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Say That Again

by Mike Masnick

Mon, Dec 12th 2011 11:23am




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Filed Under:
censorship, china, chris dodd, principles, us

Companies:
mpaa


MPAA Boss Chris Dodd Then & Now Concerning Google Censorship In China

from the how-much-does-it-cost-to-get-an-ex-senator-to-sell-his-soul dept

Last week, we quoted ex-Senator now MPAA-boss, Chris Dodd making somewhat surprising comments suggesting that it's fine to force Google to censor the internet at home, because the Chinese government made Google censor its results in China. His specific quote:
"When the Chinese told Google that they had to block sites or they couldn't do [business] in their country, they managed to figure out how to block sites."
That's an interesting statement, because almost exactly four years ago, when Chris Dodd was still a Senator and was also an aspiring Presidential hopeful, he went and gave a talk at Google. He discussed many things over the course of an hour, with one key point being that, for the sake of greater internet freedom, Google should stand up to the Chinese and not allow such censorship:
In case you can't watch that video, he says:
Tell the Chinese government that Google.cn will no longer censor information with Google's consent. And should the Chinese government not find that acceptable, then Google.cn would shut down its operations. I understand that you've already moved all of your search records out of China, to prevent them from being turned over to the Chinese government. But what better way to affirm Google's commitment to the free flow of information as a human right, than to send this message to a nation with the largest population in the world?
From there, he goes on to talk about refusing to hand over information to our own government without a warrant, followed up by this statement:
When Google acts, others will follow in my view. Standing up in these instances will not only be good for business ethics, but I also believe it will be good for business.
Yet, when Google does stand up against censoring the internet today? The very same Chris Dodd says they're "accessories" to a robbery.
As Darwin said years ago, it's not the strongest of the species who survive, or even the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.
Hey, Chris, perhaps it's time to look a bit at the MPAA, one of the organizations most resistant to change we've ever seen.
One way we respond to change, in my view, is to stand up, and to stand up for our principles, which do not change.
Unless, of course, the MPAA hires you for a salary upwards of a million dollars. Then your principles go right out the window and your commitment to not censoring search results does a 180, and suddenly you're demanding that Google censor results at home, and highlighting the censorship in China as if it's a positive example.

38 Comments | Leave a Comment

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  •  
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    The eejit (profile), Dec 12th, 2011 @ 11:00am

    Never underestimate the power of money. Money buys lots of things, including souls. But oddly, it can't buy the MAFIAA happiness...

     

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    •  
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      :Lobo Santo (profile), Dec 12th, 2011 @ 11:38am

      Re: eejits!?

      Somebody needs to clue them in to where they can lease happiness...

       

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      •  
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        Greg G (profile), Dec 12th, 2011 @ 12:45pm

        Re: Re: eejits!?

        And Chris Dodd paused for a moment, his strangely dark eyebrows beneath a snow white flock of hair arching painfully higher than they normally appear, then suddenly exclaimed, "Ohh, I'm getting a raging clue!"

        The rest of us just rolled our eyes, knowing he couldn't get a raging clue even if it presented itself as a little boy kicking him square in the nuts.

         

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    •  
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      gorehound (profile), Dec 12th, 2011 @ 12:10pm

      Re:

      The guy is an arse and so are the MPAA & RIAA.
      And that is my opinion simply put and the only thing I add is how I have boycotted on my own the MAFIAA for over 5 years now.I make sure I only buy used movies and I never buy nor will I ever buy any Artists who signs with the devil RIAA.
      I do not use Netflix,Itunes,etc and I really make sure I only get used physical products.
      I do not care any longer about seeing anything new that MPAA puts out.I can always find an Indie Film.

       

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

  •  
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    Robert Doyle (profile), Dec 12th, 2011 @ 11:33am

    Hey, he's not being hypocritical, he's being political - it's different, I swear.

     

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  •  
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    Beta (profile), Dec 12th, 2011 @ 11:35am

    you gotta pay to see

    "One way we respond to change, in my view, is to stand up, and to stand up for our principles, which do not change."

