If the polls are true, then it's a shame that that the U.S public are so easily distracted by Edward Snowden and they know so little or care so little about holding the NSA and it's actions to the law. When people like Clapper can lie directly to congress and nothing happens, when the NSA can shit all over the constitution and do mass surveillance of ALL the world(which obviously includes all US citizens), store ALL data/communications for years('metadata', contents of phone calls/emails/search histories etc etc), and nothing happens, then that's a damn shame and it shows that the 'American people' cannot be trusted to hold their politicians and police state accountable to the law of the land. If it's not the American peoples fault, then the blame can be put on the mainstream media, who has completely failed to also hold the government and authorities to account. They are more focused on Snowden and basically are just a mouthpiece for the government/3 letter intelligence agencies these days, they have basically lost all credibility in my eyes. Only people like Greenwald and sites like the Guardian are worth anything these days. The NYT even is pretty shit these days, or perhaps they've always been in terms of 'us vs them'(as in U.S.A vs the world) or 'foreign policy issues' rather than purely domestic issues.

And how exactly does the American people see him as Putins puppet? It was/is the U.S state department etc that revoked his passport and forced him to stay in Russia. Snowden wants NOTHING more than to return home to the U.S to 'face the music' and have his day in court, but like he said(and as we all know based on Mannings treatment and also from Snowdens lawyer and Ellsberg too), there would be no chance for him to have a fair trial and there will be no justice to be served. This is a shame, and it should be what everyone is focused on, rather than Snowdens motivations, whatever they may be. But like i said, even if he comes back now, he will not even be given a chance to explain his motivations for doing what he did, just like how they gagged Ellsberg in his trial and in Mannings trial(he was already found guilty before he could even say anything). So if you are right and it 'looks bad' for Snowden because he's in Russia, then i guess that worked out well for the U.S.

So sad that people fell so easily for the inevitable smear campaign against Snowden since that was basically the only hand they had to play.. it's basically nothing more than a distraction while they hope for the public to 'forget' about them shitting on the constitution, not enforcing the rule of law(Clapper lying to congress, torture being used and officially condoned, Guantanamo), etc etc.

When the U.S and the relevant officials 'face the music', the rule of law is restored(Clapper facing the music, guantanamo and the rest of Bush/Cheney etc facing the music for torture etc) and Snowden has a chance of a fair trial, then perhaps i will consider him as anything less than rational and a U.S patriot. Until then, the issue of Snowden himself being prosecuted is nothing of importance when compared with the greater threat of the rule of law and the constitution being shit all over on by politicians and the intelligence community running rampant, where not even the Senate Intelligence Oversight Commitee seems to know what is going on(Feinstein even said that they had no idea about them spying on the heads of state of US allies, and this apparently also included the president himself if Feinsten was to be believed, which would either make them ignorant/daft/useless and/or it would mean that the NSA etc are also playing the oversight committee and congress for fools and means they are running rampant with no real oversight). And this is only talking about domestic US law and not even talking about international law..

This is how powerful the US's propaganda machine is. It's "acceptable" as "justice"(i assume that means you guys think it's "JUST") because he's part of ANOTHER SYSTEM(military). That's also why we should not worry about their use of force and justifications for assassinations and torture.. even though we pay for it all..

"He joined up voluntarily" you say.. and "he should have known the rules and what would have happened for doing what he did".. and perhaps that's true(but if it is true, then i just can't help but respect him MORE, i guess i have lots of idiot blood running in me, although it's different to the G.W.Bush type of blood). Don't even worry about how many join just for the money, for something 'fun' to do compared to a normal boring 9-5 job(and that's IF they can even get that.. probably not a job they enjoy and without any benefits whatsoever let alone ones that come with you having worked/killed to protect "The man" and the current system of exploitation in which "The Man" does most of the exploitation so obviously "The Man" wants to keep things the way they are.. obviously non team players like Manning should be kicked out and punished with life in jail, torture, public humiliation and character assassination(since they cannot do the other without risking making an actual martyr out of him(right now he's looking set to go down in history as a scumbag traitor if he's even to be remembered/mentioned, since he's not even in the public consciousness anymore..), and because they are thinking that it's the only way out of poverty for them, and recruiters are signing up basically kids just fresh out of high school..

