google and Yahoo Inc.
To obtain the Chinese license, Google agreed to omit Web content that the country's government finds objectionable. Google will base its censorship decisons on guidance provided by Chinese government officials.
Although China has loosened some of its controls in recent years, some topics, such as Taiwan's independence and 1989's Tiananmen Square massacre, remain forbidden subjects.
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Google officials characterized the censorship concessions in China as an excruciating decision for a company that adopted "don't be evil" as a motto. But management believes it's a worthwhile sacrifice.
"We firmly believe, with our culture of innovation, Google can make meaningful and positive contributions to the already impressive pace of development in China," said Andrew McLaughlin, Google's senior policy counsel.
Google's decision rankled Reporters Without Borders, a media watchdog group that has sharply criticized Internet companies including Yahoo and Microsoft Corp.'s MSN.com for submitting to China's censorship regime. (MSNBC.com content is distributed by MSN. MSNBC itself is a Microsoft - NBC joint venture.)
"This is a real shame," said Julien Pain, head of Reporters with Borders' Internet desk. "When a search engine collaborates with the government like this, it makes it much easier for the Chinese government to control what is being said on the Internet."
When Google censors results in China, it intends to post notifications alerting users that some content has been removed — to comply with local laws. The company provides similar alerts in Germany and France when, to comply with national laws, it censors results to remove references to Nazi paraphernalia.
Google is cooperating with China's government at the same time it is battling the U.S. government over a subpoena seeking a breakdown of one week's worth of search requests — a list that would cover millions of terms.
Reflecting its uneasy alliance with the Chinese government, Google isn't releasing all its services.
Neither Google's e-mail nor blogging services will be offered in China because the company doesn't want to risk being ordered by the government to turn over anyone's personal information. The e-mail service, called Gmail, creates a huge database of users' messages and makes them instantly searchable. The blogging services contain a wide range of personal background.
Yahoo came under fire last year after it provided the government with the e-mail account information of a Chinese journalist who was later convicted for violating state secrecy laws.
Initially, Google's Chinese service will be limited to searching Web pages and images. The company also will provide local search results and a special edition of its news service that will be confined to government-sanctioned media.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
12 comments:
Just to advise you that your 'free speech' just broke the law just like somebody in China-didn't you see the
"Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed."
By cutting and pasting it you broke the law. For those touting 'our success' vs. China, everything is relative, and before basking in the light of freedom I suggest you look carefully at the fact that your Google searches may shortly find there way to the FBI, CIA, and Home Security Department.
While 'searching' the internet has nothing to do with free speech, we may have 'internet freedom' but you just better hope the list doesn't find its way to the FBI and you haven't been searching for anything naughty.
Seems the almighty dollar Charles has no code of ethics or respect for
freedom of speech huh ? Remember the story thing you did about china
and
everybody went nut's about what you wrote, " Well it's like the old
saying,
you told them so, some of the readers weren't happy with what you
wrote, "
But you were right, and that Chine story you posted seems to verify and
prove what you said all along ? I'd say.
I knew you were right all along, from what I did and saw years ago :
Boy the Truth hurts Huh ? :>)
In responce to your statement 5:36-PM - I suggest you look carefully at the fact that your Google searches may shortly find there way to the FBI, CIA, and Home Security Department.
With the ever on going threat of Terrorism, I have no problems with the FBI, CIA, Home Security or CSIS here in Canada tracking myself or anybody else.
Also please bear in mind, it's been proven, that these Terrorists have been communicating with each other via the Internet.
The world changed on 911.
The fact alone 5:36-Pm that you were able to post what you stated Proves, We should be thankful that we live in a free Country, and not some place Like CHINA, where their Constantly busy building up their Nuclear Weapon Arsenal and Military Machine for years.
And already have Missiles pointed at Taiwan.
Could Canada be next in their Gun Sights, despite all their Smiling, Bowing and Hand Shaking, and Commerce with us ?
