Re: OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt secret police....

2005-09-08 Thread Joe Rhett

On Wed, Sep 07, 2005 at 03:59:21PM -0400, Rich Kulawiec wrote:
> But when presented with *that* request from *that* government, the correct
> response -- from anyone with a conscience and a spine -- is "go to hell".
 
Apparently you aren't familiar with police techniques in China.
When presented with *ANY* request from *that* government, you smile
politely and don't give them a reason to shoot you on the spot.

If you don't want to play their games, don't enter the court.  If you're in
the court, one learns to play politely.

-- 
Joe Rhett
senior geek
meer.net


Re: OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt secret police....

2005-09-08 Thread Patrick W. Gilmore


On Sep 8, 2005, at 10:53 AM, Michael Greb wrote:


Except, they don't in the United States corporations have a legal
obligation to put profits above all else.  They are legally  
forbidden to

put morality above profit.  These laws are severyly in need of some
adjustments.


You deeply misunderstand the law.

And the topic of this mailing list. :)

--
TTFN,
patrick


Re: OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt secret police....

2005-09-08 Thread Michael Greb
On Thu, Sep 08, 2005 at 09:19:46AM +0100, Simon Waters wrote:
> 
> On Thursday 08 Sep 2005 3:09 am, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> > 
> > And when the corporate executives have a legal and moral obligation to
> > generate income for the stockholders (barring a stockholder's resolution
> > or other similar instrument dictating otherwise), what is one to do when
> > "vast profits" and "vast evil" lie in the same direction?
> 
> Moralities aren't black and white, generating profits falls behind other 
> legal 
> and moral obligations that apply to everyone.

Except, they don't in the United States corporations have a legal
obligation to put profits above all else.  They are legally forbidden to
put morality above profit.  These laws are severyly in need of some
adjustments.

> > Even Google, with it's "Don't Be Evil" policy
> 
> Any influence Google's "Don't be Evil" policy had vanished the day it was 
> floated AFAICT.
> 
> Where profits are put before morals that is called greed. Sure the 

No, that is following the law.

> stockmarkets allow people to put greedy people in charge of their money, but 
> be aware what goes around, comes around.
> 
> HG Wells referred to people investing in the stockmarket as a purely 
> financial 
> endevour for short term profits as "the irresponsibly wealthy" as far back as 
> 1902. Plus ça change.

Michael


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Re: OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt secret police....

2005-09-08 Thread Simon Waters

On Thursday 08 Sep 2005 3:09 am, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> 
> And when the corporate executives have a legal and moral obligation to
> generate income for the stockholders (barring a stockholder's resolution
> or other similar instrument dictating otherwise), what is one to do when
> "vast profits" and "vast evil" lie in the same direction?

Moralities aren't black and white, generating profits falls behind other legal 
and moral obligations that apply to everyone.

> Even Google, with it's "Don't Be Evil" policy

Any influence Google's "Don't be Evil" policy had vanished the day it was 
floated AFAICT.

Where profits are put before morals that is called greed. Sure the 
stockmarkets allow people to put greedy people in charge of their money, but 
be aware what goes around, comes around.

HG Wells referred to people investing in the stockmarket as a purely financial 
endevour for short term profits as "the irresponsibly wealthy" as far back as 
1902. Plus ça change.


Re: OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt secret police....

2005-09-07 Thread Gadi Evron


Bob Arthurs wrote:



I should add that my original statement pertains to (obviously) the 
Chinese *government* alone! I am concerned about the repression that the 
Chinese people experience, and the basic freedoms that they lack.


As far as 'China hate' is concerned- this definately doesn't apply to 
me- many of my friends are from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. I 


And I am sure none of us are actually China haters or gay bashers, many 
of my friends are gay, too!


lived for many years in the area, and speak pretty passable Mandarin 
myself (was pretty fluent, but it has deteriorated a bit, I'm afraid!). 
So, love the Chinese people, their culture, and history - resent the 
Chinese government's repression (though I personally believe the Hu Jin 
Tao *may* turn out to be a great improvement on leaders such as Jiang 
Zemin, Deng Xiaoping, and obviously Mao Zedong- I hear that Hu Jin Tao 
even met Hu Yaobang's widow, and plans a commemoration in the Great Hall 
of the People!!).


