Google's decision amounted to depriving the Chinese people of the knowledge of which search terms were being censored, information which, I think, would be tremendously valuable to any Chinese person concerned about censorship -- at least it helps him/her figure out what to be curious about.
There is probably a role for advanced crypto in helping to free information. However be careful that it doesn't get stopped by US export restrictions :) I've had some ideas about low-tech approaches to getting by censors but haven't worked on the project for a bit.
Military response is a much tougher issue. As I pointed out earlier, Americans are raped every day in American prisons. Would we want China sending an aircraft carrier near Los Angeles and demanding that the human rights atrocities stop? Or maybe you believe that such a move (if it resulted in an increased appreciation of prisoner rights) would be a good thing.
I'm enough of a cynic to realize a few things:
- Some people in China have total access to the full internet, even if it's just b/c they have a cousin in the US who downloads the articles, encrypts them, and sends them via email...
- The military angle is all about international power relations. The US sees China as an adversary and it is thus important to make sure that Americans view China as being morally bankrupt, since Americans generally prefer to go to war when they feel that they are on the side of "good".
There is probably a role for advanced crypto in helping to free information. However be careful that it doesn't get stopped by US export restrictions :) I've had some ideas about low-tech approaches to getting by censors but haven't worked on the project for a bit.
Military response is a much tougher issue. As I pointed out earlier, Americans are raped every day in American prisons. Would we want China sending an aircraft carrier near Los Angeles and demanding that the human rights atrocities stop? Or maybe you believe that such a move (if it resulted in an increased appreciation of prisoner rights) would be a good thing.
I'm enough of a cynic to realize a few things:
- Some people in China have total access to the full internet, even if it's just b/c they have a cousin in the US who downloads the articles, encrypts them, and sends them via email...
- The military angle is all about international power relations. The US sees China as an adversary and it is thus important to make sure that Americans view China as being morally bankrupt, since Americans generally prefer to go to war when they feel that they are on the side of "good".