Don't even talk about the whole situation is fair or not(the recruiting process), and just where most or a lot of of the recruits come from and what demographic they 'target'.. because we know only the brightest and best are going there, and they are all doing it because of ideology.. and for the glory and honor... of being able to pilot drones and double tap kids finding their parents to not be moving and bleeding out everywhere.. or the other way around like in the video Manning shared with us, which is where i first saw the 'double tap strike' in all it's initial glory), because he voluntarily signed away any and all human rights he might of had when he accepted the 'job'.

It's his own fault for having a conscience and trying to do anything.. he really should have known better, so he doesn't even deserve any sympathy whatsoever for trying to help us because he's just an 'idiot' who went about it the wrong way. He made a wrong decision in life by deciding to fight for what he believes in was right. Had he been smart like us, he would have calculated the odds of 'winning', realized it was impossible without dying or being fucked up, and then go back to watching pr0n and tossing off instead and continue to work for the system you don't believe in and to keep perpetuating these things and to overlook current offenses. That's the smart thing to do. That's the only way you'll get sympathy from the rest of us who learned how to play this game(and be successful, unlike that loser Manning who already lost).

Not one 'significant' demographic would rep Manning right now in the US. The propaganda machine is too great. They would also be signing their death sentences, and they should all know better and if they did anything, they also had it coming, am i right or am i right? This has been re-inforced since 2001, and backed up with force regularly and with more frequency since the 'OWS movement'..

I mean, it's like i feel that if something similar happened in China(Chinese people AND the Gov) would back him up if he exposed(key word, EXPOSED, since they would probably try to limit exposure too initially) all this incompetence, corruption and cover ups..

I mean, if the cats already out of the proverbial bag already(which i assume it is), usually something will be done and heads will roll if something like this is exposed(even if Mannings were also to roll). That no one in government even recognizes this as a problem even after it's been exposed speaks greatly about the 'state of the union'. Even more so with a 'two' party 'democratic' system(2 + extras if you wanna get more detailed).

In the US, only Mannings head rolls.. there is no support for him whatsoever from the general populace, and those who do are demonized and even made out to be radicals when it is obvious to all that Manning is actually a huge patriot. This is what i mean by propaganda machine. The US doesn't need a propaganda department, they already have a way more useful and powerful one in mainstream 'media' these days. They don't need to worry about taking money out of businesses and bribes because it's already institutionalized and legitimized as a way of life and THE countries culture and thus to even speak out against this corruption is to be a traitor who hates his country and culture, and who aids and abets the 'enemy'.

It's not just a problem with gov, but also the people. They have been so brainwashed by the propaganda that they probably are even starting to believe it, if not already fully lapped all of it up and even asking for seconds..

It's been that way since after 9/11.. You guys don't know up from down anymore, and screaming america, fuck yeah! might make you feel better in the short run,but that's all based on a lie and that will come back to bite you worse than admitting the truth now and trying to see the big picture/end game so you can rectify your problems, rather than adding to it with band aid fixes,,

You guys think anyones heads will roll because of this? China would have heads rolling. They know that they cant PUT IT ALL on one low ranking private.. that would be too damn embarrassing, and the people are NOT that easily played like how it is in the US . If they can be hurt this bad by one kid, they should not even be in power. And CCP members would probably agree with this. That's why they are worried about 'corruption', and they know that they need the people's support, and why they need to KEEP it. The U.S will learn the hard way that they need more than just corporations and military to run the country and make it prosperous and for it to REMAIN that way.

Also, the Israeli's/Jew's can CLAIM it, but it doesn't mean anything. Not everyone accepts their history, or cares. That's like saying native american indians, or native Australian Aboriginals etc should claim US/Australia and we should care..

No, power talks. But then you should say it like it is. You're ruthless warmongers who take by force, and who go against international law.. Not some historical claim, because that's just bullshit. See above example.

Jews also DON'T NEED IT. They are oppressing Palestinians for nothing but selfish reasons. For religion, god, love? Please. It's tantamount to starting a war over nothing, starting a war over religion(ie bullshit). You'd think they would have learned lessons from their own history. Ie Germany and WW2..

Well, it's always been who has force decides who owns anything. And that is US. It has the physical force to be able to stop regimes, or replace them. It can also do it economically, which is also force, but in a different manner('soft' force). It can also do this(with Israel). It also has international law, which it tries to pretend to respect. But if they themselves don't uphold it or respect it, then the whole thing just fails, and the US fails as a 'leader'. It has to rely only on hard force rather than soft force, since it won't have money anymore to do what it used to do.. it also doesn't have the reputation anymore either since it lost it's credibility and is continuing to do so(ie by ignoring UN and international law, along with Israel).

