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February 17, 2009
An Ominous Knifing in China
Dissident Chinese blogger Xu Lia has been knifed:
Xu Lai, the writer behind Pro-State in Flames, was speaking at the One Way Street bookshop in Beijing on Saturday afternoon when he was attacked, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported. He had been speaking for a couple of hours and was answering questions when a fracas erupted.
His wife said that two men forced Xu Lai into the men's toilet. She chased after them and found that one was holding a vegetable knife and the other a dagger. The men escaped, leaving Xu Lai on the ground with a cut to his stomach.
Why would anyone want to stab Xu Lai?
Mr Xu is famous for his biting and often sarcastic style in commenting on social and political issues. … His blog is believed to carry many entries penned by other contributors.
Blogs are extremely popular in China, where newspapers are heavily censored. Cyberspace police patrol the internet, swiftly closing sites deemed too risqué, but they remain the most important medium for self-expression in China.
Cristy Li is right to wonder what the Chinese government might know about the stabbing. As she notes, the Chicoms have been cracking down on free speech online. She also notes that our current crop of power-drunk Democrats aren't fans of free speech either, as demonstrated by their increasingly open plans to censor conservative radio, and asks,
Can the Internet be far away? How long will it be before Dems in Congress take a page from China and begin blocking access to websites they don't approve of?
Henry "Phantom of the Congress" Waxman answers her questions:
Senior FCC staff working for acting Federal Communications Commissioner Michael Copps held meetings last week with policy and legislative advisers to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman to discuss ways the committee can create openings for the FCC to put in place a form of the "Fairness Doctrine" without actually calling it such.
Waxman is also interested, say sources, in looking at how the Internet is being used for content and free speech purposes. … Copps has been a supporter of putting in place policies that would allow the federal government to have greater oversight over the content that TV and radio stations broadcast to the public, and both the FCC and Waxman are looking to licensing and renewal of licensing as a means of enforcing "Fairness Doctrine" type policies without actually using the hot-button term "Fairness Doctrine." …
The House Energy and Commerce Committee is also looking at how it can put in place policies that would allow it greater oversight of the Internet. "Internet radio is becoming a big deal, and we're seeing that some web sites are able to control traffic and information…," says one committee staffer. "We're at very early stages on this, but the chairman has made it clear that oversight of the Internet is one of his top priorities."
A Democrat committee member illustrates why you should never ever take government cheese, even on the rare occasions that it tastes good:
Thanks to the stimulus package, we've established that broadband networks — the Internet — are critical, national infrastructure. We think that gives us an opening to look at what runs over that critical infrastructure.
That is, the Internet belongs to Big Brother, so Big Brother will determine what can be said over it.
In typical Orwellian style, liberals funded by the sinister George Soros are pretending that their radio/Internet censorship plans are the opposite of censorship:
Also involved in "brainstorming" on [the] Fairness Doctrine and online monitoring has been the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, which has published studies pressing for the Fairness Doctrine, as well as the radical MoveOn.org, which has been speaking to committee staff about policies that would allow them to use their five to six million person database to mobilize complaints against radio, TV or online entities they perceive to be limiting free speech or limiting opinion.
If pulling the plug on Rush and Drudge doesn't silence opposition, it shouldn't be hard to find Obamunist thugs willing to pull a knife in the men's room.
On tips from Cristy Li and Cheetah. Hat tip: Free Republic.
Posted by Van Helsing at February 17, 2009 10:06 AM
Comments
But how does this reconcile with Justice's No. 2 man, who advocates any and all things accessible on the internet to any and all ages? The party of contradiction. I don't think that even democrats could get behind Waxman on this. This is the stuff of revolution. How does Waxman keep his job in free-wheeling, if-it-feels-good-do-it California?
Spurwing Plover, can you answer?
Posted by: Karin at February 17, 2009 11:49 AM
Buy your forever stamps people...no, USPS is a Government entity, so, FedEs & UPS shall be the medium for the revived letter writing societies.
Posted by: Brooke at February 17, 2009 12:25 PM
What next for China? KNIFE CONTROL !!
K. Nife
Chairman: National Knife Association.
"You can have my knife when you pry it from my cold dead fingers".
Posted by: National Knife Association at February 17, 2009 12:54 PM
Does anyone know the whereabout of one Freddy Kruger when this took place?
Posted by: Name at February 17, 2009 12:55 PM
LOL! No, Name, Freddy only attacks people in their dreams!
Posted by: Adam at February 17, 2009 1:07 PM
Censorship of the web can't be far off.
Liberals have always held a monopoly on information and desperately want to get it back; the Constitution being of course, a meaningless scrap of paper to them.
The libs are not adverse to silencing opposition with violence.
Unlike the thugs in China however, liberals here would not need the sanctioning of big government to knife someone with whom they disagreed.
As Pat Condell said, "Without free speech we are nothing. Which is why the left is so interested in destroying it." (sic:paraphrased)
Posted by: Fiberal at February 17, 2009 1:28 PM
Do you Liberals think this won't affect you? Of course you do, you're that stupid!
Posted by: KHarn at February 17, 2009 1:29 PM
If pulling the plug on Rush and Drudge doesn't silence opposition, it shouldn't be hard to find Obamunist thugs willing to pull a knife in the men's room.
I don't think that this is too far fetched. And we will have Obamatrons like 'fine asshole' and 'George Miller' here saying that we're overreacting.
