At the The China Vortex, Paul Denlinger discusses how there is no unified “China market”, no monolithic, simplistic, single-minded Goliath that the rest of the world is trying to deal with. While I do not have the depth of on the ground experience that Mr. Denlinger has (I have not yet been blessed with the opportunity to visit or do business in China), I can see the truth he brings to the discussion.

One of the great pits that Western culture falls into when dealing with the China problem is just that: It is seen as a problem, not an opportunity to expand and learn from a culture that deals with life, philosophy, and business in a very different manner.

This should come as no surprise to any astute student of History, or even modern geopolitics, as the way that nations deal with perceived threats or challenges is to create a national culture of The Other, the us-v-them foreign policy.

When Japan was the country du jour in the 1980s, the Western World respected it, in a very shallow way, as a fellow industrial nation with a strong warrior culture. However, it was treated in a simple way, with Western media portrayals that strengthened perceived stereotypes, and plastered over the profound differences that exist within Japan, and within the Japanese people.

China is even more of a victim of this Politics of the Other, having spent more than 50 years as one of the adversaries in the Cold War, being vilified and portrayed in the least flattering light possible. Even without the base Human interpretation of simplistic interpretations of the Other, the West is crippled from the start in its attempts to understand a nation as large, diverse, and fractured as China.

China is far more than Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and small cadre of smaller, but no less important industrial / post-industrial metropolitan areas.

Drawing on my experience in trying to interpret Internet performance data from within this nation, it is clear to even the casual observer that the Chinese Internet does not simply exist in the major cities. It extends into the far reaches of the country, fractured by the internal conflicts of the connectivity providers, government officials at a many levels, and the unstoppable drive and creativity of the people who see the Internet as an opportunity to make their way in their world.

Cultural and national stereotypes are the way that humans ineffectively deal with the differences that exist. But just as the terms “All Brits..”, “All the French..”, “All Germans…”, “All Argentinians..”, et al. should be treated with disdain and seen as a sign of ignorance, using the words “All Chinese…” or “All of China…” should be quickly quashed and carted off to the dustbin of simplistic paranoia and xenophobia.

There is no such thing as a threat. As it is often stated in other contexts, a threat is simply an opportunity that is hidden by your own prejudices.

Tags: Beijing, business, China, china market, chinese, diversity, government, Hong Kong, Internet, Internet performance data, Japan, media portrayals, national identity, nationalism, paranoia, Paul Denlinger, Shanghai, the other, xenophobia

Well folks, I got the good news last night: I am Department of Labor Certified.

This means that I can now actually apply for a Green Card.

Oh yeah, and based on some of the other happenings in the world of US Immigration (here and here), I am part of the group that is either going to be royally screwed over, or be part of some sort of general amnesty due to political manipulation and greed entering into the process.

Could be a fun month.

Tags: app, content, government, Green Card, HTTP, IE, IM, Immigration, IP, ISP, it, Om, pr, Technorati, the other

It seems that more than the usual immigration backlog reduction process has been at work in the USCIS. There are two likely scenarios that appear to be running around immigration circles these days, regarding the Green Card slot tease that has turned into such a furore.

The first is that the Department of State, which issues the Visas, was pressuring the USCIS to fill the Fiscal 2007 Green Card quota, something that has happened rarely in the last few years. What most people in the US don’t know is that most years, thousands of eligible Green Card slots simply disappear because the applications can’t be processed fast enough by the USCIS.

Recent events have highlighted this, and the Department of State may have applied pressure to USCIS to completely exhaust the 2007 pool, to avoid the embarrassment of having to explain to Congress why they can’t process applications faster.

The second reason is greed: as of August 1 2007, the government fees for Green card applications increases massively. For a family of four, the cost will increase by $2,500. So, by not allowing the flood of applications from all of those expectant people, they have guaranteed themselves a higher revenue stream for next year.

All things considered, the whole event smells.

Now, for the long-term affect on skilled immigrants, Microsoft has set the trend by announcing that it will be moving development over the border to Canada [here]. As a country with a skills-based immigration policy, highly-trained technical professionals feel welcomed and wanted in Canada, something that is not the case with the archaic and glacial immigration policy of the United States.

In the next 5-10 years, US companies will face a serious inability to recruit employees from anywhere other than the United States. Skilled professionals will simply not come to a country that actively discourages them from staying permanently and making a contribution.

