One man had a dream. One man had hope.
Through opportunity and hard work, we are better for it.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
“Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope?”
Did you watch the inauguration?
I would love to hear how everyone else is doing on NaNoWriMo. I want everyone to win. So, keep writing. I will be, too.
I thought I would reblog this post because I asked the questions ,but mainly so I remember where to go if I ever meet and need to kill a Kathakona.
I just love that word, but I don’t love this situation. Let me tell you about my quandary.
You see, in My Weekly Update, I promised you a blog post today. The issue is that I don’t have a post ready.
Now, this isn’t the usual, ‘I don’t have anything to say’ post. I have a lot to say. In fact, I have 6 pre-written post for exactly these type of situations. But, unfortunately, I don’t have access to them at all day. They are on another computer in another city.
I could probably remember a few words of some, but they are already perfect and I would hate to waste a post by giving it to you half assed.
I could talk about what is coming up next week, but then that would spoil My Weekly Update for this Sunday.
I could go into a dissertation about something in my writing that I need help with, but that is what Insecure Writer’s Support Group is for, which is coming up next Wednesday.
I could create a list or pose a question for all of us to debate, but I am not in the mood.
I could post some random photos from my trip to Tokyo two years ago, but that is actually a great idea for another post for another day. How cute is this lady on her wedding day?
I could not post anything and then apologize for it later, but that would bother me for years to come. Plus, I really don’t like those post that apologize for not posting. Truth is, I would rather you come back with a great post about something I can get behind instead of the ‘sorry, I haven’t posted in a while’ post.
I knew this was going to happen some time in my blogging career. I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon. Neither did you, I bet. Your probably saying to yourself right now, “She was so young,” while shaking your head with bemused pity.
But, no worries. It did it once. But, I will never do it again. This month anyway.
Ok, talk amongst yourself.
It looks like I better be careful. They might be getting ready to shut me down. It is happening all over China. Rules took effect recently that create a censorship point system in order to curtail any offensive content on social media sites in China. Now, we are not talking about Facebook and Twitter. Both are banned in China. In addition, the government has and utilizes the power to shut down internet access, cell phone access and satellite TV access anytime it sees fit. For example, the government decided that the anniversary of the terrible earthquake that happened a few year ago, but be honored by not allowing English channels to broadcast for several days.
China provides it’s citizens their own social media networks. One of the most popular mini blog sites, which is similar to Twitter is Sina Weibo. And over 300 million users post and comment on Weibo every day.
Each Weibo user receives a user contract with a starting score of 80 points. For every bit of content posted your score can go up or down depending on the nature of your content. Over 100 points, you are golden. Drop below 60, you are in trouble. Loose all your points, no more access for you.
Who decideds who stays and goes? It has everything to do with the content.
I image a room like this with a 1,00o computer terminals and shifts working all day and night to rid the internet of objectionable content. It probably feels like a sales call center. These men and women probably have quotas and get bonuses for banning people from Weibo. Ban a user, ring a bell and you get a little extra in your check that week.
This article got me thinking. If I was a Weibo user, how would my current blog content fair. According to the article, my post must avoid the following:
Offensive Content: Serving McDonald Big Macs at a Appreciation Party. That offended me.
Content that spread rumors: Is it a rumor, if it is true? I am sorry, but Crazy stuff happens in China.
Content that called for a protest: I thought is was my duty to protest against people taking off their clothes at a public resort pool. Especially if that person is my employee. There were children present.
Content that promotes cults or supersitions: Chinaism, is not a cult, it is a way of life.
And finally, content that impunges the Chinese honor: Well hell, that is my whole blog.
I have written a lot of post on China. And as you can see, I have violated a few of these rules myself. But, since I have an app that makes my computer looks like it is in California and I don’t believe those crime shows that show the cops can pinpoint a persons location from their IP address, I think I am safe for now.
My questions to you is, do you stand behind your blog content? What if you were threaten to either remove objectionable content or be shut down completely? Would you risk death to defend your blog material? (I know, a bit extreme. The worst I might fair is deportation or a Chinese prison)
Sydney Aaliyah Michelle 