Posted by: SK at February 17, 2009 1:34 PM
The scary thing for Internet censorship is how easily the pretext could be set. Obviously, the cornerstone of it will be to crack down on child porn (who's going to go on record as being someone who opposed that?). All they need to do to ratchet it further (twice is all it takes, once in some cases) is to go after regular Internet porn, which would gain more than enough support from religious idiots** on the right to pass through.
**This is the kind of phrase that will throw into fits all those with sub-standard level of reading comprehension.
Posted by: I'm A Lasagna Hog at February 17, 2009 1:39 PM
Guess what our lovely socialist Labor government in Australia is currently undertaking trials for? A compulsory internet filter for the whole nation to stop "child pornography". But in true fashion the list of banned sites will be kept secret and cannot be obtained through freedom of information actions. And the minister in charge can add sites with no oversight (in the current legislation). The australian web community is fuming over this. It is indeed a slippery slope. Defend your right to information!
Posted by: Act Rationally at February 17, 2009 1:50 PM
Posted by: I'm A Lasagna Hog at February 17, 2009 1:39 PM
Filtration is generally useless. Parents should closely monitor their children's online activities and interaction.
This matter should be dealt with on a case by case basis, IMHO. Restricting internet access just makes it harder for law abdiding, non-deviant people to to gather news and general information.
Personally, I think that pedophiles should be summarily executed along with rapists. No appeals, no jail time, just double tap in the back of the head. Why pedophiles and other assorted scum are coddled is beyond me. Well, you can thank liberals for those attitudes, by and large.
Allow the purveyors of this disgusting filth access to the web. It will make it that much easier for the authorities to apprehend them, shut them down and throw them in with other scum bags who generally seem to dislike and target pedophiles and rapists.
Posted by: SK at February 17, 2009 2:21 PM
Disgusting filth is one thing, and whether you (or anyone) like it or not, it is (and should be) protected. What worries me here is when someone has a knife ready to do their censorship. It's not bad enough to silence someone politically, but to do so physically...
Posted by: Mr Evilwrench at February 17, 2009 3:21 PM
Mr Evilwrench... if they manage to silence us politically, there'll be nothing left to stop them from silencing us physically. I think that's kinda the point of what they want to do.
When people start disappearing, and there's no outlet for information as to why, how, or where they've been taken....
Posted by: hiram at February 17, 2009 3:40 PM
[Disgusting filth is one thing, and whether you (or anyone) like it or not, it is (and should be) protected. What worries me here is when someone has a knife ready to do their censorship. It's not bad enough to silence someone politically, but to do so physically...
Posted by: Mr Evilwrench at February 17, 2009 3:21 PM]
Post of the day.
Posted by: SK at February 17, 2009 4:00 PM
Heck, I've had laws overturned in order to protest without giving my name. Freedom of speech isn't a liberal/conservative issue, it's a power issue. Whoever has the power is more likely to want it, conservative or liberal.
Posted by: Anonymous at February 17, 2009 5:37 PM
Posted by: Anonymous at February 17, 2009 5:37 PM
Yes, because the conservatives have been the one's who have been pushing for the 'fairness doctrine' or watering down public television into useless go along to get along liberal pablum.
Posted by: SK at February 17, 2009 6:15 PM
I have no love for the CCP, but being behind the stabbing is simply not their style. Why would they take that action? If they wanted to get rid of the guy, they would simply arrest him. If he were truly a "problem" for the government, he would have never been able to speak.
Sounds more like Falon Gong making the accusation which would explain a lot. They'll use anything to promote their cause.....
Just my two cents
Posted by: Stan at February 17, 2009 6:50 PM
Actually Al Gore is on Google's Board and has helped to push for the free flow of information in China (uncensoring? what's the word I'm looking for here?).
Furthermore, the only gov't censoring I'm aware of when it comes to the internet is the pixelation that Dick Cheney ordered over his home on the 'Googles' Map feature.
Posted by: Buckeye State at February 17, 2009 7:55 PM
Actually Al Gore is on Google's Board and has pushed for the free flow on information in China (the un-censoring? what's the word I'm looking for here).
Posted by: Buckeye State at February 17, 2009 7:56 PM
Whatever it takes to help you sleep better, Bukkake State.
Posted by: Anonymous at February 18, 2009 12:00 AM
Posted by: SK at February 17, 2009 6:15 PM
No, but I have lost count of the times that the conservative local government has tried to quash rallies for causes they don't agree with. Usually they don't get very far but its embarrassing to watch them suppress free speech.
Posted by: Anonymous at February 18, 2009 12:01 AM
SK @2:21pm
Lets toss drunk drivers that blow over 1.0
criminals who use a gun, repeat violent criminals,gang related criminals, that would put the kibosh on alot of the ones that didnt do anything yet.
Posted by: czuch at February 18, 2009 3:46 PM
Posted by: czuch at February 18, 2009 3:46 PM
All this from my comment that pedophiles & rapists who are caught should be summarily executed. Way to go waaaaay off the rails, liberal.
Thanks for proving my assertion of how pedos and rapists are coddled in 'modern, progressive society'.
People like you are more concerned for the rights of pieces of human excrement like this than you are for their victims or potential victims.
You should be ashamed of yourself.
Posted by: SK at February 18, 2009 7:55 PM
Posted by: Anonymous at February 18, 2009 12:01 AM
Proof or it didn't happen.
Posted by: SK at February 18, 2009 7:56 PM
Watch this monster talk and tell me if you would let him read your daughter or any child a bedtime story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG2TVR4edjI
Posted by: SK at February 18, 2009 8:17 PM
