With China taking the headlines over the last few weeks, and probably the next oncoming weeks, one of the things that have been circulated around in the news is the fact that many websites are blocked in China, leading to people finding other methods of getting to websites and bypassing the Great Firewall of China. Now, with the Olympics in full throttle, people are letting the negative hype die down until the Olympics are over.

Maybe that’s why the Italian government chose now, while the worlds focus is on China, to go ahead and block everyone from accessing popular torrent site, The Pirate Bay, in it’s country. Something which has caused much outrage in the online community. So far, it seems that it’s just the major ISP’s in the country that have blocked the site, so maybe those on smaller ISP’s can still access the site perfectly fine.

However, many Italians shouldn’t have a problem getting on right this minute, as The Pirate Bay have opened up a new, unblocked domain specifically for Italians to get through - http://www.labaia.org, La Baia meaning “The Bay” in Italian.

The Pirate Bay had this to say in a blog post about the situation, titled “Fascist state censors Pirate Bay”.

We’re quite used to fascist countries not allowing freedom of speech. A lot of smaller nations that have dictators decide to block our site since we can help spread information that could be harmful to the dictators.

This time it’s Italy. They suffer from a really bad background as one of the IFPIs was formed in Italy during the fascist years and now they have a fascist leader in the country, Silvio Berlusconi. Berlusconi is also the most powerful person in Italian media owning a lot of companies that compete with The Pirate Bay and he would like to stay that way - so one of his lackeys, Giancarlo Mancusi, ordered a shutdown of our domain name and IP in Italy to make it hard to not support Berlusconis empire.

Now, I don’t condone piracy, but I do take objection to the ever increasing number of countries who are blocking websites, ever leading us further away from Net Neutrality which is becoming an ever rising issue on the growing web.

To any Italian friends out there, The Pirate Bay recommend using OpenDNS or La Baia to access their website while the try and resolve the situation with the Italian government. The last message in their blog post is this.

And please, everybody should also contact their ISP and tell them that this is not OK and that the ISPs should appeal. We don’t want a censored internet! And the war starts here…

So now Google has got the go ahead to start Street View in the UK, the Daily Mail has jumped on the chance to declare how evil and dastardly Google’s “Orwellian” plan is. Aside from describing it as “Big Brother” and a “Burglar Charter”, this misinformation has sadly passed on to some of the people in the comments section of the article.

Let’s just clarify firstly that taking pictures of people’s streets or houses in the UK is not illegal. Nor is it illegal for someone to walk up and look at your house. Google are not doing anything more than this.

Idiots such as Chris from Southampton think-

So first they have to reveal everyone’s browsing history
Now we have them photographing houses….
I just can’t wait until they have it all linked up, banking details, insurance details, browsing history, shopping history, the online catalogue for identity and other theft at the click of a button.
Save any housing problems too by linking holiday company booking details and the squatters website.
- as soon as my house appears on line I think I will change the front door and windows and fit a new alarm system

Firstly, they are not revealing everyone’s browsing history. It was a court ruling which meant they had to hand over the history of YouTube visitors, not THEIR choice. And that was later anonymised to protect users. Secondly, Google can’t get all that info you talked about. Oh well, let’s just let Chris be ignorant.

Other comments which widely over exaggerate what Google are doing, such as Laura from Derbyshire-

I’m looking forward to making a claim for trespassing. You would have to trespass in order to take the picture of my front door.

Aren’t aerial views enough for Google? Do you really need to see someone’s front door? We’ve recently changed our front door. If they had taken a picture of my previous front door, would Google be anyway liable for not updating its records under the Data Protection Act?

Another idiot. They aren’t going down your driveway and taking a photograph! They are going down streets and taking pictures of what they can see and not bloody driveways.

Some people have the right idea however-

Perhaps I am being naive, but I don’t consider my front door particularly ‘private’. If anyone want to photograph it or admire it from afar they are welcome to do so.

