Microsoft bans 'democracy' for China web users

moneycentral ^

[phoenix_004]

Microsoft's new Chinese internet portal has banned the words "democracy" and "freedom" from parts of its website in an apparent effort to avoid offending Beijing's political censors.

Users of the joint-venture portal, formally launched last month, have been blocked from using a range of potentially sensitive words to label personal websites they create using its free online blog service, MSN Spaces.

[phoenix_004]

Earlier its was argued by analysts that greater investments in china by multinationals and greater economic development of china will eventually lead to democracy in china.....Now its becoming increasingly clear that instead of that happening , these corporations have become tools in the hands of the chinese to extend their authoritarian reach!!!!

[Crazieman]

Disgusting

China: Jump!

US Corporations: How High?

Google is guilty of this too

[muawiyah]

The Chinese have always been authoritarian, and at time totalitarian.

I wonder if they ban the expression "ChiComScum"?

[anniegetyourgun]

Or the color "red?"

[familyop]

Yes, Bill and his friends in both parties are the social and intellectual "elite."

China's leaders order Communist Party to take stronger role in business (China)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1328492/posts
Excerpt:

"China had 150,000 state enterprises by the end of 2003. Most are controlled by local or provincial governments, with only the largest and most strategically important falling under central government control. - AP

Microsoft's Bill Gates to meet with Jacques Chirac, sign Dassault deal Wednesday
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1281425/posts?page=1
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20041116/bs_afp/france_us_it_software_041116203803

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gave $8.8 million to the Planned Parenthood Federation.
http://www.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/women/12/11/health.women.gates.reut/

"Microsoft offers source code to China"
http://itmatters.com.ph/news/news_03032003a.html
(removed from major news sites)

Gates: Buy stamps to send e-mail
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/03/05/spam.charge.ap/

Bill Gates against repealing the inheritance tax
http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript_inheritance.html

"Soros, one of the wealthiest men in the world, promised $15.5 million to defeating President Bush. Also on this list are Bill Gates,..."
http://www.americasvoices.org/archives2003/CoxJ/CoxJ_112403.htm

The Left-Wing Billionaire Collectivist Pigs
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/9/25/191020.shtml

Billionaire Collectivist Pigs on a Roll
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/10/11/171315.shtml

"Gun-Control Group Changes Name, Keeps Agenda"
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=%5C%5CNation%5C%5Carchive%5C%5C200106%5C%5CNAT20010615a.html
(and Bill is a contributor)

"Is Bill Gates a closet liberal?"
http://archive.salon.com/21st/feature/1998/01/cov_29feature.html
(Bill Gates for gun control, pro-abortion, etc.)

http://vikingphoenix.com/news/madminute/1997/mm970040.htm
(Gates on gun control)

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/july-dec97/guns_11-4.html
(more money for gun control from Gates and his father)

"Bill Gates Is No Free Market Hero"
http://brian.carnell.com/articles/2000/12/000046.html

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/opinion/datelinedc/s_176864.html

Windows XP Shows the Direction Microsoft is Going
http://www.hevanet.com/peace/microsoft.htm

"the changing politics of Bill Gates" (national review, john j. miller)
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m1282/2_51/53662235/p1/article.jhtml

2002 Feb 2, In NYC protesters of the World Economic Forum turned out in large numbers. Inside foreign economic leaders criticized the US for protectionist policies, and Bill Gates and U2 rock star Bono pushed for increases in foreign aid by rich countries to poor countries."
http://timelines.ws/days/02_02.HTML

"Software, soft money, and Libertarians"
http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0039/news-anderson.shtml
[Bill gives money to both sides--whoever supports Microsoft and extreme social left policies. ...includes Barney Frank.]

Client testimonials, Bill Gates in China, Bill Clinton in China
http://www.beijinghighlights.com/testimonials/testimonials.htm

"State-owned Software Firm Ties up with Microsoft China"
http://fpeng.peopledaily.com.cn/200107/07/eng20010707_74398.html

[muawiyah]

This is the same sort of trick IBM got into in Germany before WWII, and actually held onto during the two years the US was not involved in that war.

