On Self-Censorship

So many of my blogs come from weird coincidences in my reading matter. Lately I've been reading a history of the 1970s, a lot of newspaper articles about the war in Iraq, and an interesting New York Times Sunday Magazine article on Google in China.

According to the (very sympathetic to Google) New York Times article, the Chinese government does set forth a list of banned websites, but rather asks companies to follow vague guidelines that are selectively enforced. This turns out to be a great way to enforce a censorship scheme because many companies will censor beyond what the government would require and the government doesn't have to weigh in and be the heavy.

The Bush White House does a pretty good imitation of the Chinese government in this respect. If you would like access to the President or an interview with Cheney, then you need to play ball. The White House doesn't have to say "Don't publish it" but can rather rely on journalists to realize it is not in their own best interests to publish criticism of the President.

The lead up to both Vietnam and Iraq provided further examples of self-censorship. In order to avoid being soft on communists, (or terrorists) journalists chose not to report the stories that would reflect badly on the war or the reasons for war.

Chron headline

The San Francisco Chronicle had a headline the other day... "San Franciscans say Earthquakes add spice to life."

Um.... yeah....

On Sick Cats and Sleeplessness

So, my other cat is sick now and at the vet hospital. So, I haven't slept well in a while and I've spent a really awful amount of money.... but I promise to start blogging again soon for all three of my readers.... :)