It's my right as a Canadian to State " I don't trust the Government Of China "
Take whatever shot's you want at me for my views, because the more you say what you want, is More Proof all the Time, You and I and this Blog Site have freedom of speech, unlike some countries in the world.
If anybody wants to sue me for so-called Copyright Violation , they know where to fine me and my cane :>) Like I told you all in my Bio, I'm Crazy Remember, I'll plead Insanity and win :
China shuts down newspaper supplement
By AUDRA ANG - Associated Press
BEIJING (AP) — Employees said Wednesday that China has shut down a newspaper supplement known for its in-depth reporting on sensitive issues, the latest measure by the communist government to tighten control over the media.
Production of Bing Dian, a four-page weekly supplement of the state-run China Youth Daily, was halted until further notice late Tuesday, the eve before its latest issue was to appear, the employees said.
Chief editor Li Datong said he was called into a meeting at 8 p.m. and notified of the shutdown without being given a reason. “I’m very angry,” said Li, the supplement’s founder. “We’ll be going through regular channels to appeal.”
The 11-year-old publication had become a must-read among China’s educated elite, running penetrating articles on topical issues such as a chemical spill that polluted a major river last year. Its closure reflects growing tensions between the Chinese leadership and media outlets that have been pushing the limits of official tolerance in part to capture greater market share.
Staff at Bing Dian — which means “Freezing Point” — expressed bewilderment with the closure. “It’s so unfair,” said a woman in the Bing Dian office who declined to give her name because of the sensitivity of the situation. “It’s hard to tell how long this will last but we were told it can be resumed ‘after improvements.”’
Employees said officials did not say what would happen to Bing Dian’s staff of five editors and eight reporters.
In an attempt to reassert its authority, the government has recently fired aggressive editors and intimidated and even jailed enterprising reporters. According to government figures, authorities banned 79 newspapers deemed illegal in a nationwide crackdown last year.
Last month, the government forced the transfer of a senior editor at the Beijing News, a brash tabloid, prompting staff to stage a brief sympathy strike. No official reason was given for the removal of the editor, but reporters and other editors at the newspaper believe it was for their reporting on acts of official malfeasance and corruption.
At Bing Dian, tensions had been growing between the supplement’s sponsor, the China Youth Daily, and the newspaper’s owner, the Communist Party’s Youth League, over journalistic values, according to a report by Radio Free Asia, a U.S. government-funded broadcaster.
Last August, Li wrote an internal memo criticizing “a reward system linking journalists’ salaries to the good opinion of top government officials,” RFA said Wednesday.
Another possible reason for the shutdown is a Jan. 11 report that focused on what it called “mistakes in Chinese history textbooks.” It criticized the textbooks for using facts that cannot be proved in sections about Japan’s invasion of China during World War II and the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, when scores of foreign missionaries were slaughtered.
While it did not go into detail, it called on textbooks to “tell the truth to our nation’s youth.”
url for story = http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/MediaNews/2006/01/25/1411050-ap.html
911 had NOTHING to do with Canada. We didn't have troops in the middle east, so the claim that WE give up our civil rights because of them is just crazy. YOU may think its just fine, but that's your opinion.
The point is NOT China (although personally I have FAR more fear of the americans who have been messing in our politics for centuries, rather than the Chinese).
It's also wrong that we have free speech. Charles may choose to act illegally and hope nobody decides to sue him or arrest him, but the point is that rights play no role if you are acting illegally. Charles cannot FREELY exercise his freedom of speech by posting that article-it is ILLEGAL.
Perhaps you are quite willing to live under surveillance because of the militarism of another country, however, free speech is something that needs to be constantly fought for. Is is REALLY 'free' speech if a government is watching you all the time?
Nobody here has ever defended China in this policy, the point is that it serves as an example to US. Freedom is not a gift. YOur freedom of speech does not extend to a protest and even to talking to somebody in the street. There are tons of ways our freedom is infringed on, when you sit back and say 'well, gee, good thing we're not china', then you fall into the trap of not being vigilant.
