Quick Roundup 4

Monday, January 09, 2006

Where does Big Brother want you to go today?

Microsoft is at it again.

Microsoft Corp. has shut down the Internet journal of a Chinese blogger that discussed politically sensitive issues including a recent strike at a Beijing newspaper.

The action came amid criticism by free-speech activists of foreign technology companies that help the communist government enforce censorship or silence dissent in order to be allowed into China's market.

Microsoft's China-based Web log-hosting service shut down the blog at the Chinese government's request, said Brooke Richardson, group product manager with Microsoft's MSN online division at the company headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
I hear that the talking paperclip is used to frighten children over there.

Update: Be sure to read Nick Provenzo's more in-depth posting on this very subject over at Rule of Reason, which Blair says is back in business. I hope so!

Carnival of the Cats

The Carnival of the Cats has been posted over at Pages Turned.

Blogroll Changes

Check out the extensive blogroll changes I made yesterday. Since I will be making other template changes soon, now is the time to complain if I goofed something up. Also, be sure to stop by the five new blogs I've added in the "Recent Additions" column.

--CAV

Updates

Today: Added link to Nick Provenzo's blog posting on Microsoft.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I heard about the censorship yesterday and all I can say is "Yuck." They tried to rationalize it by saying the Chinese are better off with restricted tools than no tools, but that doesn't excuse the harm of corporate America giving the Reds moral legitimacy.

Gus Van Horn said...

Oakes,

With Windows's poor security and with the courage and ingenuity some bloggers have shown in the past, such a position has its points, not (as you rightly point out) that it exculpates MS.

Gus