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China Blocks Social Networks in Bid to Hide 1989 Tianamen Square Massacre Remembrance

Mark Edward Soper — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:09:10 -0500

Today is the 20th anniversary of the Tianamen Square massacre in Beijing. Tianaman Square was home of the Chinese student freedom movement, the "Goddess of Democracy" statue, and the location for the iconic photo of the student staring down a row of Chinese People's Army tanks. However, if you use the Internet in China, you probably won't see anything about this event this week - unless you're clever.

Starting Tuesday, the Chinese government shut down access to virtually all search engines and social networking sites, including Twitter, Flickr, Bing (Microsoft's new search engine), Live.com, Hotmail.com, Blogger, and others. All YouTube videos are also being blocked, as are BBC World News reports on the anniversary. These actions should come as no surprise, because China has previously censored Skype and blocked access to iTunes when it offered a pro-Tibetan album last year during the Beijing Olympics.

The Techcrunch UK website reports that some users are bypassing China's restrictions by using VPNs, and third-party apps that use the Twitter API (TweetDeck, Twhilr, and Seesmic Desktop) are working.

Have you encountered the 'Great Firewall of China' or other country-specific restrictions on Internet access? How did you deal with it? Hit Comment and share your stories.

Simpsons image courtesy of TechCrunch UK.

Thin-Skinned Model Sues Google

Paul Lilly — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:23:48 -0600

Can Google be held responsible for remarks left by bloggers on the search engine company's Blogger publishing service? That's one of the questions being raised as Liskula Cohen, a Canadian model, sues Google over an anonymous blogger calling her "our #1 skanky superstar," along with calling her an "old hag" and other unflattering remarks.

"We think we have a case," said Steven Wagner, Cohen's laywer. "This is libelous, it's defamatory and you shouldn't just get away with this."

Cohen isn't sueing Google for any financial compensation, and instead wants the search giant to reveal the anonymous blogger's identity, who posted the offending remarks in a blog titled 'Skanks in New York.' The site appears to be entirely devoted to slamming Cohen through captions left under several candid pics of the 36-year-old model.

Does Cohen have a case? Hit the jump and tell us if you think the thin model has a legal leg to stand on.

Image Credit: Flickr Joe Gratz

Remember to Tip Your...Bloggers?

Paul Lilly — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:37:56 -0500

You might feel compelled to toss a dollar or two at an amateur musician laying down some groovy riffs on his keyboard while enjoying a night out on the town, but would you feel the same urge to compensate a blogger who mashed out an insightful commentary on his 101-key plank? News media outlet Salon.com thinks so, and the suits behind the idea are so confident in their newest endeavor, they're giving new signees to their Open Salon user-generated content community $10 to start tipping their favorite bloggers.

In order to send or receive tips, users must register with Revolution MoneyExchange, a peer-to-peer payment service that allows for the transfer of money with no fees between account holders.Open Salon members who register for the service will receive a complimentary $10 stipend to start tipping.

"Open Salon eliminates the gatekeepers, "editor-in-chief Joan Walsh said in a statement. "It makes our smart,creative audience full partners in Salon's publishing future."

But what happens when the money runs out - will members still be inclined to tip their favorite bloggers out of their own pocket? That's the question the public beta hopes to answer before it officially launches later this year, right around the same time Maximum PC has promised all of its bloggers a company sponsored sports car and a four week paid vacation on the Hawaiian islands.

Image Credit: Open Salon