The US policy policy will be a boon to Canada, Ireland, and other countries who actively seek and encourage skilled professional immigrants.

Tags: USCIS, Department of State, immigration, Green Card, skilled professionals, Canada, Ireland, brain drain

Tags: app, application, Canada, Challenges, cro, government, Green Card, HTML, HTTP, IE, IM, immigrants, Immigration, Ireland, Issues, it, LAN, Microsoft, Om, pr, run, Technorati, United States

As many readers know, I am going through the process — if you call filing a bunch of paperwork and not hearing anything for 2 years a process — of obtaining Permanent Residency in the United States, often referred to as the Green Card.

This morning, on NPR, there was a story about a foul-up in the processing of Green Cards that is suspicious, to say the least.

I have started referring to this process as the Dream Card because it leaves one thinking that the application they completed was done in a dream, a long time ago. An like most dreams, it is a fable of the subconscious mind and as likely to come true as those blue, flying penguins in my dream last night.

The degree of complexity that accompanies the application process has made bureaucrats from the Byzantine Empire write letters of complaint to their members of Congress, saying that the USCIS is giving them a bad name. Kafka has been seen rising from the dead at night, and penning a new tale based on this experience.

Other people covering this story.

NY Times
The Guardian
Times Of India
Miami Herald
San Jose Mercury News
Sacramento Bee Editorial

A few media outlets have grabbed this story as an example of just how broken the US system is when it comes to immigration, especially given the irony of the recent debate over the immigration bill that was tossed out of Congress. How could the immigration system have hoped to deal with the new regulations, if thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of valid visas go unused every year, due to government inefficiency.

Why would an illegal immigrant bother to go through a legal process that punishes the very people who are taking the time to follow the rules?

I would raise my voice in protest; but it would do no good. Drawing a pool of highly skilled, well compensated indentured servants from around the world to these shores to keep the wheels of innovation and development rolling appears to have become the American way.

And like indentured servants everywhere, we are a disposable commodity, to be teased by the promise that some day, we could, we might, just maybe be able to live here (and still not be able to vote) as Permanent Residents.

Tags: Green Card, fiasco, scandal, State Department, USCIS, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, indentured, servants, work visa, visa

Tags: app, application, ARIN, dreams, EAD, government, Green Card, HTML, HTTP, IE, IM, Immigration, India, IP, ISP, it, leave, live, media, NY Times, Om, One, opinion, permanent resident, PHP, pr, Technorati, United States

Rick Segal is in China at the moment, and is writing about his experience.

One question came to mind when I read this:

Next up, you run your bags through an X-ray as part of customs. I did this and the customs guy decided to open my camera bag, ignoring my computer bag and luggage. He takes my camera out (Nikon D200) studies it and says, in perfect english, “I have a Nikon digital and was thinking about upgrading, how’s this camera?” We proceed to have a ten minute conversation about Nikon digital cameras and at the end of this conversation, he smiles, and says “Welcome to China, enjoy your stay.” That’s two “welcomes” and 100% positive interaction with the government officials so far.

And the question is: How can a Chinese customs official afford an $1100 camera?

Technorati Tags: Rick Segal, Nikon D200, China, chinese customs

Tags: China, chinese, conversation, EAD, government, HTML, HTTP, IE, interaction, it, Om, One, pr, run, Technorati

I am writing this from Toronto. I am in shock that I am here, as the events over the last 24 hours seem like a bad dream. It appears that the US media has not picked it up on this crisis. In fact, I am
having difficulty getting to US news sites and blog servers from Canada.

Yesterday, representatives from DHS arrived at my office and took me into a conference room along with the CEO and COO. The COO (a Canadian with a permanent resident status) and I were told that we and are families were being taken to Logan airport and placed on a flight to Canada. They then handcuffed us and took us out through the back door to an unmarked bus, with about 20 others onboard. There were guards in paramilitary uniforms I could not identify.

After three or four more stops (it was a blur, I can’t remember it all), we arrived at logan. I was re-united with Samantha and the boys in a abandoned hangar, where there were 200-300 of these unidentified paramilitary guards. There had to be 2-3,000 people in the hangar.

We were herded onto a series of C-5 cargo planes and flown for about 90 minutes. Off the plane, and left at what turns out to be an abandoned airfield just outside Toronto. AFter about 20 minutes, OPP and RCMP officers appeared, looking as stunned as we were.

