MS is engaging in censorship in exchange for cash...
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| r_a_trip Jun 12, 2005 1:02 PM EDT |
"MSN abides by the laws and regulations of each country in which it operates[...] Says it all, doesn't it? When read with a first glance, it looks decent and a thing every corporation should do. The moment the weight of the article sinks in, the line above makes you shudder. MS will abide the rules of any dictatorship, as long as it rakes in money. They will actively engage in censorship in conjunction with the regime, just to make a buck off of the oppressed people in China. MS has no ethics, morals or values. The only god they worship is the god Pecunius. One doesn't want to think where "Paladium/NGSCB" will lead if MS, La Intella and Hollywood succeed in getting every computer made infected with it. Even Apple is not a safe haven, since their switch to Intel chips. I guess that 2006 "will be a lot more like 1984 than 1984". |
| alc Jun 12, 2005 1:14 PM EDT |
There are alot of U.S./ Euro companies operating in China.I'm wondering how many of them have the same mindset.Probably all of them.After all,money/shareholders first. |
| sbergman27 Jun 12, 2005 3:57 PM EDT |
It's not their fault. In fact, it's nobody's fault. U.S. law demands that the shareholders (owners) interests come first. The board of directors, and certainly the chairman of the board (whose name I will not mention here) has to recognize that, don't they? (Or, at least it is a defensible postiion.) It's not their fault. The Upper management? They are just doing their jobs, as are the middle management, and on down. It's not their fault. The people that push the buttons and write the code are simply doing their jobs, as well. It's not their fault. So we should confront the owners (shareholders). After all, the responsibility rests with the owners, right? Oops. They're mostly small investors who invested their money in hopes of getting a small return. There is nothing evil in that, is there? Don't look now, but the snake just ate its tail. This reminds me of a set of lines I just recently heard from the new "Doctor Who" series: --- Upper Management Worker (guilty, in part, of subjugating the whole of the human race): That's not fair! We were only doing our jobs! The Doctor: With that sentence you have lost the right to even talk to me. --- The moral? Be wary of "just doing your job". You can be made to do things that you would not normally do. (And if that thing is small enough, you might not even really notice.) Be suspicious of words like "professionalism". They can be used to subjugate you. Just try to do the right thing. It's a good philosophy, I think. And it's all we can do. P.S. For more info on the perils of "Doing One's Job", Google around for "Stanley Milgram". (How's that for skirting the edge of Godwin's Law? ;-) P.P.S Yes, my advice is a hell of a lot easier to give than to follow. :-( |
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