There's a leftwing nutcase out there with a book that's otherwise fairly definitive regarding this issue and he says, and proves, that IBM managed to account for all the Jews shipped to the death camps. The "accounting" minimized the efforts required by the Nazi state to round them up.

I would imagine Google's management team went through the exact same arguments IBM's did ~ "Do we want to do this"? "Yes, there's a lot of money to be made".

End of argument.

[Camel Joe]

They will quickly develop a code for any banned words. Freedom cannot be contained, its either all or nothing. They let the Genie out of the bottle and will have a difficult time getting it back in. Protests in Hong Kong are proving that. God Bless them all!

[shadowman99]

Worth a ping. I can't wait to hear Bush2000 and Golden Eagle spin this.

[BenLurkin]

Agreed.

Disgusting.

I'm fed up with MSFT.

[brushcop]

Google is one of the worst. I was searching for photos of soldiers in order to do some cartooning and guess where "us soldiers uniforms" led me? Right to dozens of websites slamming soldiers, prisoner "abuse", all the crap you can imagine.

And thank you Microsoft for the real stand-up pro-liberty, pro-democracy respresentation of a nation that has given you so much, you spineless POS. Now, want to know how I really feel? Just don't come within arm's reach.

[investigateworld]

There is a long history of 'elites' sucking up to dictators, witness Joesph P. Kennedy oft repeated statement, "Nazi's are just hard nosed business folks who we can deal with".
Henry Ford, when not publishing "Protocols of the Elders of Zion", was hiring Armand Hammer to sell his products to the newly birthed Soviet Union, and later built them a truck manufacturing plant. He also started "Ford Werks" which produced 100,000 trucks for the Werhmacht.... Even Donald Douglas, who produced the great DC3/C-47, A-20, A-26, had sold a DC 4 to Japan so they could reverse engineer and develop a long range bomber. This was after Japan had draw blood via attacking the USN's Yangtze River Patrol. ***** The list is endless*******

[Young Scholar]

I'm not a big fan of democracy, either, but freedom?!

[DAC22]

Proud to say I have used MS operating sys. since day one of my home computing (1995). I'm even prouder that I can count one one hand how much $ I have given Bill Gates for the privilege. I'm beginning to wonder when Geek boy takes his visit to Cuba like his buddies.

[Brilliant]

Personally, I have no problem with Microsoft doing this. If the Chinese are deluding themselves into thinking that banning a few words from the MS internet portal will keep western ideas out of their country, then they are truly dense. Microsoft is just giving the Chicoms enough rope to hang themselves.

[Salo]

Me neither. I'm guessing it'll be the "but IBM sold stuff to the Soviets, and as long MS is making money, and...and that money that is going to MS can't buy weapons...and, and...it's all Linux's fault!!!" diatribe again.

Worth a ping. I can't wait to hear Bush2000 and Golden Eagle spin this.

[Golden Eagle]

Nothing for me to spin, although it looks like you're stuck somewhere between a top and a gyroscope yourself. America's government is allowing American businesses to operate in China, which I don't agree with because things like this happen. Other search engines like Google will obviously suffer similar bans.

Of course, you'd never look at the issue objectively, and place guilt evenly or on the root cause of the issues, you'd much rather try to twist it into something that Microsoft and Microsoft alone is guilty of. If anyone has an agenda, it's quite obviously you and your Lunix hounds.

China orders all websites, blogs to register with government or face shutdown

[Golden Eagle]

Agreed. Disgusting. I'm fed up with MSFT.

I guess you missed the part of his post about Google being guilty as well.

[N3WBI3]

Microsoft's new Chinese internet portal has banned the words "democracy" and "freedom" from parts of its website in an apparent effort to avoid offending Beijing's political censors.

Microsoft knee padding for communist dictators? say it aint so..

[freedom moose]

If the Chinese are deluding themselves into thinking that banning a few words from the MS internet portal will keep western ideas out of their country, then they are truly dense.
Friends in China have told me that there are numerous ways around all this stuff using mirror sites (maybe that's not the right name, i'm not much of a tec guy) and everyone on the net there knows about it. apparently there are even many access pages for google that help users get around the censors.

[N3WBI3]

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