From GoogleBlog:

Filtering our search results clearly compromises our mission. Failing to offer Google search at all to a fifth of the world's population, however, does so far more severely. Whether our critics agree with our decision or not, due to the severe quality problems faced by users trying to access Google.com from within China, this is precisely the choice we believe we faced. By launching Google.cn and making a major ongoing investment in people and infrastructure within China, we intend to change that.

No, we're not going to offer some Google products, such as Gmail or Blogger, on Google.cn until we're comfortable that we can do so in a manner that respects our users' interests in the privacy of their personal communications. And yes, Chinese regulations will require us to remove some sensitive information from our search results. When we do so, we'll disclose this to users, just as we already do in those rare instances where we alter results in order to comply with local laws in France, Germany and the U.S.

Obviously, the situation in China is far different than it is in those other countries; while China has made great strides in the past decades, it remains in many ways closed. We aren't happy about what we had to do this week, and we hope that over time everyone in the world will come to enjoy full access to information. But how is that full access most likely to be achieved? We are convinced that the Internet, and its continued development through the efforts of companies like Google, will effectively contribute to openness and prosperity in the world. Our continued engagement with China is the best (perhaps only) way for Google to help bring the tremendous benefits of universal information access to all our users there.

Most of you, who have read my site for a while, know of my displeasure with Google in the past. From my initial attempt to sign up for Google Adsense to my frustration with 'everything Google", I have been a vocal "dissenter" in a group of otherwise happy Googlers.

Well, today the roles are reversed. I totally, and completely, support Google's launch of Google.cn. While I am skeptical of the Chinese government, I have no reason not to support Google. Their presence in China alone (along with Yahoo and MSN) will have an impact the world has never seen.

Tonight, I have read many blogs who are calling for a boycott of Google but I don't see the point, let alone the reason. I have read comments where people say, "We are very disappointed, remember there are other search engines around". Well, yeah, there are. And they are also in China, and they are also being censored. Gasp. Where is the outrage towards those other two search engines who have been there for a while now? Why is there no call to boycott them? Is it because they are not the "mighty" Google? Or is it because most people have no idea they are there? Either way, big surprise. Because I refuse to jump on the hypocritical bandwagon, Google Adsense, AdSearch and Referral Ads have all been returned to their place on this blog as a show of support for Google.

If I were living in a country that censored my access to the internet, I would prefer using a search engine that informed me something was "removed" from my search results, than a search engine that would never notify me that my results were being censored in the first place.

Knowledge is power, and I feel Google is providing knowledge to the Chinese people. Information may not be flowing fast enough for some critics, but give it time. Once the floodgates open, there will be no stopping it.

More similarities have been found between the bird flu creeping into Eastern Europe and the 1918 Spanish flu that decimated populations worldwide, including the discovery of an entirely new way bird flu may kill human cells.

Researchers from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., have found that bird flu viruses carry a gene that can latch onto many crucial proteins inside human cells, presumably disrupting their function and causing far more severe disease than human viruses.

…

There's no evidence so far that the H5N1 avian flu is transforming into the next human pandemic flu strain, but "we certainly are really increasing our efforts in terms of preparedness," says Dr. Theresa Tam, of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

While I think it's important to keep the world informed on the developments of H5N1, I also think it's getting a bit old to read article after article and press release after press release that starts off with startling (and scary) facts yet ends with "we have evidence so fat that this is even going to happen".

This article for instance, uses the 1918 Spanish flu (which killed millions of people) to plant thoughts of "decimated populations" alongside the new bird flue and it's "entirely new way to kill human cells". Yet, just a few paragraphs later they admit there is no evidence that H5N1 is transforming (or ever will transform) into the next human pandemic flu strain.

It's time to stop the hype and start informing the public on what's is happening, not what might happen.

Oh, man. I have not heard that name in a long, long time.

Even I thought the Humuhumunukunukuapuaa, pronounced HOO-moo-HOO-moo-NOO-koo-NOO-koo-AH-poo-AH-ah), was the state fish of Hawaii. Heck, I have a patch somewhere in a box that says so.

Of course, that patch is over 20 years old, but still.

Everyone thought the humuhumunukunukuapuaa was Hawaii's state fish. As it turns out, the brightly colored fish with the excessively long name has been dethroned.

The news shook the world of Rep. Blake Oshiro, who found out the designation was no longer official from Joel Itomura, a 6-year-old fish-loving son of a friend and constituent.

"I was really surprised," said Oshiro, who has drawn up a bill that would make humuhumunukunukuapuaa – also known as the rectangular triggerfish or "humuhumu" for short – the official state fish for the islands.

…

In 1984 the state Legislature asked the University of Hawaii and the Waikiki Aquarium to survey the public and come up with a candidate for the state fish. The humuhumu was swept into the spot in part through the support of school children who learned of the campaign through classroom projects.

Although the issue of the state fish would seem to come with little controversy, the method used to poll the public was questioned and lawmakers limited the designation to five years.

No one told the public that the humuhumu's reign was over, so few knew anything had changed.

You follow the progress of HB1982 on the Hawaii State Legislature website.

It's funny the bill is number 1982, because the last time I went to Hawaii was in 1982.

I thought I would take a moment to acknowledge all of the famous people who were born on this day, January 28th.

John Banner, who played Sgt. Schultz on Hogan's Heroes, was born in 1910.

Abstract artist Jackson Pollock was born in 1912.

Alan "Hawkeye Pierce" Alda was born in 1936.

Hee-Haw model, and Playboy bunny, Barbi Benton was born in 1950.

PGA golfer Nick Price was born in 1957.

Folk singer Sarah McLachlan was born in 1968.

World renowned photographer and novelist Vincent Ferrari was born in 1976.

I think I'll take a moment celebrate my age
End of an era and the turning of a page
Now it's time to focus in on where I go from here
Lord have mercy on my next thirty years

In my next thirty years I'm gonna have some fun
Try to forget about all the crazy things I've done
Maybe now I've conquered all my adolescent fears
And I'll do it better in my next thirty years

My next thirty years I'm gonna settle all the scores
Cry a little less laugh a little more
Find a world of happiness without the hate and fear
Figure out just what I'm doin' here in my next thirty years

For my next thirty years I'm gonna watch my weight
Eat a few more salads and not stay up so late
Drink a little lemonade and not so many beers
Maybe I'll remember my next thirty years

My next thirty years will be the best years of my life
Raise a little family and hang out with my wife
Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear
Make up for lost time here in my next thirty years
In my next thirty years

[Source: Tim McGraw's "My Next Thirty Years" via Leo's Lyrics]

Happy Birthday Vinny!

Twenty years ago today, Dick Scobee, Mike Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judy Resnik, Ron McNair, Greg Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe were lost in our country's first in-flight disaster. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families and everyone who witnessed the events that tragic day.

The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved good-bye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."