Effective news control from NPR in the US:

"Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong have impressed people around the world with their idealism, politeness and guts. But in mainland China, the view is different.

Because the Communist Party controls the news media there, many in China don't know that much about the demonstrations. And those who do are likely to see the protesters as spoiled troublemakers."

www.npr.org/[...]

I say this was news bending, not news control, and it's very widespread - and on a large scale ads up to pretty much the same thing. But in the US and other places, there is at least the possibility of access to other points of view, and I don't think socialism can work well without the input, on a reasonably level playing field, of a broad range of inputs.

Yahoo seems screwed again - limits the broad range of inputs.

@Geezer 'Because the Communist Party controls the news media there, many in China don't know that much about the demonstrations'

Just as we do, if people in China want to hear the other side they access their VPN's and read other countries news media, they're not really that cut off from the worlds point of view anymore.

@redjon77

I agree. But as there hasn't been much, almost non, HK is getting less and less news play in the US. Lately, a lot of speculation as to what China will do. My 两毛 is just do nothing. It is running out of steam with smaller crowds.

@all
Actually, I tend to use aljazeera.com for my news source. I don't always agree - but even with Israel issues they are less toxic in their rhetoric and news presentations than most US propaganda rags - which are experiencing a revival in McCarthyism, but instead of red flagging - they're now focusing their bigoted racist rhetoric towards Islam as a whole.

As for China - all they needed to do was shut down Chinese tourism - the economic reality of severely reduced sales will hit most working class HKers in the gut big time.

The students are idealists, supported by their families or government scholarships and or grants - never worked an honest day in their lives. The working class who don't get salaries or subsidies or free meals - they will rise up violently - as was witnessed in MongKok.

The students expect to be treated with respect - but they openly mocked the CEO with defaced pictures - I don't see a win-win relationship emerging as the students' logic and rhetoric is inconsistent with their actions.

As for democracy US style, the US electoral system (electoral vs public votes) can and has over-ridden the popular vote on at least a few occasions in the US's relatively short history.

Much ado about nothing in my opinion. Just a bunch of self-aggrandizing dolts being manipulated for someone else's amusement.

HK has a wealth of social and environmental ills - suggest the students go dedicate some time to the unglamorous realities of life. Go work for a shopkeeper for a week, a restaurant, etc - see what the real people of HK think and care about.

In the USA - arguably the most powerful democracy in the world - less then 30% of the eligible general populace ever show up to vote. Democracy demands vigilant responsibility and generally (as demonstrated by the USA's flavor of mature democracy), the populace is too lazy, negligent, selfish, and greedy to be responsibly vigilant.

Please GK expedite the long promised thumbs up-down utility so that users can register their chagrin with opinionated polemics.

While what is happening now in HK is a complicated issue and it seems that the protesters are now running out of steam without getting any of their 2 main objectives (ie; Resignation of the Chief Exec and scrapping Beijing demands that all future Chief Execs be approved by the Party to stand for election), however it should be said that after the Police first (they used it again last weekend in Mongkok) used tear gas against the peaceful protesters the response from the HK population who came in large numbers to show their support to the protesters was clear and absolute.

Of the "working classes" that rose up in Mongkok about half those arrested were triads, I don't think they are a very typical representation of Hongkongs workers.

One of the recent requests of the protesting students is for an investigation into police co-operation with triad groups in relation to the "rising up"..

All in all its a very sad time for Hongkong.

i spoke to a chinese woman about 1989 once and she said "people just want power for themselves."

@laotou: You've got some points, but I don't think what's going on in H K is amusement, nor do I think everybody is simply being manipulated, nor do I th9ink all these people are self-aggrandizing dolts. As for disrespecting the CEO, that doesn't bother me, given his record.
The working class are not currently rising up.
Yes, it would be a good idea for students to get some work experience.

@Geezer: the thing may well be running out of steam for the moment, but it's not going to just go away.
Not everybody in China has a VPN, or even a computer, and news from most international sources is not in Chinese.