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China Blocks iTunes

Posted by Soulskill on from the protesters-need-oxygen-let's-ban-that dept.

eldavojohn writes "If you like iTunes and you are one of the billion people residing in China, you may have noticed that you no longer have access to the eight million songs on it. An album, 'Songs for Tibet' was downloaded more than 40 times by Olympic athletes as a sign of solidarity for Tibet's cause. Ironically, this compilation had songs criticizing the 'Great Firewall of China,' and that is the very thing that prohibited these songs from reaching the Chinese public. Artists on the compilation include Alanis Morissette, Garbage, Imogen Heap, Moby, Sting, Suzanne Vega, Underworld and others." Additional coverage is available at Computerworld. Earlier this year, China blocked Youtube and other video services for similar reasons. More recently, the Chinese government detained a technologist who planned a pro-Tibet demonstration.

2 of 325 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Every country has a different threshold by Bazman · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    I'm having trouble finding out what treaties and conventions the Chinese government has actually ratified or signed, but when they say they will - or will work towards - abiding by this or that UN Human Rights agreement, then yes, it is our business.

    http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WDQ/is_2005_Sept_5/ai_n15403393

      "The covenant is a 29-year-old agreement that calls on nations to let their people freely determine their political status and not be arbitrarily arrested. China signed the agreement in 1998, but has not ratified it."

      I'm quite happy for them to torture, murder, enslave, and restrict the activities of their own people as much as they like as long as they admit it. No problem. But when they say 'oh, we're nice people really' and carry on, well then I just CANT STAND hypocrisy....

  2. Re:Every country has a different threshold by FishWithAHammer · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    The rate of gun crime in England didn't exactly go down when the legal guns were taken away. If you take away the legal firearms, only the criminals (and the people who you have tacitly accepted as your civil masters, the police) will have access to them.

    You don't know that the people you see won't be armed. You hope they won't be. Saying anything else is cowardly, self-important self-delusion.

    Pathetic, as are all moral relativists.

    --
    "You can either have software quality or you can have pointer arithmetic, but you cannot have both at the same time."