GFW = PITA

One of the things that's convenient with my new Android phone is to check on social media stuff whenever and wherever. I finally got it connected with the WLAN router here at PMI but nothing works thanks to the Great Firewall of China.

Facebook => blocked
Twitter => blocked
Blogger/Blogspot => blocked
YouTube => blocked

Wow, that means I can pretty much only check email and weather (hot and humid) with the phone. I'm too cheap to turn on data roaming though China Mobile but that probably has all the above blocked as well. I can try to connect through a VPN using the phone, as I'm doing with my netbook, but why should I have to jump through hoops?

If China is so great, as the CCP keeps telling everyone, what are they afraid of? My silly blog? People Twittering random notes to their friends? Seriously, Facebook?!