    I for one think that Mr. Dodd's principles do not, in fact, change. It just took some patient observation to find out what they actually are.

     

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    Skeptical Cynic (profile), Dec 12th, 2011 @ 11:36am

    The Winds of Change...

    Don't always blow right or left. Chris Dodd is just doing what he want to get paid.

     

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    Anonymous Coward, Dec 12th, 2011 @ 11:43am

    Ron Paul would veto SOPA/PIPA and any other overreaching censorship bill congress comes up with. Just saying. Ron Paul in 2012.

     

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    I-Blz, Dec 12th, 2011 @ 12:05pm

    This has left me bemused and confuzzled. How can a man change his message so completely in less than a month? Just, wha, huh?

     

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      ltlw0lf (profile), Dec 12th, 2011 @ 12:12pm

      Re:

      How can a man change his message so completely in less than a month? Just, wha, huh?

      Its all about the Benjamins. Its always about the Benjamins.

       

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      anonymous, Dec 12th, 2011 @ 12:55pm

      Re:

      give a person a job that pays better than the last one, on condition that you tow the company line in return and some people will sell their mother, let alone change their stated opinion. what they always forget is that there is always someone that remembers what was previously said or done!

       

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        nasch (profile), Dec 12th, 2011 @ 1:40pm

        Re: Re:

        It's toe. Toe the line.

         

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        RD, Dec 12th, 2011 @ 2:39pm

        Re: Re:

        "give a person a job that pays better than the last one, on condition that you tow the company line in return and some people will sell their mother, let alone change their stated opinion. what they always forget is that THE INTERNET IS there AND always remembers what was previously said or done!"

        -ftfy

         

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    identicon
    known coward, Dec 12th, 2011 @ 12:10pm

    When the revolutions comes

    This friend of Angelo, Chris Dodd should be one of the first folks lined up against the wall and shot.

     

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      Anonymous Coward, Dec 12th, 2011 @ 12:23pm

      Re: When the revolutions comes

      I agree on the lined up part, but I think Dodd and Angelo should be forced to clean the toilets in Grand Central for the rest of their lives. They are both Scum!

       

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  •  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Dec 12th, 2011 @ 12:45pm

    A politician is a whore, never underestimate the whore.

     

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    Comboman (profile), Dec 12th, 2011 @ 12:49pm

    Hypocrite's words come back to bite him

    Great piece Mike, you should write for The Daily Show.

     

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  •  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Dec 12th, 2011 @ 1:03pm

    I can't wait for a few years down to road to see half the US population locked up in the new MPAA/RIAA privately run prison system for downloading files. Put in there by the private **AA police force run under the Executive branch.

     

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      identicon
      Anonymous Coward, Dec 12th, 2011 @ 4:39pm

      Re:

      It's a preemptive strike. The government is losing the war on pot prohibition. Once it becomes decriminalized, how else are they going to fill all those cells?

       

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  •  
    identicon
    Adding comments has been disabled for this video., Dec 12th, 2011 @ 1:03pm

    YouTube

    Adding comments has been disabled for this video.

     

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    identicon
    MC, Dec 12th, 2011 @ 1:45pm

    So, this is what it means to be a male prostitute in the capitol.

    Pretty slam dunk here.

     

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    Kevin H (profile), Dec 12th, 2011 @ 2:23pm

    Why yes, my loyalty morality, and ethics can be bought. Why do you ask?

     

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      TtfnJohn (profile), Dec 12th, 2011 @ 6:30pm

      Re:

      But Dodd seems to have sold out for a small pizza from Pizza Hut. I'd certianly want more than that!

      How about the ownership deed to Montana?

       

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    Hephaestus (profile), Dec 13th, 2011 @ 6:33am

    "As Darwin said years ago, it's not the strongest of the species who survive, or even the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change."

    Oh god, laughing, can't breath, things going white around the edges ... I so needed that!

     

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


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