Charles knows this more than anybody, he can no longer get letters printed in the paper or get his voice on radio, so his 'freedom of speech' is relegated to a format that insures the majority of New Brunswickers never hear directly from him. In New Brunswick you have 'freedom of speech'-as long as nobody hears.
10:07 PM, You stated " Your freedom of speech does not extend to a protest and even to talking to somebody in the street."
This is from or current Canadian Constitution " Fundamental Freedoms "
Fundamental freedoms 2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
(a) freedom of conscience and religion;
(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
(c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
(d) freedom of association.
C- Freedom Of Peaceful Assembly
Read up on our Constitution I suggest to you at the URL, I won't post the constitution for fear of Copyright Violation as some of you have pointed out.
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/const/annex_e.html#guarantee
Just thought i'd throw my 2 cents in for what its worth, I came across the News Story Headline :
UPDATE: Congressman calls for hearings over GOOGLE's China decision...
and here's the url for the story :
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/e3f999fe-8dfc-11da-8fda-0000779e2340.html
I suggest 10:07 you read and learn about the lend and lease program the Americans implemented during the second world war, Canada and Britain literally had nothing to fight with.
They did however after the Lend and Lease program was brought into effect by our American Neighbours.
Some critisize the Americans for not enetering that War, when Britain and Canada Did.
Seems sometimes your Darned If you do, and darned if you don't.
I know one thing, you say your afraid of the Americans, maybe now with Harper in office, if we ask GW to send some of their Navy or Coast Gaurd Vessels to help us protect put Coastlines, maybe he will.
We all know right now, Canada can't
If you look at the numbers, per capita the americans have just as many people in prison. There they simply make something you do illegal-like smoking a plant, then ram you into prison.
The China-Taiwan thing is peanuts compared to the americans going in and wiping out Iraq and occupying it. The americans have shown in country after country that they will do whatever it takes to stay in line. As for human rights, China beats the US hands down, it isn't even a contest. So again, I'd rather we sold oil to China and refused to do business with the states til THEY cleaned up their human rights abuses.
The poster above hits it right on the head, just because we have a charter that SAYS we have rights, doesn't make it so, all you have to do is ask any of the people who have been arrested for exercising there's. Including the guy Chretien sucker punched.
You can call it 'peaceful assembly' but that means nothing. A bunch of teens in a public park can peacefully assemble and they'll be told to move along because of a multitude of bylaws.
I suggest you take a look at the actual USE of rights in Canada. That's why it was brought up, we can sit and argue foreign policy, but that accomplishes nothing, we dont even have the power to elect politicians in a equitable manner let alone affect foreign policy.
But exercise of rights is something that affects every one in our communities-just ask charles. Everybody has a right to an opinion, I don't expect anyone to agree with me, all I'm saying is research and look at your freedoms close to home-don't take what freedom we DO have for granted.
Now we find out that all in the name of corporate greed China has not changed their penchant for abusing their own people, and why should they, the Western World has recognized them anyway, so where is the motivation for them to change the way they do business.
# posted by jwmcq : 9:08 AM
Great Point jwmcq :
Everybody { Canada, Even the City Of Saint John, and The United States is screaming how the Government of China treats their people, but when it comes to making a Buck, The Human Rights Issue goes down the Toilet.
And unless the Western World says no deal, we're not having anything to do with ya` until you start having a better Human Rights record, Nothing will ever change.
By not buying Chinese the first thing that it will hit is your pocketbook. Virtually all the department stores, dollar stores, wal-mart, etc., are heavily reliant on chinese goods. How many of YOU refuse to buy chinese goods or have started chinese boycotts? It isn't the GOVERNMENT that is buying this junk-its CANADIANS.
Good point 2:48 PM, You are right, what a great feeling. I wonder why, suppose Unions have anything to do with it ?
It's good that Google follows the laws of the nations it works it. Imagine if they came in and decided to break Canada's draconian privacy laws. It would be good for some people - but it would be an afront to our soveirgty, if multinational corporations skirted our laws.
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