China vs. Google

Google says hackers from China attacked the site. And because of the attack, Google is rethinking the entire operation it's got going in China ...

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/google-says-attack-from-china-was-aimed-at-dissidents/?ref=global-home

 

I like Google's stance. Because of China's increased stake in the global economy, it seems like corporations and governments are often more willing to let things slide.

 

They're decensoring http://www.Google.cn now: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/12/tech/cnettechnews/main6088967.shtml

Rather than close that site down, Google should do the single most subversive thing it can do in this circumstance: Leave it decensored . . . and leave it running.

 

Google.cn still looks censored to me:

http://images.google.cn/images?hl=zh-CN&source=hp&q=tiananmen+square&btnG=搜索图片&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=

Not sure if Google hasn't followed through yet or if it's because of China's filters -- would I be going through servers in China when I do a search -- but look at the first link vs. this one:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=tiananmen%20square&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

 

Hell, they should make the Google artwork include a "Free Tibet" message.

 

Hope Google follows through. Fuck China. Fuck it right in the ear.

 

Chinese authorities shouldn't be afraid. Citizens and dissidents still won't be able to read any AP stories about Chinese atrocities on Google News.

 

In a week's time, they've dissed China and the Associated Press. Google may be the first corporation with nuclear warheads.

 

Yes, that. As far as I'm concern, the people running China need to be wrapped up in the cadmium-laced children's jewelry they've been foisting on our stores.

And for reasons unknown, the Iranian government-backed (or at least sympathetic) blackhat hackers who broke into Twitter in December have also hacked into Baidu, the government-endorsed search engine in China. That seems to have spawned a bit of a cyberwar between the two countries.

 

Reminds of the Family Guy part where the German tour director is talking about the country's history:

German Tour Guide: You vill find more on Germany's contributions to ze arts in ze pamphlets ve have provided.
Brian : Yeah, about your pamphlet... uh, I'm not seeing anything about German history between 1939 and 1945. There's just a big gap.
Tour guide: Everyone vas on vacation. On your left is Munich's first city hall, erected in 15...
Brian : Wait, what are you talking about? Germany invaded Poland in 1939 and...
Tour Guide: We were invited. Punch vas served. Check vit Poland.
Brian : You can't just ignore those years. Thomas Mann fled to America because of Nazism's stranglehold on Germany.
Tour guide: Nope, nope. He left to manage a Dairy Queen.
Brian : A Dairy Queen? That's preposterous.
Tour guide: I vill hear no more insinuations about the German people. Nothing bad happened. Sie werden sich hinsetzen. Sie werden ruhig sein. Sie werden nicht beleidigen Deutschland. You will sit down. You will shut up. You will not insult Germany. (Throws his hand up in a Hitler salute.)
Brian : Uh, is that a beer hall?
Tour guide: (Snapping out of it) Oh yes, Munich is renowned for its historic beer halls.

 

When I first heard the news last night about Google being hacked after reading an article about Google changing its mind on the censorship, the first thing I thought of was that Google saw that it was the government hacking their servers and this was their response.

I had so much trouble with the internet on my last trip over. Facebook is blocked and you need a VPN to work around it. I couldn't check certain email accounts as well. It was just very frustrating.