I don't know who was the first one to claim 'ownership', and i don't think it matters. Right now we have the US who has force, ad we have international law. Those are the two important things. A discussion on who claimed ownership rights from 2000 years ago, or which God/Prophet came first or which is real or whic is Gods true prophet/son is also not of interest to me, and i don't think it should matter. There are more important things to discuss, like the current treatment of the Palestinians and Palestine by Israel.

That they are calling Iran 'bad' and in defiance of international law and saying they worry about Iran starting wars and having a nuke is like the pot calling the kettle black.. except i don't think Iran is even as bad as Israel atm. They mght fuck their own people over, but they aren't fucking their direct neighbours over as badly as Israel is doing to Palestine(and the rest of the region). As well as the US, who is by proxy Israels 'boss'(since the US pays them/gives them aid and also military tech/training/equipment and also supports them in the UN.. it gives the line "me against the world" a whole new meaning). If they both want, they should just both go to some Island, and both have a 'proxy' war. And leave the Palestinians alone already. Bibi and his ilk wanna start a war? Ok, but they are to be frontline troops, the first ones in. THE ONLY ONES in. No leaders/commanders, no air force, no bombs, no guns. NOTHING. Just swords, so everyone who has one is also shouting to everyone that he is ready to die as well as kill. No collateral damage, no damage to infrastructure. Just people who want war on both sides, and they all kill each other. The winner is the people of Palestine, and Iran/Israel since all the war mongers will be dead on either side. If there are survivors, then send them to now free Palestine. Put them in jail for crimes against humanity.

Anyway, my rant went on a bit too long and a bit too off topic and sounds a bit too trollish. Heh. Oh well, what can you do. FREE PALESTINE!

You are right. Israel should be given more attention. But the right kind of attention.. Bibi even brought a picture of a cartoon style bomb to the UN! And they are also currently trying to get the US into another pre-emptive war that the US doesn't want any part of.. or at least Obama/Democrats. Or at least i hope. On the other hand, someone let me know when Iran actually gets a 'nuke. And then continually threatens pre-emptive wars against it's neighbours, occupies another country illegally, and oppresses millions and steals more land by the day.

Certainly the majority of the US aren't as gullible anymore as they were about Iraq and WMD's. How fast people forget..

Well, there's always profit to be made in war, and when there's a will(money to be made), there's a way. I'm sure Leon Panetta and his buddies will profit, same way Cheney and Co did, even if it bankrupts the country. The same response as you replied to.. so what? It will still happen if certain people want it to. Just do another 9/11, and no one will question anything. They already have the playbook, and they keep using it over and over, but nothing ever changes. That's why he's been saying all this shit. It profits him personally to say it. These CIA guys don't just say things for no reason. It might not be a GOOD reason(for the U S of A), but i'm guessing it's good for those in power. They can say anything these days(intelligence), and no one can refute it. It's been that way since what, before even the cold war, since ww2? perhaps even before that they were already 'running rampant' and unchecked.. Stuxnet, 9/11, worldwide assassinations, setting up puppet govs, coup de tats, propping and supporting political parties in otherwise legitimate democracies, etc etc.

You guys might think i'm paranoid or you might even be more paranoid, but we're probably not even paranoid enough when it comes to these guys. Imagine google at it's worse, then times it by 1000 and you have these guys. Oh, and add a healthy dose of physical force too. And times that by 1000 too. My x1000 estimate is also probably conservative, but yeah. You probably get the picture by now ;)

Hello Mr Panetta. I 3 you, your team, and your Mossad buddies. Or whichever intelligence agency is reading this. I am very fond of intelligence and information :)

I know i'm 'late to the party', so to speak, but i have to say something about your choice of terminology, and your subsequent argument(or lack of one) based on your claim that 'people are inherently evil'.

Evil is associated with religion and has that 'stigma' of it being 'bad' associated with it, so let's just get that out of the discussion first. I would use 'opportunistic', rather than 'evil'.

So people are inherently opportunistic, and they are socially conditioned in regards to morals/ethics to be what you consider 'evil'.. In SOME places and SOME countries/educational systems. I'm assuming by evil, you are saying that they are opportunistic and do those acts even when they know it's 'bad' and at the 'expense of others', and it is 'bad enough' for you to consider it to be 'evil'.

