· January, 2009

Stories about Technology from January, 2009

Russia: Putin in Davos

  31 January 2009

Leopolis writes about Putin's appearance at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos: “Despite being lost in translation, the Putin-Dell exchange illustrates the fact that Russia and the West are speaking at two completely different wavelengths, if not from two completely different planets.”

Best Blogs Brazil: Winners by jury, public and hacker votes

  31 January 2009

Who won the Best Blogs Brazil 2008? Specialists and the public went to the polls and the winners were announced at Campus Party last week. The competition, which did not offer a money prize just prestige, was taken very seriously by contenders, some even willing to cheat to win.

Cambodia: Internet censorship targets artists

  30 January 2009

The Cambodian Ministry of Women's Affairs has threatened to block a Web site that contains artistic illustrations of bare-breasted Apsara dancers and a Khmer Rouge soldier. This censorship targets Cambodian artists who are more recognized not in offline exhibitions but through their presence on the world wide web.

Kazakhstan: Livejournal Unblocked. And Blocked Again

  30 January 2009

On Junuary 28, the Kazakhstani Internet users were suddenly granted access to LiveJournal – the most popular blog platform in the post-Soviet Russian-speaking blogosphere. It was blocked by the national ISP on October 7 last year under unknown reasons – “Kazakhtelecom” has never acknowledged the fact of filtering. We used...

India: Tamil Wikipedia Academy

  29 January 2009

Kiruba Shankar writes about the Tamil Wikipedia Academy and comments that initiatives like this “will encourage more regional language contribution from people within India.”

Zambia: Gateway Liberalisation

  29 January 2009

Zambian Economist is happy about the Zambian government decision to liberalise international gateway, “Its been a long road arguing for decoupling Zamtel and full IG liberalisation. To see government signal both is quite something.”

Hong Kong: From Censorship Debate to Critique of Christian Right

  29 January 2009

The debate over censorship of indecency in Hong Kong sparkled by the consultation on the Control of Obscene and Indecent Article Ordinance (COIAO) has developed into a critique of religious /Christian Right politics as the conservative Christians openly demand the extension of COIAO for censoring “speech” or “article” that “instigates...

Protest Video: Dancing Filipina Maids In Hong Kong

  29 January 2009

There are videos of dancing Filipinos which were conceptualized as a component of protest campaigns. Last month Juana Change videos became popular in the Philippines. These videos were used to express opposition to the administration-sponsored legislative bill that would amend the 1987 Constitution. Another video which entertained the public was the protest dance of Filipina migrant workers in Hong Kong

Russia: Blog as Mass Media Outlet

  28 January 2009

LJ user ottenki-serogo is the first Russian blogger to have officially registered his blog as a mass media outlet. Many readers are asking: “What for?” One of the 168 comments to the post (RUS) with a scanned copy of the registration certificate, by LJ user vlada_lad (RUS): “Good thing that...

Armenia-Azerbaijan: Young Bloggers Bridge Geopolitical Divides

  28 January 2009

Nearly 15 years after a ceasefire agreement put the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh on hold, a lasting peace remains elusive and few citizens of either country have the opportunity to meet or communicate with the other. That might all be set to change, however, with DOTCOM, a project funded by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and implemented by Project Harmony.

Trinidad & Tobago: New Grassroots Effort

  28 January 2009

“As tens of thousands come together in Belem, Brazil for the…World Social Forum, we send early word of a parallel volunteer, grassroots effort coming out of the Caribbean to extend the debate over globalization and the global economic crisis into new realities of social justice, equity, sustainable development, and peace...

Fiji: Internet and BPO industry

  28 January 2009

According to The Coconut Wireless, Fiji needs to expand its internet infrastructure if it wants to attract investors in the Business Process Offshoring industry.

Japan: Robot Puppets

  27 January 2009

Edo from Pink Tentacle blogs about the use of robot technology in classic bunraku puppets in Japan.