Still, China is by its own right a country with its own laws. You don't 
have to agree with them but that's how it is. B*ching about it here told 
me nothing of operational problems anyone faces except for over-zealous 
political opinions.


Want to bring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict up too?

Gadi.


Re: OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt secret police....

2005-09-07 Thread Valdis . Kletnieks
On Wed, 07 Sep 2005 17:38:17 EDT, Joseph S D Yao said:

> I do hate the lack of respect for human rights shown by the mainland
> Chinese government, and the slave labor prisons otherwise known as
> "cheap labor".  And the lack of self-respect that allows others to turn
> a blind eye to this for their own profit.

And when the corporate executives have a legal and moral obligation to
generate income for the stockholders (barring a stockholder's resolution
or other similar instrument dictating otherwise), what is one to do when
"vast profits" and "vast evil" lie in the same direction?

Even Google, with it's "Don't Be Evil" policy, finds it difficult sometimes,
because there *are* no clear answers.  Yes, it's a little evil to provide
a censored Google to the Chinese mainland.  On the other hand, would it be
more evil, or less evil, to *totally* withold all Google?


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Re: OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt secret police....

2005-09-07 Thread Bob Arthurs



I should add that my original statement pertains to (obviously) the Chinese 
*government* alone! I am concerned about the repression that the Chinese 
people experience, and the basic freedoms that they lack.


As far as 'China hate' is concerned- this definately doesn't apply to me- 
many of my friends are from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. I lived 
for many years in the area, and speak pretty passable Mandarin myself (was 
pretty fluent, but it has deteriorated a bit, I'm afraid!). So, love the 
Chinese people, their culture, and history - resent the Chinese government's 
repression (though I personally believe the Hu Jin Tao *may* turn out to be 
a great improvement on leaders such as Jiang Zemin, Deng Xiaoping, and 
obviously Mao Zedong- I hear that Hu Jin Tao even met Hu Yaobang's widow, 
and plans a commemoration in the Great Hall of the People!!).





From: Joseph S D Yao <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Gadi Evron <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
CC: nanog@merit.edu
Subject: Re: OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt 
secret police

Date: Wed, 7 Sep 2005 17:38:17 -0400


On Thu, Sep 08, 2005 at 12:07:41AM +0200, Gadi Evron wrote:
> >Personally, I see doing business in China about as logical as, say, 
giving

> >430 6th graders laptops with Internet access, and expecting them to pay
> >attention in the classroom...  Oh, and cutting the sports programs to
> >afford those laptops.  Man, if someone had given me a laptop in 6th 
grade,

> >I would have sold it!
>
> Basic Trade:
> Some countries have an abundance of one thing while they lack another.



> So, what they have too much of is cheap, and too little of, is costly.
>
> It goes crazy from that point.
>
> China has a lot of cheap stuff and a lot of cheap labor, and importing
> from China and/or manufacturing in China is good business.
>
> To work in China, one of the biggest markets in the world, you follow
> China's rules. If you don't like the rules you don't have to.
>
> But what you guys spew out is China-hate. Is that the kind of propaganda
> you get fed in schools?
>
> I am happy we've been able to discuss this like adults, here on NANOG.
> After all, this is about human networking.


I do not hate myself or any other Chinese people.

I do hate the lack of respect for human rights shown by the mainland
Chinese government, and the slave labor prisons otherwise known as
"cheap labor".  And the lack of self-respect that allows others to turn
a blind eye to this for their own profit.


--
Joe Yao
---
   This message is not an official statement of OSIS Center policies.





Re: OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt secret police....

2005-09-07 Thread Joseph S D Yao

On Thu, Sep 08, 2005 at 12:07:41AM +0200, Gadi Evron wrote:
> >Personally, I see doing business in China about as logical as, say, giving
> >430 6th graders laptops with Internet access, and expecting them to pay
> >attention in the classroom...  Oh, and cutting the sports programs to
> >afford those laptops.  Man, if someone had given me a laptop in 6th grade,
> >I would have sold it!
> 
> Basic Trade:
> Some countries have an abundance of one thing while they lack another.
> 
> So, what they have too much of is cheap, and too little of, is costly.
> 
> It goes crazy from that point.
> 
> China has a lot of cheap stuff and a lot of cheap labor, and importing 
> from China and/or manufacturing in China is good business.
> 
> To work in China, one of the biggest markets in the world, you follow 
> China's rules. If you don't like the rules you don't have to.
> 
> But what you guys spew out is China-hate. Is that the kind of propaganda 
> you get fed in schools?
> 
> I am happy we've been able to discuss this like adults, here on NANOG. 
> After all, this is about human networking.