So i agree that people are INHERENTLY opportunistic, and that that is human nature, but it's not 'human nature' or inherent for people to be evil and do bad deeds. We socially condition(in SOME societies/cultures/educational systems) our children to think in this way and promote it. Thinking we are powerless to change and to control our actions/deeds and even our own 'personality' is a dangerous thing. It puts 'responsibility' to something else, and distances oneself from ones personal responsibility for our own actions/thoughts.

Also, there's a big difference between thoughts and action. Imo, in order to be 'good' or 'not evil', you have to understand how to BE EVIL to begin with. Ying/Yang, there is no light without dark, that kinda shit.. heh. So if you're doing something without being aware that you could do evil and without consciously CHOOSING to do good DEEDS, then you're not even 'playing the game' to begin with, so you cannot be 'awarded' with doing something 'good' or 'evil' because you don't believe in these concepts in the first place.

Personally, i don't think we(or at least I) know enough to be able to say stuff like "the best we can possibly do is X". How do you know X is the best that every person in all of time can do? What's your argument to back up such a BIG claim? You didn't even make one, and just expected everyone to accept such a claim? You don't think it's that conceited to make such claims without backing it up?

Judging by your first words(people are inherently evil), perhaps you are, heh. Sorry. Couldn't help myself. ;)

I hope i didn't offend with that last line/joke, because the rest of my post is supposed to be serious. Thanks for taking the time to read it(and hopefully reply, because i'd love to discuss this more in depth and maybe hopefully learn something if i am 'proven wrong', a result that i do not mind happening if like i said, i still get something out of it), if you actually do after 'all this time', since a week in internet time is like years/decades in real life.. =[

So if i get your motivations right, you would hack the Rover just so you can have POWER and be in CONTROL of it? Or just so you know that you COULD 'root' the rover and all it's communication systems etc?

We already have video etc, and they are releasing it etc. What would everyone else get out of it if it's not purely for your own ego? Sounds like it's motivated purely by ego to me. Why not go root something else and do something 'useful' if it's not ego driven?

That's just my assumptions though. I'd be curious on hearing what your real motivations are, if they are not ego driven as you say. What did you actually want to do(i'm assuming it's to 'root the rover' and all it's control/data systems and have 100% control, basically make it your own toy), and why?

Sure.. there's a LOT of things that 'geeks' want to do. But we have to balance it with ethics/morals etc, otherwise what makes us any different from those scientists/geeks that do live vivisections of people in the name of research etc? So your justification is 'curiosity', and perhaps even 'helping human understanding from a medical point of view', and you might think that 1 person dying or being tortured is worth it for the information that we get out of it because it will save 100,000+ people(from doing that live vivisection etc).

But yeah. You have to tell your motivations, and even then, just saying "i was curious" imo is not enough to justify doing ANYTHING. So yeah.. if you said scribble on dirt and you don't hurt anyone and it's for everyones benefit and not just your own ego as you claim and as i expected, then ok. But if you're hurting someone and it also clearly benefits you(and looks like an act of vandalism, looks egotistical and non altruistic), you had better have DAMN good justification for breaking the law(ie ethical/moral justification).. because you know that there are people who will use that shit to further their own political goals. Ie gov using anonymous so called ddossing to crack down on net rights and to further their own malicious goals which usually involve the ever popular motivator for 'evil'/apathy/not listening to your 'conscience'.. if you're slow, i'm talking mainly about "Financial/Material gain" , and/or just simply they want POWER/CONTROL if you want to simplify things even more.

IMO, it happens a lot less on slashdot than other places i think..

But yeah, we're all still only human, and we all have our own 'biases'(ideology/philosophy) which we want to 'push', and/or act/react on emotions(ie getting 'trolled' and then 'feeding them) rather than just cold hard logic(not feeding the trolls or taking the bait). Like now. I usually just lurk, but i 'took the bait' and felt like i had to respond to it because it was modded +5 insightful and no one had made a good 'counter post' yet(i'm usually too slow and someone usually says what i wanted to much better than me, which is why i don't feel the need to post often, but i do when i see something like this where no one has said what i wanted to already :p)

Our 'logic' could also easily be totally wrong/shortsighted/focused on the wrong things etc, and then we learn as a result(even if we didn't want to be wrong to begin with).. We're human and not 'perfect', we make mistakes sadly(or happily, because imagine a world without 'mistakes' and without learning and knowing everything already.. how boring would that be to be a 'god'?). Anyway, getting too philosophical/abstract now..

