The Right Thing

Several blogs I know of are hooked up with Amazon. I buy books from Amazon occasionally. Their website works pretty well. We have a Prime membership, and since they are now offering video on demand, I guess I can cancel my Netflix membership, which I just started. On the other hand, they declined to provide server space to Wikileaks after the last big media furor.

Tonight we watched an episode of The Good Wife (Great Firewall). Lockart/Gardner (the fictional law firm that employs the star) is suing some internet company (Google?) on behalf of a Chinese dissident who was imprisoned and tortured by the Chinese government. The rational for the suit is that the internet company gave the Chinese government information (his IP address) that allowed them to identify him.The company's defense is they have to obey the laws of the countries where they operate, and the Chinese require that they turn over the addresses.

The dissident suit is just a cover though. Another big internet company (~Facebook) wants to move into China, and the first company is in the way. The suit is just a lever "Facebook" is using to try and force their way in. When our star finds out about this, she is a little perturbed. Doesn't anybody ever do anything just because it's the right thing to do?

I can understand Amazon not wanting to get tied up with a controversial issue like Wikileaks. They are in the business or distributing goods to people.Something controversial could easily distract them from their primary purpose of making money. On the other hand, they are selling the Kindle and distributing all kinds of electronic media, so they are involved in the whole digital media rights debacle, involved right up to their eyeballs. Maybe one issue is enough, even for a big company.

And the kid who caused the all the fuss is still in jail, and the way things look, he may never get out. Not a word though about the security system that allowed all this classified information to escape. Typical.

I haven't stopped buying stuff from Amazon, so I guess I really shouldn't have any qualms about signing up with them in order to put a couple of shekels in my pocket.