swa66 - 6:33 pm on May 15, 2008 (gmt 0)

like telling us we can't take a pic of the Eiffel Tower

Actually the pics of the eiffel tower (at night) are protected by copyright (the lightshow is considered copyrighted)
In Belgium e.g. the Atomium itself is protected by copyright. And many a building is protected by copyright owned by the architect who designed it.

But the problem isn't one of showing buildings, it's one of showing people without having permission of those people.

Now google by far isn't the worst out there by far. There are companies out there who put movies of their cars driving through cities online. You can basically see what people do out on the streets in a movie, you can pan as the car drives etc to really see how people behave in the streets (e.g. you can see people jaywalk).

Sometimes I'm ashamed to be European

Don't be: somebody has to stand up for the right to not have everything you do be a matter of public record. And I doubt the current US administration will lift a finger, so the EU is the best hope for humankind that companies develop some sensitivity to this.