According to Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, the Sony PlayStation line of consoles is “poison” and is leading children down the “capitalist road to hell.”
The PS wasn’t the only product feeling the heat from the President however, as he called on Venezuelan manufacturers to create “educational” toys with the features of those indigenous to the nation and not capitalistic dolls such as Barbies that “have nothing to do with our culture.”
After dissing Nintendo for promoting “selfishness, individualism and violence,” Chavez took aim at the PS line.
“Those games they call ‘PlayStation’ are poison. Some games teach you to kill. They once put my face on a game, ‘you’ve got to find Chavez to kill him.’” The games sold for the PS are used as propogando to “later sell weapons,” and they “promote the need for cigarettes, drugs and alcohol so they can sell them. That’s capitalism, the road to hell.”
Result for: venezuela
The United States has added Canada to its piracy Priority Watch List, calling the nation one of the worst “offenders of copyright piracy.”
Adds the US Trade Representatives (USTR): “In this time of economic uncertainty, we need to redouble our efforts to work with all of our trading partners - even our closest allies and neighbors such as Canada - to enhance protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.”
ESA (Entertainment Software Association) of Canada CEO Michael Gallagher approved of the move adding: “Canada’s weak laws and enforcement practicies foster game piracy in the Canadian market and pave the way for unlawful imports into the US.”
The ESA believes Canada need to strengthen its lax rules on piracy, ban mod chips completely, “provide Customs officials with the authority to seize counterfeit products on the Canadian border” and create “incentives” for ISPs to stop piracy at its source.
“Canada contributes significantly to the development of today’s leading games - creating thousands of high-paying jobs along the way,” Gallagher added. “We are eager to see Canada become a full partner in protecting these products on the way to market.”
The other nations on the Priority Watch List are Argentina, Chile, China, India, Israel, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Venezuela, Algeria and Indonesia.
Result for: venezuela
The Spanish company Telefonica has announced it will distribute the iPhone to 16 countries in Latin America and the Czech Republic after striking a deal with Apple.
“The 16 countries where we will distribute the iPhone have a market potential of 500 million people, making us one of the global leaders in the distribution of these revolutionary handsets,” Telefonica Chairman Cesar Alierta said in a statement.
Telefonica already sells the phone in the UK and Ireland through O2 and will begin selling the device in Spain on July 11th.
The 16 new countries are the Czech Republic, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Unlike its current markets however, the new markets will not be exclusive for Telefonica as America Movil has already signed a deal to distribute the phone in most of those countries.
