July 21, 2006

The Great Firewall

It appears that some people get wiser when they get older. While I leave any judgement regarding myself to my readers, I'm thinking longer than before about some things before I'm thinking anything about them. The big question is if it's because of wisdom, or because dying grey matter. Twice this week I've messed up my coffee making by putting coffee in the steamer, and milk in the coffee pad. Just a bit absent-minded, right?

Maybe because I was thinking about Google while making my morning coffee. Amnesty International has launched a campaign in which it accuses Google, Yahoo and Microsoft of aiding the repression of freedom of information and expression in China.

in Dutch at @ DutchCowboys

Yahoo has been the target of Amnesty before, when it lend the Chinese authorities a hand in locating dissident journalist Shi Tao, who was subsequently put in jail for ten years.

Microsoft kowtowed to the Chines government when it closed a weblog on MSN, and when you Google 'Falung Gong' from within China you're not getting what you're requesting.

By the way, when you Google for 'Falung Gong' on Google.cn from The Netherlands, the very first hit is a 'Fuck China' website. My guess is that you will see another result from an Internet cafe in Shanghai, so if you might read this form there give it a try and let me know.

But Google from anywhere else on 'Google and China' and you've got some stuff to study.

By chance - thanks from my colleagues from documentation at the newspaper, who put it on my desk - I've read the monthly magazine of the Dutch arm of Amnesty International. First conclusion: Amnesty doesn't censor it's own magazine; the editors are independent journalists.

Or did I read the article about Google too quick? I'll be rereading the cover story about Google and China this weekend, because in my mind it's a well written justifiable story. Maybe Google's position regarding China isn't really defended in the article, but I remember at least some understanding.

For Google it's Hobson's choice: filter Falung Gong, filter dissidents, and if not, Google will not be passing the Great Chinese Firewall at all.

What to do?

Update 23.6.2006: Link: Internet Filtering in China in 2004-2005: A Country Study (Thanks to Rick Beemsterboer).

 Posted: July 21, 2006, 03:49 PM | Comments (1) |

July 14, 2006

Living in America

Thanks to Henk van Ess, who showed me the way to the Internet version of a P.O. box in Liechtenstein in his column The Journalist, I'm living in America from now on. Virtual, for the time being, and because an unknown namesake living somewhere else, I haven't got a clue where, let the domain krijnen.us expire, I've registered it on the same day. Earlier his year I was too late when another Krijnen, faster than me, snatched krijnen.eu.

in Dutch at @ DutchCowboys

Two (the us domain) has nothing to do with one (the post address), but maybe I can start a flourishing swap action like that Canadian guy who started with a paperclip and ended with a house.

My new post address required a minor investment which will soon deliver profit. For 132 dollar per year I can behave and shop like an American in America, or like an American on the web. Not only the books I order at Amazon, but also the magazines I'm subscribed too, everything I'm going to buy at eBay, will be send to my new address in Bradenton, Florida.

Someone over there wraps it in a brown bag, labels it as 'wholesale', or as a present, en forwards it to The Netherlands. Benefits rife: as 'wholesale' the value on the green sticker will be usually 50%-60% less than the Retail Value. This results in substantially discounted import fees, that is if Dutch customs bother to have a look at it at all, and an unmarked brown bag attracts less attention than a web shop box.

Second benefit: some web shops, and lots of American companies won't deliver outside the US. No problem no more now. Third benefit: ordering American magazine subscriptions in the US. Cheaper subscriptions to begin with, cheaper shipments to The Netherlands. From now on Wired and Fine Woodworking will cost me approximately a Euro, a sixth of my current subscription.

On my new address in Bradenton my orders will be packed once a week, once a month, or when they arrive, it's all up to me. If I ask my new American mail friend to pack my stuff once a month shipment will be cheaper than once a week or on arrival. I can even accept junk mail.

Just wondering what will happen when I send a change of address to the Dutch taxman :-)

 Posted: July 14, 2006, 11:58 AM | Comments (1) |

July 07, 2006

Mexican memory stick

Most companies spend carloads of money trying to prevent their workers computers becoming infected by viruses and spy ware. Expansive licences for anti virus suites, corporate firewalls, nailed up and cemented firewalls, accounts, passwords, and whatever possible to protect.
In the meantime every machine these days arrive with at least two USB ports that anybody can use to connect memory sticks, cameras, iPods or other devices. If these ports are protected virus-wise, there's another danger: data-theft.

in Dutch at @ DutchCowboys

Which reminds me of the border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana. North wise is looks like a well configured firewall, where the traffic jams will only become longer years to come. Some smart Mexicans have opened a nice niche there. They rent out bikes to people standing in a two mile long pedestrian jam. For a few dollars you get a rusty and worn out mountain bike, so, according to Mexican regulation you're no longer a pedestrian an you may peddle your way to the top of the cue, backpack on your back.

What the renters don't tell you is that American officers don't give a shit about this Mexican initiative, so once at the beginning of the cue they point you to a separate area, where you have to wait as long as their mood is bad. Ever seen a laughing American immigration officer?

The southern passage is a completely different story. In San Diego you pay two dollar, board the trolley that covers the twenty miles to the border in forty five minutes, the last two miles or so passing thousands of American and Mexican cars waiting. A jam caused by inefficiency, not by thoroughness, just as computers are slowed down by monitoring systems, anti virus measures, or bad configured firewalls or proxy servers.

You get out of the tram and walk into a lock, on Mexican territory.

Arriba!

A uniform points to a pole. The top of the pole is an enormous button. You have to press the button, and a warning lamp lights on. If its a red one, bad luck, you're to unpack your backpack and get out of some clothes. If it's your lucky day, it's a green light; you're a walking memory stick, at random passing the Mexican firewall.

I wonder how long it will take before an alarm lights up when I out a memory stick in my computer at work.

P.s. Sydney Morning Herald: Superglue used to stop data theft

Some companies are taking drastic action - including super gluing computer connections - in a bid to stop data theft.

Ha!

 Posted: July 07, 2006, 11:05 AM | Comments (2) |