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China Blocks iTunes
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.
Can you even access slashdot from within China? Seems to me if you are in China you have 'No Rights On-line', come to think of it, if you are in China you have 'No Rights At-All'.
Now we know what it is like to live under a government that the people fear. A government so concerned about loosing face in the Olympics that they did everything they could do to embarrass themselves and prove what everyone has been saying about them all along. That they are a group of thugs prepared to subdue anyone that gets in their way. I'm sure you'll censor that Mr Hu Jintao. president of a Totalitarian State.
So now English citizens can look forward to having their freedoms raped in the name of 'Protecting the Olympics from Terrorism legislations' and the television stations can conclude their coverage with 'We will now return you to your regularly scheduled apathy'.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
As much as China's censorship is abhorrent in every sense of the word, we have similar problems in this country with corporate control. Look at comcast.
A much better idea would be free and open ad hoc wifi, not just in China, but globally. You can communicate with any router in range of another router, and we could use fiber or parabolic dishes for the long hops.
I'm really tired of paying $80 a month for crap Net service.
I hold very few opinions. I hold information based on observation and fact. If you wish to disagree, please use facts.
the olympic days are so awesome! advocating splitting China, what do you expect in return? how about supporting terrorist attacks on american in the name of freedom? you know what, probably 99% of the 1.4 billion people in china support this very decision to block itunes, though they may disagree with other censorship measures. those western "protesters" in beijing, they are cowards. they only "protest" in english. i bet the moment they dare "protest" in chinese, they would be crashed by infuriated average chinese. yeah, "free tibet", because that's just what your media tells you to, because china is by default evil, therefore you don't really need to know what actually happens in china.
Safari marks itself to be installed -every single damn time-. I have to uncheck the box every time.
Yeah that pisses me off.