Segacs's World I Know

Archive for the ‘Rest of the world’ Category

It’s total devastation in Haiti. There are fears that the death toll will surpass 100,000.

Pretty much all the major relief organisations are accepting online donations, including MSF, the International Red Cross, UNICEF, and a special relief fund through Federation CJA. Please give what you can.

Big. Huge. Potentially game-changing.

These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered–combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web–have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.

Ian Paul doesn’t think that Google will actually pull out of China. But whatever ends up happening, the implications of this statement could be huge – both for Google as a business, and for China. Stay tuned.

Is Vietnam the latest country to block access to Facebook?

Since last week, it seems that way. Even though the Vietnamese government is issuing denials.

Some Vietnamese Facebook users launched a Facebook group in protest of the blockage, but as of right now it appears to only have a handful of members. Hmmm, wonder why that could be?

Of course, as Barack Obama found out last week after giving a speech in China about internet freedom, protests against censorship have an above-average risk of, well, being censored.

I looked outside and saw masses of cars honking like crazy and waving Algerian flags out the windows. And I had to ask myself why.

Oh. That’s why.

Algeria became the last African nation to qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals on Wednesday, beating Egypt 1-0 in a bruising playoff in neutral Sudan. The breakthrough came in the 40th minute, when defender Antar Yahya’s volley clipped the bar and ducked in from a long cross from Karim Ziani.

Let the games begin…

• The 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall was commemorated with free outdoor concerts and celebrations this weekend.
• The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Obama healthcare reform bill in a narrow vote – a crucial first step towards a complete overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system. But, as the New York Times reports, it came at a heavy price, with pandering to the anti-abortion movement. And the toughest fight may still be yet to come.
• Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, frustrated by his “inability to make peace” (read: his inability to achieve victory over rival Hamas), plans to quit. True to form, he blames Israel for everything. Who’s surprised?
• It’s a witch-hunt, as Nidal Malik Hasan, the gunman allegedly responsible for shooting up a U.S. military base in Fort Hood is being investigated for terrorist links. Never mind that he was American-born, had served in the army for years as a psychiatrist, and seemed to have psychological problems. Nope, all it takes is for Americans to hear the word “Muslim” and they think they have it all figured out. Because everything’s always black or white, with no shades of grey, right? *Sigh*.
• Quebec is being lauded for having the fastest H1N1 vaccine program. Really? Is it possible that, as disorganized as our program has been, everyone else’s is actually worse?
• The Habs fell below .500 with last night’s 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. Not only that, but thanks to a certain friend, I will no longer be able to watch Jacques Martin without thinking of The Count on Sesame Street.

Ukraine has closed all its schools for a week, trying to prevent the spread of H1N1.

No word on whether Alice Cooper will be releasing a song on the subject.

Why, indoctrinate the children, of course.

And Venezuela continues its steady slide into repression.

So apparently, Hillary Clinton is not okay with a nuclear North Korea… but she doesn’t seem to have a problem with a nuclear Iran.

Better hope that umbrella is big enough to protect you from the ensuing shitstorm, Hillary.

Hugo Chavez is trying again to become dictator-for-life, after being narrowly defeated last time around. Venezuelans vote in a referendum this Sunday to get rid of term limits. Observers are pessimistic that the opposition will be able to pull off a miracle a second time, but polls are close enough to think that the “no” side at least has a fighting chance.

Meanwhile, without George W. Bush in office anymore, Chavez has redirected his efforts towards the world’s favourite scapegoat: Venezuela’s Jewish community. In the past few years, antisemitism in Venezuela has reached staggering levels, and there’s every indication that things are only going to get worse.

The People’s Democratic Republic of Death Camps has expelled UN monitors and announced plans to resume its nuclear weapons program.

On a scariness scale of one to ten, this little tidbit of news ranks somewhere around a… zillion. Even though it’s not exactly news that North Korea has nuclear capabilities, the fact that it’s being openly defiant about it and making threats isn’t exactly what we refer to as “good news”.

Possibly the least reassuring quote in the subject comes from South Korean PM Han Seung-soo:

“Although we are at an impasse, I’m sure that China, together with the other partners, will be able to solve this problem eventually.”

Thanks. That’ll help everyone sleep more soundly, I’m sure.