No iTunes for China – that pesky Dalai Lama suspected!

By Mark O’Neill
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

If you’re in China and looking to download your iTunes tracks then you’ve probably been having some problems in the past few days.   That’s probably because Beijing doesn’t like a new Tibet-themed album that is now out on iTunes with the Dalai Lama giving a 15-minute talk.

As well as the talk, The Art Of Peace album also includes songs by Sting, Alanis Morissette and Moby.   According to iTunes, all money raised from the album will go to “support peace initiatives and Tibetan cultural preservation projects important to the Dalai Lama”.

According to the Associated Press, over 40 Olympic athletes competing in China downloaded the album from iTunes as “an act of solidarity” and it is speculated that it was this that caused the Chinese government to start blocking iTunes.

President Jintao – if you don’t like Sting’s music, just issue a press release and tell him to shut up!   You don’t have to block him!