Chris Cantell Discusses Entertainment: Old habits die hard by Claudia Sonea

Now that the Olympic Games are over, Chinese Government starts sharpening its fangs against the supporters of Tibet. No more mister nice guy, now they are back and even worse, they attack even the only source that seemed to be free of constraints- the Internet. Moreover, even the music seems to bother them, so they took some action against the lethal combination. Have I got your attention already?
Although it may seem like there is no point in my affirmation, in fact I was trying to introduce the latest mischievous deed of the Chinese Government. It is true that the Chinese authorities are encouraging people to use the Internet, but that is for educational purposes and business at the most. On the other hand, all access to sites belonging to human rights and Tibet activists is strictly forbidden. That might not come as a surprise, but the fact that they forbade even access to Apple's iTunes online music store due to a new Tibet-themed album it is preposterous. I can only ask myself why the authority regulating Internet use (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology) is not taking any actions. Might it be the fact that China has the largest community of Internet users (253 millions)?
Since Monday Chinese users of iTunes are unable to download music and Michael Wohl, executive director of the group that launched "Songs for Tibet," with music by Sting, Alanis Morissette, Garbage and others, plus Dalai Lama’s discourse, said that the album is the one triggering the problem. Apple admits that download is unavailable to Chinese users, but denies knowing the source of the matter, especially because it doesn’t have any iTunes service in China and the log on is made on sites from US. The mystery will be solved soon, so don’t go away, more to come…



related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080822/ap_on_hi_te/china_itunes_blocked;_ylt=AmHUYFwZtrH730WUkk299L.s0NUE

by Claudia Sonea for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

PocketNews is a new real-time news broadcaster delivering the latest and hottest news right to your pocket ! With global clients who want to be kept up to date, PocketNews is everyone's way of keeping in touch with the World.<br><br><font size=2>These news are original content from young talents around the world and are selected for you by Chris Cantell.</font><br>



posted by Lucia Adamova