Does anyone know what’s going on?

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Sound scary? Well, I would say April Fool’s Day, if it weren’t for the fact that the current xenophobic ranting going on in the United States makes me feel that this scenario is not so far-fetched. I am here legally on an H-1B, but could be deported at the whim of the US Government. And these whims appear to engulfing the American psyche.

Right now, the targets are the “illegal immigrants”. This is white, middle-class code for “latin immigrants, regardless of status”. But will it stop there?

As the US fortunes are matched by other growing economies, will this xenophobic and racist tendency lead to all immigrants being targeted, regardless of status and origin? Is the tradition of US isolationism rearing its head in a world of crumbling borders and economic barriers?

Is the US really ready for the world?

Technorati Tags: immigration, racism, xenophobia, isolationism, USA, Canada, globalization

Tags: app, ARIN, blog, Canada, current, DHS, EAD, government, HTTP, IE, IM, immigrants, Immigration, it, LAN, media, Om, One, permanent resident, pr, racism, server, Technorati, United States, xenophobia

Patrick McGoohan created the amazing character of “Number Six” a year before I was born. But sitting here in my beautiful home in Massachusetts, I understand the feelings that the character must have experienced.

The premise, for those who don’t know the show, is that Number Six is a top agent for an unnamed spy agency who resigns for reasons that are never clear. He is then suddenly kidnapped and placed in this remarkably serene village by the sea, where all his needs are fulfilled. However, this comes at a price: he is no longer free.

I live that every day.

I have had people say that this view is extreme.

But it is also true.

I am free to go about my business in any way I chose, but the US government or my current employer can revoke my status at any time.

Then I am free to return to Canada poor, but free.

It is crazy to think that borders mean so much. Working on the internet has made boundaries meaningless to me. I have contacts all over the US, and around the world. But I am trapped by borders.

Now, I know that this may not always be the case. One of the senior executives at the company I work for is also Canadian, but with a Green Card. He has complete freedom to go where he wants, and do what he wants, and work for whomever he wants.

I miss that freedom.

The life of a “guest worker” is starting to wear on both Samantha and me. We are concerned that our eldest may be discriminated against in later life simply because he is Canadian. We are also worried about what may happen to our youngest because he is a US citizen.

They are simply our children. How can we raise them in such an atmosphere of uncertainty?

Samanatha is going to Victoria to visit her parents in April. When she comes back, I know that the distance between where we are (Massachusetts), and where we want to be (Washington, Oregon, British Columbia) will need to be bridged.

I know that we must return to the West Coast.

But here I am, trapped in the netherworld that the “guest workers” inhabit.

I cannot recommend this experience to anyone. A job in the US seems like a good idea, but consider the costs.

You will be trapped by a job, be trapped in a job, and be chained to one job.

That is the compromise you have to accept.

I can no longer accept it.

I am NOT a number…

Technorati Tags: h-1b, guest worker, green card, canada, the prisoner, management, outsourcing

Tags: app, business, Canada, children, current, government, Green Card, HTTP, IE, IM, Internet, it, live, Massachusetts, Om, One, pr, Technorati

I have said it before, and I say it again: the performance profile of the CIA Web Site SUCKS.

How can you stand this if you are a major government agency? Guess no one at the CIA cares.

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Technorati: CIAIceRocket: CIA

Tags: ARIN, blog, government, GrabPERF, HTTP, IE, IM, it, Om, One, performance, PHP, pr, run, Technorati, web

The EFF is letting us know that the US Government (your government, not mine) has secretly collaborated with printer manufacturers to embed a unique tracking code in every document coming from your colour printer. [here]

Via: Travis Smith

Tags: government, HTTP, it, Om, pr, tracking

This is enough. Do something.

Read this. Then come back to this forum and tell me how you can support this man.

He and his cronies claim to support the little people. So far, the poor and desperate have suffered the indignity of having their humanity stripped from them by their own government.

Yesterday, we saw a car from Louisiana pass us on the 495. Samantha and I both thought poor buggers. Yet now, I realize that they were driving a very expensive minivan. They weren’t suffering. And they were likely staying in hotels.

The United States should be ashamed of their President, their government, and what they have down to their own people.

What will you do to bring humanity back to the United States.

Tags: cro, EAD, government, HTTP, IANA, IE, IM, IP, ISP, it, live, Om, PHP, pr, president, United States