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China tightens Web controls; commenters must register real names

latimes.com

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Re: China tightens Web controls; commenters must register real names

#51

Post by api »

sholanozie wrote: post #49
api wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

America is simply much more sophisticated in its methods of mass control. China deploys primitive ham-fisted stuff like web controls and their "great firewall," while America is much more skilled in the fine-grained use of soft power and propaganda to achieve the same effects. American oligarchs know better than to whack people indiscriminately with crude mallets or to show their hand too overtly. My guess would be t…

Just wanted to say that this is spot on, in my opinion. After watching a documentary about North Korea recently, I couldn't help but feel like our Western governments are guilty of the exact same things that we openly mock North Korea for. The only difference is that we, over hundreds (perhaps thousands) of years, have mastered the art of disguising the mechanisms by which we control the population.

I think the comparison continues down the line -- the big difference is how crude or refined an oligarchy is at wielding power. North Korea is particularly crude and "lower class," simply offing people left and right and sending people to camps. American oligarchs are considerably classier.

Re: China tightens Web controls; commenters must register real names

#52

Post by virtuabhi »

ThisIBereave wrote: post #38
pagnotta wrote: post #20

It is funny how american media is eager to depict China as a North-Korea, and how americans opinions end being formed by their partial media in the same way it happens under dictatorships. Have spent a decade in China, I have yet to see a cop carrying a gun. Cops in China are way more friendly than in US, and for me, way more trustable. people think they keep the chinese people under fear and draconian control, but i…

I lived in China for 6 months and saw plenty of cops with guns and saw undercover cops roughly throw around a street vendor who had gotten too close to the forbidden city for their liking. Your view here seems to be willfully obscured. Having your opinion formed by the media is a necessity of living in a world where you can't get first hand information for everything, i.e. a constraint imposed by reality. the differe…

If media is free, then why is Glenn Greenwald in Brazil and Laura Poitras in Berlin?

[0] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2797916/filmmaker-di...

Re: China tightens Web controls; commenters must register real names

#53

Post by guelo »

screwedup wrote: post #3

Before you start thinking "oh, those crazy Chinese...", remember that many people in the USA (and other western countries) fervently believe that we should do the same thing.

It's weird how everytime there is criticism of some country people pop up to say that the US is also bad in some way. It's a non sequitur. China is fucked up, full stop. Is the US fucked up too? Yes. That doesn't mean China should not be criticized for their fuckupery.

Re: China tightens Web controls; commenters must register real names

#54

Post by JeremyMorgan »

freehunter wrote: post #45
JeremyMorgan wrote: post #27

This isn't the craziest idea in the world. Trolls can be distracting and a ton of garbage to discussions. This isn't one of those "evil Chinese laws" in my opinion. But I guess I'm posting this as someone using their legal name so there's that.

Someone trolling an Internet discussion board shouldn't result in a federal law removing all privacy from everyone. The trolls might stop, but what about government critics who are now being silenced because they will be killed if they reveal their real name? You might not have to worry about your government breaking down your door if you post something negative about your politicians. Some people in other countries…

While that's a good point I'm just playing devil's advocate here. It's probably among the least crazy things China has done.

By the way thanks people who disagree with me for the downvotes. Cause that's what they're designed for.

Re: China tightens Web controls; commenters must register real names

#55

Post by Canada »

hga wrote: post #50
Canada wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your federal government is conducting warrantless searches without any claim of probable cause, at every airport and on public transportation systems in your cities. There is no hot civil war.

And lots of us have replied by no longer using airports (I believe you grossly overstate the searches in public transportation system. Or my sources on VIPR etc. are woefully inadequate, not to mention my friends and my own personal experiences on the DC Metro and the Boston MBTA systems). It is possible, it's even convenient or required for many people. That's very different from a nationwide, you can't escape this…

And I bet if this new Chinese policy were implemented in the US, a lot of you would reply by no longer posting comments. And not much else would happen.

Re: China tightens Web controls; commenters must register real names

#56

Post by hga »

Canada wrote: post #55
hga wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And lots of us have replied by no longer using airports (I believe you grossly overstate the searches in public transportation system. Or my sources on VIPR etc. are woefully inadequate, not to mention my friends and my own personal experiences on the DC Metro and the Boston MBTA systems). It is possible, it's even convenient or required for many people. That's very different from a nationwide, you can't escape this…

And I bet if this new Chinese policy were implemented in the US, a lot of you would reply by no longer posting comments. And not much else would happen.

And you base this on what?

Americans' famously peaceful and agreeable nature? Our still having the ingrained habit of tugging our forelocks that was required from where we emigrated?

That our response to the response of our ruling class to Sandy Hook was to buy every weapon of military utility that was available, finishing the last stock of surplus military bolt action rifles (the Russian and Soviet Mosin-Nagants): http://www.bob-owens.com/2012/12/something-funny-happened-on... Look at the adjusted NSSF NICS retail gun purchase figures, all during the grinding Great Recession. We aren't buying these weapons to just polish and admire, as the perpetual post-Obama election ammunition supply problems attests.

Re: China tightens Web controls; commenters must register real names

#57

Post by hga »

api wrote: post #51
sholanozie wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just wanted to say that this is spot on, in my opinion. After watching a documentary about North Korea recently, I couldn't help but feel like our Western governments are guilty of the exact same things that we openly mock North Korea for. The only difference is that we, over hundreds (perhaps thousands) of years, have mastered the art of disguising the mechanisms by which we control the population.

I think the comparison continues down the line -- the big difference is how crude or refined an oligarchy is at wielding power. North Korea is particularly crude and "lower class," simply offing people left and right and sending people to camps. American oligarchs are considerably classier.

Indeed, and I don't deny our ruling class has become an oligarchy, see for instance the recent writings of Angelo Codevilla starting with http://spectator.org/articles/39326/americas-ruling-class-an...

But they, or we, are singularly peculiar. Outside of NYC and DC, all of us with non-felony or domestic violence records can buy serious handguns and rifles, the very same stuff (or better :-) than our police and military are issued. (Machine guns are under a weird regime, but given their very limited utility until you get to the weights of light machine guns or GPMGs, 15-30 pounds, that's not much of an issue, and in most states we can still buy them.)

Historically unique, not counting regimes where it was decided that the reliable subjects should be strongly encouraged to be proficient in the weapons of the day (I'm thinking particularly of the English and long bows, and after Henry the VIII, "reliable" generally meant non-Roman Catholic; I've also heard much less reliably that in old times one or more of the kingdoms in Korea could in extremis muster just about everyone including the women and have a good chance of saving the situation).

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