Ali, London, UK

What is wrong with people? Do they have something to hide?
Anybody can walk down any street and look at your garden, your house, your car, your kids toys strewn about, etc., etc., and there are more CCTV cameras in this country than you can shake a stick at.
SO WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

Google Earth is a fascinating addition to anyone’s browsing pleasure, so good on you Google for making it even better.

And if you are concerned that you will be photographed doing something you shouldn’t, don’t do it.

- Joe King, Lancs, 11/7/2008 7:48

I think this is a awesome idea. Especially if they can incorporate it into a mobile version. How many of us have been getting directions to a family party and been told to look out for “the red thing next to the play park on the corner of whats-it-called street”, with this new concept, you can see ahead, make changes, turn around and double back and take alternative routes without even moving your car.
The Google team (not techno freaks) know the laws, so just let them finish the thing before we as a public start slating it.

- Shane Wakefield, Milton Keynes, 10/7/2008 22:56

How can a photo taken from a public place be considered an invasion of privacy?

How can photos taken of celebrities taken when they are clearly in private be used for profit while essentially random pictures taken from a moving car cannot?

Hard luck to those who have something to hide and roll on the digital revolution!

- John Whittaker, Livingston, UK, 10/7/2008 18:25

It seems not everyone is stupid. Good luck to those who have decided they are emigrating because of this, by the way.

I, with many others, have recently been converted from an evil, “grubby little man” to a life of wondrous joy where downloading anything is a sin, thanks to the highly successful “Knock-Off Nigel” campaign.

Oh yes. I realize that to an American reader, or in fact anyone from somewhere other than the UK, will not have a clue what the hell is going on in this ad. We here almost didn’t know until they rudely interrupted poor old Nigel’s life and ruined his reputation by singing a jolly old song. This IS the UK’s best attempt at combating piracy. Some bloke who looks like he recently came of the cast of “Life On Mars” or “Ashes to Ashes” strolls up and starts singing in some daft way as the whole office join in behind him.

Every time this advert makes it’s way on to my TV, I fail to see how it has stopped anyone from continuing to download or “knock-off” illegally. At all. It is just so badly done. Nothing like, “STOP - Piracy is a crime” or “Would you steal a car? Would you steal a movie?”. Just a message that has been poorly conceived by some idiots on some ad agency somewhere.

What’s worse is that this was probably funded by the UK Government, which means our money has been spent on producing this tripe. Still, I suppose on the bright side, you can get a quick kick out of just how devastatingly bad they really are.

And if you want to know more (I hope to God you don’t), check out Nigel’s very own site.

What with video games being blamed for the extinction of whales and the credit crunch, and of course the good old argument that they make people kill each other, rob houses and generally toss around with people’s minds, it comes as a surprise that prisoners in the UK are allowed to play rated 18 video games whilst in prison. Well apparently not so, anymore. Gizmodo UK reports that a new rule means prisons in Wales and England cannot buy new games or consoles for their inmates, but prisoners who show good behaviour get a little treat and can buy there own. But the question is…

Why are there games consoles in the first place? These people are prisoners for crying out loud! They should serve their time whilst being punished for whatever crime they have committed. Of course, the barmy UK prison system would rather let them mess around on their Xbox 360’s, or draw up evil plans while first-person shooting on their PS3’s.

It further shows why young “offenders” really don’t give a damn about being sent to “Young Offenders Institues”, because it’s like being sent away on a nice, cushy holiday. The complete package with en suite TV and console. As I see it, the only prisoners who should be allowed to play games are those on suicide watch, as the article mentions. Just make sure they have wireless controllers though…

Maybe the UK goverment wouldn’t have to spend so much on GTA IV and PS3’s if they spent money on devising ways to stop people getting in prison in the first place. But I must end my rant here. Needless to say, the logic behind this is baffling.

Remember to share your views in the comments section. Are video games in prisons a silly idea in the first place, or am I just missing something out?

Thanks to Gizmodo UK for the information