The Associated Press is reporting today that Microsoft has shut down the blog of a Chinese blogger who happend to--wait for it--"touch on politically sensitive issues" (i.e. he told the truth).

China's overzealous policing of the Internet is well reported, but for Microsoft to bow to such pressures is nothing short of spinelessness and unadulterated greed. The shutdown came at the request of the Chinese government. China represents the single largest market for American products in the world. Microsoft cannot afford to piss off their government, who still have a heavy hand in all "free market" activities that take place there.

And, really, at the end of the day, what is the loss of one lone voice of freedom rising up in the face of censorship and tyranny?

Very little, when compared to the potential Chinese market, some several billion consumers strong. Meanwhile, in this great country of ours, bloggers can prattle on about this, that and the other form of nonsense, and then be rewarded with very large book deals, despite what seems to be an utter lack of literary skill (I was going to link to a particularly insipid blog here, which has inspired a lucrative book deal, but I'm not that sort of guy...besides, perhaps you find what I write about insipid).

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