Hi Crobato, I was wondering where you were. You usually bring up good articles and good analysis about the military.
Please notice there is a difference between "censorship" and "to censure." You use these two words as if they have the same definition. Last time I checked, "to censor" means to stop someone from expressing themselves. "To censure" means to punish someone a lot for doing something wrong or allegedly wrong. I will assume you are talking about both definitions.
In the past, China's censorship was far more oppressive than America's censorship system. In the past, America's censorship system was directed at non-whites, especially Native Americans, but China's censorship was directed at almost everyone in China. The same applies to "censures". Nowadays, I see China improving (but I obviously haven't traveled all over China, met every person in China, and been in every situation in China). Unfortunately, I see the US declining when it comes to correct, moral, or appropriate censorship and censors, but China is improving. I don't just look at someone's current location. I also look other things, such as where the person is going and where the person started. I apply this assessment to organizations, institutions, and nations.
WARNING: WALL OF TEXT BELOW (Read at your own risk.) (LOL)
I notice how the US government works with US media corporations (i.e., Google) to questionably spy on US citizens and visitors (easily search news articles on this).
I see how the US government works with various media corporations (i.e., Google) to censor information regarding the US government's war crimes or human rights violations in regions all over the world. For example, journalists, military personnel, and bureaucrats have lost jobs and their articles have been deleted by media corporations when they reported about how the US military has been engaged in drug trades and prostitution in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and other regions. War crime photos and videos are top secret information. Photos of human rights violations have limited release.
I read news about the US government and US media corporations conducts closed discussions with the Middle East nations and companies. The US government and US media corporations want the Middle to censor or minimize Middle East news that criticize the US, Israel, and the EU. The US government and US media corporations have monopolized the TV system and most print media, and they promote information that is highly biased in their favor. I don't mind contrasting opinions and information, but I don't like monopolies mixed with biases. For example, the US government and US media corporations are very tolerant and supportive of US terrorism abroad (i.e., many Middle Easterners believe they are being invaded, and not liberated, by the US military) and Israeli terrorism, but the US government and US media corporations are usually severe towards anyone who is accused of terrorism by the US or Israel. This manifests in the form of both soft censorship (highly biased news) and hard censorship (ending the dissemination as much as possible).
The US government and US media corporations love to highlight China's problem with piracy (theft of IP, trademark, copyright, and patents), but the US government and US media corporations don't do enough to highlight domestic piracy and alleged international piracy, thefts, and pillages by the US government and US corporations.
I compare the way the US government and US media corporations handled religious extremists in the US (Waco Texas, Christian extremists, Jewish extremists, and Muslim extremists) and religious extremists in China (Muslim extremists, Falun Gang (sp?), and Tibetan extremists). The US government and US media corporations are VERY harsh towards religious organizations that challenge their power, but they are very kind to religious organizations that challenge the Chinese government's power and Chinese corporations' power.
Now compare international religious extremists. In the past, the Taliban and Al-Queda were a great US ally against the Soviet Union. US media corporations even made a Rambo movie about the heroic Rambo allying with brave, militaristic Afghanis battling against the Soviet Union. Now the Taliban and Al-Queda are critical threats to world safety and world justice according to the US government and US media corporations. I don't see Google making lots of noise about the lack of or the need to publicize Taliban viewpoints, Al-Queda opinions, Palestinian perspectives, Iranian arguments, and so forth. Google and US media corporations seem to enjoy working with the US government to misrepresent and suppress information from alleged terrorists, and the manipulation favors them almost all of the time. When international religious extremists strike at China, the US government and the US media corporations usually claim China somehow deserved the attacks.
I do notice how the US government works with various media corporations to censure people who showcase information considered "unfit for public consumption" by the US government and US media corporations. For example, US citizens have filmed police brutality and police corruption, then they try to put the videos on the Internet. Eventually, these US citizens are forced by the US government to stop their actions, and the US government's justification is usually something questionable, such as the US citizen possessed drugs so the US government must search and confiscate the US citizen's belongings (including his/her electronics and records). The US media corporations do NOTHING or very little to help these people.
Unfortunately, a diverse nation like the US still suffers from cultural problems, socio-economic problems, political problems, crime problems, and ethnicity problems between various people in the US. The US government and US media corporations do a lousy job reporting about these problems. Instead, the US government and US media corporations choose to create news or information that keep them in power (i.e., playing various groups of people against each other instead leading people to develop real solutions).
The US government and US media corporations even apply censorship and censures to domestic and foreign businesses. They are very prejudiced in how they promote or demote businesses within and outside of America, which is very unfair, because the US government and US media corporations have a monopoly over the TV and major print media, and they still have fundamental control over the Internet (power to regulate and power to create monopolies or cartels). Remember "Too big to fail"? That was total hogwash to perpetuate the wealthy, but incompetent class. IMO, China would be censured by the US government and US media corporations if it either had large savings or large debt.
Right now, the US is more fair and free than China, but I think the situation is rapidly changing in reverse. I hope both nations and other nations do a better job with the free flow of factual information, artistic information, and opinions that do not promote injustice (I don't believe in 100% unrestrained freedom of information).
