Time Immortal

I guess the Olympic Games only ushered in a temporary period of openness on the part of China’s government. Looks like they’re going back to the “same old, same old” of limiting access to sites on the internet, and even taking it one further: patrons of Internet cafés will now have their photos taken, and will have to submit their ID card for scanning.

Now, one expects this sort of crap from the Chinese, as surely as one expects it from any essentially dictatorial government that depends, in part, on the ignorance of its citizenry in order to remain in power.

But could it happen in Canada?

Well, yes, quite possibly. Already, the CRTC is looking for ways to expand its regulatory control, and is considering turning its sights on “the new media” (read: the Intertubes). Among the questions they are asking:

• Are incentives or regulatory measures necessary or desireable for the creation and promotion of Canadian broadcasting content in new media?
• Are there issues concerning access to broadcasting content in new media?

Which, to my mind, translates out as a question as to whether the CRTC needs to “step in” and regulate the content posted to e.g. private blogs, like this one and thousands of others. Now, admittedly, that’s not the same level of Censorship that China is prone to exercising; bloggers probably won’t be required to submit personal photos to some massive state-run database. Then again, if the government is going to impose regulations on private websites as to what forms of content are and/or are not acceptable, that’s not exactly a step in the direction of human rights and freedoms, is it?

Ah, well…at least our brothers and sisters in the United States won’t have to put up with this crap, right?

Yeah, about that…

Barack Hussein Obama stands a good chance of winning the next presidential election. Okay, caveats: polls aren’t exactly meaningful, and it’s not like John McCain is out of the race, nor is he even close to being out of the race. But there’s still a good chance of an Obama presidency. Which has some really negative implications for the freedoms that American bloggers currently enjoy.

And I’m not just talking about the Fairness Doctrine (the currently-not-on-the-books law that stipulated that media outlets — a category which, pace the CRTC’s investigations, could be expanded to include private websites, under the label of “new media” — must present, at all times, balance in their analysis and portrayal of controversial topics. Which sounds, on its face, reasonable…until one considers that it would be used, by an Obama administration, to force pro-life websites to publish content which, for example, treated Planned Parenthood in a favourable light, or to force conservative websites to publish content expressing positive opinions about progressive political initiatives.

In other words: the end of freedom of expression. Or, at least, severe limitations on it, which is practically the same thing.

Think I’m being unreasonable? This is the same Barack Obama who has openly stated that he thinks that most Americans are “basically decent…basically sound,” provided they’re not listening “to the wrong talk radio shows” or watching “the wrong TV networks.” This is the same Barack Obama who does nothing to rein in (and perhaps even tacitly gives encouragement to) his supporters when they attempt to co-ordinate organized vilifications of those critical of Obama or his policies, when they aren’t trying to get people who disagree with Obama arrested.

Suddenly, China’s wanting to take pictures of Internet users sounds…almost reasonable by comparison.

Update: Welcome, Steynians!