The Noisy American

Banned in China

Well, I've been banned in China.  Actually, all of us have.  Anyone using blogspot, slashdot or Typepad has been banned.  I have several friends in China who e-mailed me to tell me that they can no longer view the site, so today did a bit of investigating and found a few sites confirming it.   In China, blogging is called Bo Ke and has been getting quite popular over the last couple of years.  I'm quite surprised that they've been banned as when I was living there 18 months ago I could access almost anything online.  The only time I had any problem was when I was trying to find something from one of the American TV networks.  Apparently, they are getting more tough on the Internet.  And I thought it was something I said.

From Reporters sans Borders:

• At the start of May, 2004, there were 61 cyber-dissedents in prison, the largest number in the world.
• There are 80 million Internet users, second only to the United States and the number of people online has doubled in 18 months.
• American companies eager to do business agree with and assist in censorship methods.  Yahoo! censors its' websites, Cisco Systems Inc. sold China the routers needed to create the surveillance infrastructure.
• There are only five hubs through which all information must pass thru to enter China.
• Many forums and chatlines have been shut down, especially those that deal with politics.   

From New Scientist:

• In 2003, half of the Internet cafes in China were closed down.  Of those that were left open, the computers were equiped with surveillance software to keep track of their "online movements and keep records of their names, addresses and ID numbers."
• "By the end of October 2004, China had more than 45 large blog-hosting services. A Google search for bo ke will return more than two million results, from blogs for football fans to blogs for Christians."

Strangely enough, it seems that Yahoo and MSN messenger are unaffected (at the moment.)  As I write this, I'm discussing the issue with a friend of mine in Shanghai, sending pictures, files, etc. 

Hopefully, they won't decide to do the same here in the UAE, though I wouldn't be surprised if it happened.  If I suddenly disappear, you'll know why.

For more info on the Internet in China check out AsiaPundit.

Comix

Neurotic comix by Lev Yilmaz,  Check it out, especially Balance and My Successful friends.  Here's a sample.

The Beginning - Atlanta

Thought I'd create a bit of a travelblog about my most recent trip to Asia and the USA.  Later, once I get comfortable with the idea of 'bloging', perhaps I'll write about other interests. 

I started my holiday in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.  Actually I was in Henry County which is about an hours drive away from (and 20 years behind) Atlanta.  It was great to see my family and friends (though few friends actually live there now), but also a bit frustrating as I was immobile and had to rely on my father for transport pretty much the entire time.  Apparently in Georgia you have to supply proof of residency to obtain a license.  Who knew?  If I'd been aware of that little technicality, I'd of stopped off in Seattle before heading home.  As it was, I was stuck in the boonies for most of my stay.  I guess it was relaxing - sitting on the porch rocking, smoking, watching the squirrels and birds, but not exactly how I planned to start my holiday. 

I did make it to Atlanta for "Screen on the Green" in Piedmont Park which was good fun.  For those of you who've never been to Atlanta, Piedmont Park is a fairly large park in the center of Midtown.  As midtown has a huge gay population, Piedmont is not only busy during the day with families, joggers and what have you, it also sees quite a bit of action at night.  I won't go into any details.  Anyway, they set up a huge screen in the park and thousands of people showed up to watch Mommy Dearest. 

It was two days before the start of Gay Pride so you can probably imagine what kind of crowd was present.  Good fun!  Thanks Cuz. BTW, she has one of the loveliest homes in Atlanta.  If you need decorating tips...

But I digress...

As I said, it was great to see my family and especially some of my new relatives born while I was overseas.

  Definitely cute kids!  Don't know how my brother and sister did this.

Ok, I know how, just not sure where they got such cute genes.

 

Next Stop - Seattle