I do not hate myself or any other Chinese people.

I do hate the lack of respect for human rights shown by the mainland
Chinese government, and the slave labor prisons otherwise known as
"cheap labor".  And the lack of self-respect that allows others to turn
a blind eye to this for their own profit.


-- 
Joe Yao
---
   This message is not an official statement of OSIS Center policies.


Re: OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt secret police....

2005-09-07 Thread Gadi Evron



Personally, I see doing business in China about as logical as, say, giving
430 6th graders laptops with Internet access, and expecting them to pay
attention in the classroom...  Oh, and cutting the sports programs to
afford those laptops.  Man, if someone had given me a laptop in 6th grade,
I would have sold it!


Basic Trade:
Some countries have an abundance of one thing while they lack another.

So, what they have too much of is cheap, and too little of, is costly.

It goes crazy from that point.

China has a lot of cheap stuff and a lot of cheap labor, and importing 
from China and/or manufacturing in China is good business.


To work in China, one of the biggest markets in the world, you follow 
China's rules. If you don't like the rules you don't have to.


But what you guys spew out is China-hate. Is that the kind of propaganda 
you get fed in schools?


I am happy we've been able to discuss this like adults, here on NANOG. 
After all, this is about human networking.


Gadi.


Re: OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt secret police....

2005-09-07 Thread Sean Figgins

On Wed, 7 Sep 2005, Joseph S D Yao wrote:

> So, let's do the logic, as this is a simple schoolchild exercise.

[snip]

> Therefore, if one is in mainland China to do business, then one does not
> have a conscience or a spine.

It is probably that one does not have a conscience, is insane and does not
subscribe to to logical reason...

Personally, I see doing business in China about as logical as, say, giving
430 6th graders laptops with Internet access, and expecting them to pay
attention in the classroom...  Oh, and cutting the sports programs to
afford those laptops.  Man, if someone had given me a laptop in 6th grade,
I would have sold it!

 -Sean


Re: OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt secret police....

2005-09-07 Thread Joseph S D Yao

On Wed, Sep 07, 2005 at 04:05:48PM -0400, Patrick W. Gilmore wrote:
> On Sep 7, 2005, at 3:59 PM, Rich Kulawiec wrote:
> >On Wed, Sep 07, 2005 at 03:10:12PM +0100,  
> >[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> >
> >>Every company has to obey the laws of the jurisdictions
> >>in which they do business, and for international
> >>companies, that list of jurisdictions can be very,
> >>very long.
> >
> >Obeying the (local) law is, in most cases, very reasonable.
> >
> >But when presented with *that* request from *that* government, the  
> >correct
> >response -- from anyone with a conscience and a spine -- is "go to  
> >hell".
> 
> Not in *that* country, it's not.  You knew the rules before you  
> crossed the border.  If you are there, you have to follow the rules.
> 
> There is an argument to be made for not being in "that country" to  
> begin with, but if you are there, you better comply.


So, let's do the logic, as this is a simple schoolchild exercise.

If one has a conscience and a spine, then one says no to this kind of
request.

If one is in mainland China to do business, one is compelled not to say
no to this kind of request.

>From the first statement, if one does not to say no to this kind of
request, then one does not have a conscience or a spine.

Let us take as given that if one is compelled to do something, that is
to say that one is doing it, as that is the meaning of compel.

Therefore, if one is in mainland China to do business, then one does not
have a conscience or a spine.

As I said, this is simple schoolchild logic, the kind we all supposedly
learned in school.  One may argue with the premises, but if one accepts
the premises, one may not argue with the conclusion.


-- 
Joe Yao
---
   This message is not an official statement of OSIS Center policies.


