I'd see this as a calculated move on Google's part. They'll be like the little Chest-Burster alien, you see. Lurking inside the great People's Collective Body Mass, ready to bust out when the conceptual incubation is complete.
You know Microsoft wouldn't think twice about selling out to them.
Seems a little shortsighted to me to blame Google and call them "evil" for conforming to the Chinese government's specs. You might as well expect to be able to sell guns in a country they're illegal in because you think people should be able to protect themselves from each other and their government-- it doesn't matter what you think, you're still going to jail. In fact, as the alternative is likely to be no google in china at all, then anything they can do to promote the sharing of information is a good thing, even if it's not going guns-ablazing in the face of the chinese government.
google is and always has been a business. they arent free radical neo beatnik hippie vegetarian librials making an open souce search engine. they make billions and billions doing what they do, anything they do that is precieved as neato hipster cool, is putting money in their pockets, lots of it. their stock is at 400 a share and is projected to reach more than 600 by the end of this year. they would deep fry babies if it turned a profit.
if nothing else, i just find it humorous google's praised one week for "protecting" people from a govt's inquiries, and the next week booed for "protecting" people from ideas a govt considers harmful.
This is the problem with becomeing a publicly traded company. Private companies can be motivated by whatever the owner feels like (usually a combination of making money and higher values).
With google and China, I'm sure some of them feel like if they left the market open someone worse would fill the void. It is this type "greater good" type thinking that is the slippery slope to evil.
China was already censoring Google.com, Google's only option was to create google.cn and make sure it doesn't produce as many false positives as the Chinese blocking system. China has internet censoring systems in place so trying to be some beacon of virtue that gives uncensored data to the chinese will only result in your site being blocked.
Analogy: If you saw an enemy soldier kill someone, would you attempt to interfere even though he'll just shoot you and continue or would you ignore him because you can't do anything? If necessary, assume you have neither surprise nor any weapons at your disposal.
here is a better one, if your a crack whore and someone offers you 50 bucks for some head, would you take the money, or would you rufuse because its not what a proper lady would do.
Its either Google censors itself, or China's government takes away Google from the people. In both scenarios China's government wins. But in one scenario the people of China are a little less screwed over.
I think I saw that analogy in a McGuiver episode, KDR's not the one about the crack whore. That would have been a funny mix, though.
I think the real story here is that Google managed to get some kind of agreement with China. Someone quick, send Google to Iran while they are on a roll.
Oh please, enough ridiculous analogies. Offering people partial information vs. no information is nothing like any of these rape/kill/enemy soldier shock-analogies.
How about this one?
You bake some cookies and have some left over, so you take them over to your new neighbors, who accept the chocolate ones, but have religious differencess with the oatmeal cookies. Do you refuse to give them any because they're being backwards doo-doo-heads?
In the end, such an analogy is useless. Information is not rape, or candy, or murder, it's information. If you're going to call google evil for its actions, stick to discussing it's actions and the real issues/consequences thereof.
Replies
You know Microsoft wouldn't think twice about selling out to them.
/jzero
Cant link to any sites the might try to organize the people to push for a better life for themselves.
Shame on google. Guess Ill use answers.com
(And if I said it once, I'll say it a million times. Capitalism does not equal democracy))
Classic line, that Sh^%t made me laugh out loud, hahahaha!
Marcus Dublin
With google and China, I'm sure some of them feel like if they left the market open someone worse would fill the void. It is this type "greater good" type thinking that is the slippery slope to evil.
Analogy: If you saw an enemy soldier kill someone, would you attempt to interfere even though he'll just shoot you and continue or would you ignore him because you can't do anything? If necessary, assume you have neither surprise nor any weapons at your disposal.
Refuse the money or refuse to give head? If you're a crack whore then you've (supposedly) already been down that road. Why not get paid?
If theyre not gonna do it, someone else will(and would have to
Its either Google censors itself, or China's government takes away Google from the people. In both scenarios China's government wins. But in one scenario the people of China are a little less screwed over.
I think the real story here is that Google managed to get some kind of agreement with China. Someone quick, send Google to Iran while they are on a roll.
How about this one?
You bake some cookies and have some left over, so you take them over to your new neighbors, who accept the chocolate ones, but have religious differencess with the oatmeal cookies. Do you refuse to give them any because they're being backwards doo-doo-heads?
In the end, such an analogy is useless. Information is not rape, or candy, or murder, it's information. If you're going to call google evil for its actions, stick to discussing it's actions and the real issues/consequences thereof.