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This is regular monthly series on what’s happening in China from a political, social, environmental, music and arts perspective. Email lucy@thepunch.com.au if you’d like to contribute or suggest a topic for discussion.
Life as an expat in China throws up several essential experiences: climbing the Great Wall, eating an unfamiliar animal, and having your internet censored by the local authorities. That being said, you really need to go out of your way to do the first two. The third is organised for you.
Basically every foreigner who leaves for China comes armed with some sort of firewall-bypassing gadget, and it seems that the Chinese Censorship Brigade are concerning themselves with the destruction of these services instead of blocking individual articles, videos or links.
A free service that several Australians were using to get around the Wall, for instance, mysteriously stopped working for all of us on the same afternoon several weeks ago, and has been offline here ever since.
Continue reading "ChinaWatch: Life behind the firewall of fear" »
The growth of the internet as an information and communications tool has always been tied intimately with the promise of connecting people beyond geographical and ideological boundaries, of expanding our knowledge through unprecedented access to multiple viewpoints.
This ideal is still embraced by some, notably in discussions of the “Twitter Revolutions”, but in a practical sense it’s as relevant as a physical Encyclopedia.
For most of us day-to-day internet use is fast moving away from providing individuals real choice, and ironically this is due to the “personalisation” of the web experience.
Continue reading "Big Brother is watching and he’s making you stupid" »
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Gone Fishin says:
Welcome to Gen M, for mushroom like kinda like the kind that grow in the dark being fed bullshit, only difference with gen M is they feed themselves the best organic bullshit with never ending supplies from any electronic social network. Read more »
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Jim says:
Are you a Badger fanboi Rick?? Bet you’re proud about that! My generation refers parents as old man and old lady…what are you, 15? Acotrel…is that why you worship Gillard? Cause you can’t hear lies? Read more »
Some one hundred years ago, US President Woodrow Wilson led the United States into World War I. He did so championing a new world order designed to avoid war.
Wilson’s new order was characterized, among other things, by an “open” diplomacy that discarded the secret dealings and alliances of the past. Wilson’s open diplomacy ran headlong into the realities of world politics; he met with stinging rejection by the US people; and within 20 years, the world was again at war.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange would have us believe that he, alone, can succeed where President Wilson failed.
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Fletch says:
It’s wasn’t BUSH’S “mate” who revealed the identity of Plame. “Fair Game” isn’t an honest movie. The “leak” was State Department official Richard Armitage who can’t be said to be a Bush crony (he was against the war in Iraq and a Bush critic). The film doesn’t mention this of… Read more »
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Chris L says:
Tracker, are you saying that the government can do anything they like? Are you comfortable with that? Would it be ok if Aussie troops are told to torture people? Would you not want to know about that and speak out? Read more »
The “St. Kilda schoolgirl” and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange have, surprisingly, a lot in common.
Bear with me. Just as Assange’s careful trickle of classified cables gave the broadsheets something to write about daily (The Wikileaks Saga: Day 255 -Assange grows beard), the St Kilda school girl’s systematic release of nude and suggestive photos gave her an upper hand over the mainstream news media.
While Assange comes from a journalistic and computer hacker background, and the closest Miss St Kilda has probably come is reading Dolly magazine and getting her MySpace spammed, their strategic release of classified information into the public sphere is, surprisingly, similar.
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Elizabeth says:
I hope it comes to light who sent her the texts about participating in group sex - the transcript made my flesh crawl. Clearly someone predatory taking advantage and manipulating a vulnerable teenager, using his “status” to demean and use. Once named other women should understand exactly how this man… Read more »
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Andrew says:
Do you trust the governments of the world then, do you, Badger? I don’t ... at least, far from fully. It has always seemed to me that it would be better if they could be made more accountable to the people they are supposed to represent. It is not certain… Read more »
Julian Assange’s extradition to Sweden for alleged sex crimes is destined to become an ugly, inconsequential sideshow to history.
Wikileaks’ revelation that Saudi Arabia egged the US into attacking Iran over its nuclear ambitions? A footnote. Australian Senator Mark Arbib spying on his colleagues and countrymen for the US government? Grubby trivia, at best.
The real historical weight of the Wikileaks saga lies within the undiscovered country of its endgame.
Continue reading "There will be a winner and a loser in the Wikileaks saga" »
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Johnetta says:
Thank you so much for this airctle, it saved me time! Read more »
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Armchair Philosopher says:
At last an article that actually addresses the core of this whole Wikileaks/ Assange affair. The time has come for the next evolution in governance. Up until the advent of the internet(with it’s ability to pass vast amounts of information both ways), representitive democracy, when applied correctly, was the most… Read more »
Since its inception in the 1990s, governments have long since recognized the democratising functions of the web.
But control has always seemed impossible, even for a tool created by government.
Attempts to curtail online freedoms have come off looking like a girdle on a Leviathan.
Continue reading "We’re killing the internet with our own triviality" »
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scott the realist says:
The reason our internet speed is because most serves are in the U.S.A and they give us bugga all bandwidth to work with. America is the most direct Terrorist nation on earth, they arm, fund and place groups into power when it suits then strategically or politically or for oil… Read more »
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plankybabe says:
Wikileaks is forcing change if nothing else! It forces Governments and Corporations to either find new ways to hide their ‘secrets’ or to come clean and behave in a more upstanding way….very doubtful any will do the latter but at least this gets all of their attention… what will come… Read more »
Transparency’s all the rage these days. And accountability. Politicians and public servants promise lots of both. “Our commitment to transparency is evidenced by our actions,” Kristina Keneally declared in parliament in November 2009.
With Kristina’s words ringing in my ears I approach a NSW government department with a request for an interview. “We value transparency”, its website declares, “the exchange of current and relevant information.”
This will be easy, I think to myself.
Continue reading "Transparency policy not so candid in practice" »
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Rita says:
I’m happy to read your blog Read more »
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davo says:
I so totally agree with your comment….... Read more »
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