"Illegal flower tribute"...

I am absolutely fascinated by what's going down between Google and the Chinese government. Google's recent decision to pull its search operations from mainland China (www.google.cn) and relocate them to Hong Kong, is reportedly resulting in blocked content. My own findings do not confirm this. On the Hong Kong site I was able to search "Falun Gong" "Tiananmen Square Massacre" "Hu Jintao" and even "illegal flower tribute." Searching "Hu Jintao nude sex tape" however, did reveal that Hong Kong Google wont touch the sexy. (Interestingly, "vagina" is searchable, while "penis" is not!)

This incredible showdown between two superpowers, has prompted well-wishers from Beijing and neighbouring cities to lay flowers and candles in a tribute to Google at the company's Beijing headquarters. However it was soon discovered that flowers donated by previous visitors had been promptly removed by alleged "security guards." One security guard from the neighbourhood was reported saying that, in order to deposit flowers people would need to apply for permits; otherwise without approved permits, they would be conducting an "illegal flower tribute"...A phrase which deftly puts the "moron" back in oxymoron.

Honestly, I can see both sides of this one. Who wants a flashy Western company telling you how to run your country. Then again, if indeed we're all in this together, then I think depriving a billion or so of us of the entire headache that is the internet could make the playing field slightly less than level. Watching riveted.