That's your own opinion. Many people seem to agree with his, even if you or i personally think he's an 'altogether unlikable person' based on one comment and one 'political' disagreement. I think you're more unlikable and more' up yourself than him based on the exchange you guys just had. But i don't judge people by one post, so that is really REDUNDANT. Your second post adds nothing to the discussion and drops you to 'his level' if that was relevant, which imo is not(that's my opinion. If this makes me 'altogether unlikable', so be it. I don't post solely to get people to like me, although of course that never hurts, unless it goes against the TRUTH and/or my OPINION, which i ALWAYS put against trying to be more popular, ie being truthful, honest, and true to myself and my morals/ethics).

I could sum up why i disagree with you too AND DO IT WITHOUT BEING A SMARTASS and making an 'unlikable post', but since you didn't, i won't either and just make some snide comment on why i don't like you, and not say why and make a 'smartass' comment like yours too. Actually, i will tell you why. I can't help myself, and i LIKE to help people(even my so called online 'enemies) and discuss with them when they don't agree with me or my political position

He's giving his honest opinion. Just because you don't agree with him doesn't make him 'objectively unlikable'. Only you don't like him, and you don't need to explain why because i don't think it's going to be worth reading your so called 'justification' on why you think he's 'unlikable'. Good job on making no one cares/is interested enough to press you further to find out the "justification of your bad opinion of him" and adding nothing to the discussion but a smart ass comment in return for them telling you their opinion. That's a good way to be left out of the loop.. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.. Not a fan of that idea generally?

So websites "likely wouldn't be the same" without ads and the internet wouldn't be the same without ads? Wow. Thanks for such an INSIGHTFUL post/comment.

The real question is not whether it would be the same or not, but whether it would be BETTER WITH or WITHOUT the ads. Would the change be good or bad? You think it would be worse(if you've actually thought about it and are posting as a result of having thought about it, and you are a 'rational actor'), and the other guy would prefer the net without ads. It doesn't make him 'unlikeable' to me, and i also agree with his point of view more than yours. I think you're more dislikable than him from just reading your posts, but like i said. I don't just 'ad hom people' and/or judge them based on one post. I want to understand your point and if you're actually for real and believe what you say, and/or it's out of ignorance, or just my own misunderstanding/ignorance.

I hope for your sake it's the latter and that even if it is, i hope you will change your attitude towards others in future discussions, because really.. that was quite juvenile. It's like blocking your ears and throwing a tantrum when you don't get your way.

I hope for the sake of slashdot readers and in the spirit of the community, you don't respond to me in the same way that you responded to the other guy.. because it adds nothing and it was NOT 'insightful', funny, and was just you throwing a little hissy fit and generally just saying "i don't like him but i'm not going to say why, because i'm a smartass and you made yourself look like an idiot already". Anyone can play those games. I can't believe you got modded insightful on here. I could have modded you down and not had a discussion, but then i'd just be like you.

Yeah, you can mod me to oblivion now(whoever modded him up as INSIGHTFUL, lol).

You talk as if Assange hasn't been under house arrest for 2 years and counting now, and that he should just let himself be KILLED/MURDERED by his 'enemy'. Why is him being dead/martyr better than him being alive and working? He's already been 'martyred' in my eyes, and he doesn't need to be fucking Jesus and actually DIE for us too..

You also talk as if you know Assange's true motive, or if his motive can't change or if he can't feel fear or as if he's some kind of superhuman larger than life figure..

He's human, he has a mother, HE HAS KIDS(even more respect, since he's whole family is at risk now and his mom also has had to go into the spotlight to beg for his life..), and as a fellow human being an Aussie, i do NOT want to see him martyred, or killed by the US. This is completely separate from any 'transparency' ideology discussion. With that aside, ok, let's talk politics/philosophy.

You also talk as if things are zero sum, black or white.. sure, there's transparency, but there's also privacy. It needs to be balanced, just like many things in life.. including your work, AND STAYING ALIVE to make sure to be able to continue your work. You can always be a 'martyr' later on when you have NO OTHER CHOICE. What you're suggesting is to basically give up, basically, literally, roll over and fucking die. I don't think i read that part in his manifesto, or heard him ever say he wanted to be a martyr etc. From everything i've heard from him, from his mother, it seems like he didn't want the limelight, but -someone- had to do it. How many of us would raise our hands and want to be in Assanges position right now, and how many would be a 'martyr' if they were in his shoes facing execution by the US('hypothetically' speaking)? How many would even do 2 years house arrest?

