Just Because …

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Environmental Issues, Humour, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

A couple of days ago, my friend Herb sent me several YouTube videos … one Stephen Colbert, one by Seth Meyers, and one by Trevor Noah.  All three were good, addressed the very unfunny topics of the day in a humorous manner, but I think I liked Trevor Noah’s the best.  So, since I decided you guys need a bit of fun in your lives, I’m sharing it … just because!

34 thoughts on “Just Because …”

    • I don’t suppose you were able to see it, either, since my friends in the UK and in Canada were not able to. I’m sorry … you would have really enjoyed it. Sigh.

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      • Jill, you may wish to inform your readers about how to avoid video restrictions due to their countries’ geolocations. I know, it’s not fair at all. A simple solution is to install a VPN (a piece of software that reroutes one’s IP address to another country that’s more favorable, like the US.
        There’s even free browser VPNs built in, like Opera browser. All u have to do is install the browser, and turn on the VPN with a press of the button.
        Select the host country server u want to view the video with, and voila…. instant access! Good luck everyone, it’s the easiest and best solution.

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        • It’s not always successful. The IP addresses of many VPN services are well known and it’s a trivial matter to block them.

          As to whether it’s fair or not, surely it’s the right of the copyright holder to determine where a work can be seen. In many cases the original copyright holder has transferred the copyright in a particular country to a third party and is contractually obliged to not provide access to that country.

          Where one uses a VPN service to breach intellectual property rights or copyright you are probably breaking the law and most likely breaching the terms and conditions of the VPN service. And when it comes to breaching copyright, the US has possibly the most draconian regulations of any developed nation, where such breaches are a criminal matter with extremely heavy penalties.

          Personally, I feel it’s immoral to use a VPN to get around intellectual property rights or copyright and the wishes of the person who created the work. It’s a form of theft.

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          • Thanks, Barry! I am out of my league when it comes to such things, but I’m with you … it sounds like it is not only illegal, but immoral, just not the right thing to do.

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          • Hello Barry, thanks for ur comprehensive and thoughtful response. I wholeheartedly agree with you that no one should infringe upon a copyright holder’s intellectual property and rights.
            However, VPNs do serve a useful purpose when used legally. For instance, i subscribe to NETFLIX, but can’t access the service outside of the US due to Geo-blocking. VPNs do work quite effectively by bypassing these inconvenient restrictions.
            The same goes with PUBLIC television programmes that are shared for FREE on Youtube. It is the intent of the broadcaster to share content freely in order to gain a wider audience. The restriction is often times imposed by the foreign gov’t where you happen to be located.
            I know many US shows are intentionally blocked by Russia, China, North Korea, Middle East, b/c the shows do not represent the values aligned with said foreign country.
            So if you legally/ morally have the right to watch public domain content, often times it’s up to you to overcome geo-political obstacles imposed by world gov’ts and not necessarily by the content creator himself. Case in point – The Trevor Noah show.
            So yes, do ur due diligence and make sure no laws are broken, but also consider that ur own rights are not infringed upon by unscrupulous parties:

            https://www.smartydns.com/knowledge-base/what-is-geo-blocking-bypass-geo-restrictions

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            • I am more than confidant that if a clip on YouTube is not available in Aotearoa New Zealand then it is because that is the intent of either YouTube (who is providing the service) or the copyright holder.

              I don’t know what the situation is in Canada or the UK, but I presume it would be similar to what it is here. ISPs here can voluntarily subscribe to and block a list of IP addresses provided by the authorities. These are essentially child porn sites. Additionally some ISPs choose to block some other IP addresses either temporarily or permanently. For example, some of them blocked access to 4chan and 8chan in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attacks.

              Please note the blocking is by IP address and not by content. For example, currently the video made by the Christchurch mosque shooter is classified as “objectionable material” which makes its possession illegal. Possession includes downloading or streaming it. However neither the authorities nor the ISPs have the resources to monitor for, let alone block, specific content. Anyone in NZ foolish enough will have no difficulty locating and downloading the video. However if it comes to the notice of the authorities, then you can expect the heavy hand of the law to be applied.

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              • From my understanding of Youtube policies and political banning of content from world gov’ts, censorship more often than not is imposed by the powers that be who govern/ control that nation.
                Legality has become a relative term these days, as gov’ts can arbitrarily dictate what is legal or not. It could be in the name of religion, politics, or simply bribery / extortion.
                Google, “government block youtube content” for a laundry list of reasons why videos get blocked. Most of the time there’s no rhyme of reason, simply nonsensical.

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