Clackamas Pjjnt
Commentary 3^*
Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2006
joogle colludes with commies
bogle, China work
gether to keep some
tfoi mation unavailable
Derek
Erickson
fte Clackamas Print
The Internet contains more
bless crap in one place than
I other venue of informa-
i currently in existence,
while we Americans are
fing for smut or sports
ts, there are people out
re using the Internet for
in China to fight this. Before
bending over to censorship,
the Chinese government
would cut off a user’s Internet
for a while if they searched
for controversial topics. With
the nation fighting itself, the
information was still avail
able.
The Chinese people, those
that want truth,
were counting on
Google not to
give in.
\
Google, how-
ever, decided to
make China’s
^M j
battle
their
problem and
used a new
technology
to further
The Chinese people have
lon-again, off-again access
search engines. In 2002
jr being blocked by the
inese government, Yahoo
isored themselves and the
inese gave up. Google was
ng shut off or blocked
:ause they wouldn’t
isor themselves -
il now.
Google.cn has
in created for
Chinese peo
no use while
i uncensored
sion, Google.
1, is blocked.
Google cre-
i this Chinese
i to conform to
! Chinese gov-
ments regula-
ns. Now things
e “democracy” or
hiñese oppression”
11 cornel up with
is., but Cameron
£|f they.’re
[aura
iked the page will
lommentari/ Editor
ler be blocked or will
lie to a government
jndly site. 3 remembers the campaign
’resident
v. 1.0: “Read
Google has
the Bush
numbers
new taxes”? It may have
:ade or so, but it appears
d has taken George H. W.
Is to heart.
J
oppress the Chinese people.
In order to provide the best
service, Google uses geoloca
tion to determine what part of
the world a user’s IP is from.
This way they can spam the
surfer with ads pertaining to
cultural priorities.
Now, if a Chinese IP is
located at non-government
friendly sites, they will be
blocked. This is effective in
90 percent of all cases, and
for 80 percent of all IPs.
The
great
too long. The Chinese people
don’t care if Google gets shut
down now and again, because
they know it’s still out there.
But what happens when no
matter how well they’re con
nected, no matter how long
they stay connected, that
information - that understand
ing of what’s really going on
- is no longer available?
Google.cn is an abomina
tion and a shame. I just hope
that it’s not a sign of a trend
of corporate cowardice the
future of information.
Cía cica mas Print
vtter offers tax to save
chools, legislature to blame
ing here about Mayor Tom
posed tax increase to help
budget shortfalls facing
lools. Potter’s plan would
four-year 0.95 percent city-
ie tax specifically to raise
equality (Communism) is in
bad shape over in China. It
has been since Mao Zedong
got it started - but that is no
one else’s fight but China’s.
Google is the most fre
quently used search engine on
the Internet, and I’m told that
the Internet is pretty big.
Google has more support
in China than the govern
ment itself, because they are a
doorway to information - the
information that has been kept
from these people for
angry at being asked to once again
shell out to save the schools. But it’s
not Potter’s fault.
The fault lies squarely with the state
legislature. The Multnomah County
I-Tax was made temporary because it
was assumed that the time it bought
for schools would be used to work out
their budgetary problems. The legisla
ture was given three years to come up
with a stable funding plan for Oregon
schools, and they failed utterly.
Sadly, their failure is now putting
schools - and Potter - between the
proverbial rock and hard place. If our
readers will forgive the pun, we can
not afford to underfund our children’s
education. We cannot afford to leave
our schools facing massive budget
shortfalls - but perhaps, for a year, we
should.
If we refuse to come to the schools’
aid and leave them to their fate - and
I admit, it makes me shudder to even
suggest it - and simply stand back
as they are forced to cut back farther
and farther, perhaps the legislature
will finally be shocked into address
ing the school funding issue. If we
let the schools flounder and constantly
remind people that it’s because the
legislature failed in their promise to
straighten out the school funding mess,
perhaps Oregon voters will finally be
motivated to vote out the useless blow
hards in the legislature and vote in
people who will actually try to find
viable solutions.
The schools can’t afford for us to do
that, of course. But it may prove to be
a necessary evil.
The last word on the parking
issue: pay up or shut up!
. Ben Maras
| Editor-in-Chief
It has been said that the be§t things
in life are free. Whoever said this
never tried to park.
Yes, it’s time again to whip every
one’s favorite dead horse: the park
ing problem here at the college. It’s
ridiculous that everyone complains
about it without proposing any good
ideas. Well here’s one: paid parking.
Oh no, we can’t do that, I’m
already broke from tuition and books
and gassing up my 4x4 truck to get
here every day.
Tough. Deal with it.
The bottom line is that we at
Clackamas are blessed to not have
to pay for our parking. Most other
colleges require students to pay for
parking, and you know what luxury
they get in return? Better parking!
Imagine that.
It’s a simple matter of monetary
flow really. Here’s how it works:
you pay tuition, and combined with
tax dollars, the college bigwigs allot
the money to certain areas of col
lege development, including parking.
Things that are deemed less impor
tant (such as parking) get pushed to
the back of the pile, and receive' less
of the meager amount of money.
At this point, there are a few
options if more money is needed:
seek private donations, raise tuition,
or ask students to pay for certain
things ala carte (like Scan-Trons ...
but that’s another story).
So we can’t get something for
nothing. It’s called capitalism folks.
Sometimes if we want things, we have
to pay for it.
Now this is not to say I’m an Adam
Smith by any means, I’m just observ
ing how things work.
Of these options, there is some
middle ground. The college could
make a “paid parking only” lot near
the most important buildings, and
leave the rest of us to park out in the
boonies. The money collected could
be dedicated to more parking devel
opment (and filling Lake Barlow).
This could also be accented by a
tuition raise, if needed, which when
spread out among the students of
Clackamas could generate a large
amount of money for less than the
price of a slice of Chartwells pizza.
Of course, we’d want to make
sure that some money was given to
benefit the bus riders in some way
(maybe more covered space for when
it rains?).'
But in all reality, there’s always
parking here at Clackamas. It may
require some realistic thinking, and
forgoing the “Rook Lot Shuffle” when
one arrives at 9 a.m., realizing one’s
doomed, and going to the Barlow Lot
in order to make class on time. Need
I even say how ridiculous it is for
someone to circle a lot for 10 minutes
to save a walk that would have taken
them less than two? We all could use
a little bit more walking too, let’s
face it.
But so what if we’re lazy bastards? .
Hey, at least we’re greedy too.