Re: OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt secret police....

2005-09-07 Thread Joseph S D Yao

On Wed, Sep 07, 2005 at 10:54:03AM -0700, Owen DeLong wrote:
> However, clearly, companies doing business in China under this set of
> rules are placing profits ahead of human rights.  I, for one, will avoid
> patronizing any organization I know to be engaged in such practices.
> 
> Owen


There has been constant reporting of US and other IT companies going
into in China co-operating with the mainland Chinese government.  The
mainland Chinese government cares about human rights about as much as
the average person cares about the rights of a Rigellian.  For as long
as I can remember, I have tried as hard as possible not to buy anything
"Made in China" [unless I find that it's actually from Taiwan].


-- 
Joe Yao
---
   This message is not an official statement of OSIS Center policies.


Re: OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt secret police....

2005-09-07 Thread Patrick W. Gilmore


On Sep 7, 2005, at 3:59 PM, Rich Kulawiec wrote:

On Wed, Sep 07, 2005 at 03:10:12PM +0100,  
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:



Every company has to obey the laws of the jurisdictions
in which they do business, and for international
companies, that list of jurisdictions can be very,
very long.


Obeying the (local) law is, in most cases, very reasonable.

But when presented with *that* request from *that* government, the  
correct
response -- from anyone with a conscience and a spine -- is "go to  
hell".


Not in *that* country, it's not.  You knew the rules before you  
crossed the border.  If you are there, you have to follow the rules.


There is an argument to be made for not being in "that country" to  
begin with, but if you are there, you better comply.


--
TTFN,
patrick


Re: OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt secret police....

2005-09-07 Thread Rich Kulawiec

On Wed, Sep 07, 2005 at 03:10:12PM +0100, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Every company has to obey the laws of the jurisdictions
> in which they do business, and for international
> companies, that list of jurisdictions can be very,
> very long.

Obeying the (local) law is, in most cases, very reasonable.

But when presented with *that* request from *that* government, the correct
response -- from anyone with a conscience and a spine -- is "go to hell".

---Rsk


Re: OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt secret police....

2005-09-07 Thread Owen DeLong
However, clearly, companies doing business in China under this set of
rules are placing profits ahead of human rights.  I, for one, will avoid
patronizing any organization I know to be engaged in such practices.

Owen


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Re: OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt secret police....

2005-09-07 Thread Michael . Dillon

> So, if you email friends in China from a Yahoo account, you have been 
> warned!

What makes you think that gmail.com, mail.ru or
your-isp.net is any different? Trust in human
nature, perhaps?

Every company has to obey the laws of the jurisdictions
in which they do business, and for international
companies, that list of jurisdictions can be very,
very long.

--Michael Dillon



Re: OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt secret police....

2005-09-07 Thread Fergie (Paul Ferguson)

This is not shaping up to be a very good month for
Yahoo! all the way around -- at least PR-wise:

 http://techdirt.com/articles/20050907/0246214_F.shtml

- ferg


-- "Bob Arthurs" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

Way OT, but very interesting- don't know if anyone saw this article about 
Yahoo collaborating with the Chinese government's police (from the BBC):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4221538.stm


If this is true, I for one will stop using Yahoo- I have spent alot of time 
in Asia myself, and I am very aware of the nature of the Chinese secret 
police. But if the article is true, I guess Yahoo doesn't care about the 
opinion of the regular consumer when they can curry favor with a repressive 
regime by informing on people.

So, if you email friends in China from a Yahoo account, you have been 
warned!


--
"Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson
 Engineering Architecture for the Internet
 [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/



OT: Yahoo- apparently now an extension of the Chinese govt secret police....

2005-09-07 Thread Bob Arthurs


Way OT, but very interesting- don't know if anyone saw this article about 
Yahoo collaborating with the Chinese government's police (from the BBC):


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4221538.stm


If this is true, I for one will stop using Yahoo- I have spent alot of time 
in Asia myself, and I am very aware of the nature of the Chinese secret 
police. But if the article is true, I guess Yahoo doesn't care about the 
opinion of the regular consumer when they can curry favor with a repressive 
regime by informing on people.


So, if you email friends in China from a Yahoo account, you have been 
warned!