Ok, this is slashdot so 2 years in a mansion with net access(or even 1 room in an embassy with net access) might be a walk in the park for those who have been doing it in a dark dim dirty smoke filled basement for decades already and can hold decades long grudges against single companies/people they never met, but you get my point(if you don't, then imagine doing time WITHOUT NET ACCESS OR A COMPUTER).

I'm glad you were modded up, otherwise i would not have seen your post.

Do you get excited when you see unset concrete too? Do you like to deface websites and 'scribble your name' on them too? From an ethical point of view, it's just juvenile vandalism. From a criminal point of view, it's just stupid unless your name is John Smith or you go the 'anonymous coward' route, in which case you won't get the recognition your ego probably wants since you not only want access, but you want to 'scribble your name'(seems ego driven to me). Not ALL geeks are ego driven. ;)

Your post doesn't say anything. What was she 'perplexed' about? Is this somehow meant to have a negative connotation? Why does this even matter..? ie Anedoctal evidence, gotta love it. But since i'm also chinese living in western country/society, and i was also born and raised there so i don't have the 'party line' education that she had, so i'll share some anecdotal evidence of my own..

What was the 'western portrayal' vs the 'chinese portrayal'(if it exists)? I doubt either of their 'portrayals' are the full truth and they both take liberties which would help their 'cause' or 'national interests'(whatever that may be). I would trust foreign news corps(like Fox News/CNN/MSNBC etc) reporting on China as much as i would trust MSM in the US discussing Ron Paul, or as much as i would trust reporters from RT reporting about the Kremlin(or lack of). Or as much as i trust congress in not being corrupt and bought out by lobbyists/corporations. Etc etc.

If your ex GF was as smart as you claim, she would of known a way to get around any great firewall stuff and she should still be able to get the same search results for 'tiananmen' as we do. Just because they have a different opinion(i'm guessing i have a different one that you, even though i am ethnically chinese and i was born, grew up, and still live in western society), it doesn't mean they are 'confused', ignorant, or 'brainwashed' as many like to claim. Like a poster said above, you give the chinese too little credit. They know probably more than you do about their society/culture/history/government. And i'm guessing the majority just don't really care about politics and who has power, as long as their lives are improving(which is undeniable, and at one of the greatest rates in human history).

If it's 'brainwashing' that you're concerned about, then that's natural and that's just nationalism. But every country has that. Access to information, China regulates harder, but for anyone with brain and some tech savvy, they should be able to get around most if not everything, and do it quite easily at that. There's no way that China would take the net away from the middle class these days. And once that middle class keeps growing(right now most are poor rurals) and gets big enough, they will demand change and hopefully get it. But what kind of net would they get by then?

The west seems to be heading towards the Chinese direction when it comes to net and censorship, and in the 'IP wars', of which is a battle that the west(and japan) cannot win. So even if there is chinese 'freedom' of press and information on the net etc in the coming decade or two, there will probably be nothing left and they would probably have to crack down even harder if they want to be part of the 'international community'(of the west, and rather, their GOVERNMENTS AND NOT THE PEOPLE, since no one supports net regulation unless it's for REAL CRIME like kiddie porn and just common sense stuff that should be and CAN be ENFORCED). ACTA, PIPA, SOPA, CISPA, FUCKOFFTA.

But yeah, us overseas born and living western educated Chinese aren't much different from those living in HK, mainland China, SAR's, or even TW etc. We're all ethnically Chinese, and most of HAN Chinese and we have a long and proud history/culture that is still thriving and which we should see more of as the middle class grows and they start calling for more net reforms.. We can and often do also support the 'party', or rather, the government of China and their actions in the last 30 years especially. We're divided on Mao but while he may have killed many, he is also a founding father of modern china like it or not, and many in the west cannot seem to fathom that and just paint him as a Hitler or something which is highly insulting to many chinese. Most people get caught up in Tienanmen and Tibet issue, and maybe Falung Gong and it's net censorship and other things that would constitute a 'human rights violations' in the west. But Chinese don't really care about these things.. just like you don't care about what happens in Africa. The country is improving, stability is maintained, and the country is prosperous and powerful(soft international power, and also strong militarily now and is a regional power if not world if combined with their economic clout). People support the government. Or at least for now.. That's all i wanted to say. Thank you. (/rant)

Sure, but this might put you on their radar. They have no reason to find your information now. But just like you said. Use a proxy. But know that that's because you/we still fear being identified and being put on their radar..