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Rumors, Conspiracies, etc.

by Mike Masnick

Mon, Apr 5th 2010 6:27pm




Filed Under:
china, singapore

Companies:
google, nytimes


The Same Day The NY Times Praised Google For Standing Up To China, The Times Paid Singapore's Leaders

from the parallels dept

Two big stories recently were Google's decision to effectively leave China and the NY Times' agreement to pay Singapore's leaders for daring to refer to the fact that a father and son pair had both been prime minister as a "dynasty." The Times' public editor is now comparing the two situations -- and while he notes that Singapore is an important market for many media publications, and from a business perspective, the decision makes sense, he seems to suggest that Google got this right, while the Times got it wrong:
Google faced a similar painful dilemma in China. With potentially billions of dollars at risk, it stuck to its principles, and The Times applauded editorially. I think Google set an example for everyone who believes in the free flow of information.

12 Comments | Leave a Comment

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  1.  
    icon
    kryptonianjorel (profile), Apr 5th, 2010 @ 6:36pm

    "...The Times applauded editorially. I think Google set an example for everyone who believes in the free flow of information."

    Oh the irony! A 'free flow of information' from the NYT can be yours for $17.99 a month...

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  
    identicon
    anonymous coward, Apr 5th, 2010 @ 7:05pm

    Google didn't "stick to it's principles" until China attacked them individually.

    I mean, yes, stand up to censorship, but do it from the start, not when it suits your childish need for revenge.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Apr 5th, 2010 @ 7:07pm

    Re:

    Google is still better than Yahoo and Microsoft.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Apr 5th, 2010 @ 7:23pm

    Once again highlighting the difference between old and new media.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Apr 5th, 2010 @ 8:02pm

    Re:

    Google embarked on a generational plan to change China.

    They had to be around long enough to influence the people who live there. More importantly, the up and coming generation of "makers"

    Then they made a huge point over what's wrong in China.

    Then they punctuated the sentence with an exclamation point, and walked.

    It's now up to those people who they influenced to change their own country.

    I think this is all going according to a very brilliant plan. In fact, I know it is.

    The "attacks" are just a convenient excuse to execute the next part of the plan.

    (I mean, Chinese hackers have been attacking US sites since got their first IP address. Get real.)

    Idealism is good and necessary. But idealism should only inform realism, not replace it. We need China to change. For real.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  6.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Apr 5th, 2010 @ 10:54pm

    wow. the amount paid was 114k which is lower than the costs of running it through the legal system. sometimes it is just better to pay and get it over with. hard to compare googles risk with this. big stretch to slam old media again.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  7.  
    icon
    Mike Masnick (profile), Apr 5th, 2010 @ 11:11pm

    Re:

    big stretch to slam old media again

    Heh. In your rush to slam me, perhaps you missed that this was the NY Times slamming the NY Times.

    Details: not your strong suit.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  8.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Apr 6th, 2010 @ 1:07am

    Re: Re:

    you are running the story. your site your opinion.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  9.  
    identicon
    James_Sladen, Apr 6th, 2010 @ 1:09am

    Oh please, praise Google?

    Google is the Skynet. Say hello to doomsday. Look, Google even hates dogs

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  10.  
    identicon
    anonymous cow, Apr 6th, 2010 @ 6:32am

    Re: Re:

    I suppose it is possible that what you write is true. So unlikely though; I call shenanigans.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  11.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Apr 6th, 2010 @ 4:35pm

    Re: Re: Re:

    How exactly it is a "big stretch" if..the "old media" is already slamming...itself. That's called, in the world of sane people, 0 stretch.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  12.  
    identicon
    enrolled agent exam preparation, Apr 7th, 2010 @ 3:16am

    Re: Re:

    You need China to change... but, change what? Or, change into what? A single company won't be able to reform a country that is so bound to tradition. Do you ever wonder why, even if it has the biggest population on Earth, China still seems as timid as a baby, albeit a giant baby? It's because their government has a solid grasp on their traditions, on their governance over the people. Google won't change any of that. Heck, I'd bet my house if even half of the Chinese population knows what Google is. Let alone know its intentions, regal or childish.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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