Save Our Planet: do something about it now

Courtesy: YouTube

News On Technology

Renewable energy:
China controls wind turbine production
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/15/business/global/15chinawind.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=todayspaper

E-Reader:
Publishers add color (and fun) to e-books for children
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/15/business/media/15ebooks.html?ref=technology

Tourism:
Ukraine will open Chernobyl site to tourists
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/on-our-radar-chernobyl-to-open-to-tourists/?ref=energy-environment

Courtesy: The New York Times

The Middle East Crisis: an achilles heel

The world cannot live with it. It cannot live without it. A cliche, perhaps. But a fitting one, nonetheless. The Middle East crisis consumes the Arab and the Jewish world like a bad habit. The world leaders unite again to discuss the problem. But the problem has been just that -- discussion. The world has done little to bring peace between the Arabs and the Jews. The world has done little to draw an acceptable line between the two groups. The results are obvious and not new -- chaos, bombing, deaths, and threats.

Click on the link below to read more on this topic.

http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/12/14/news_brief_eu_shelves_recognizing_palestinian_state

Courtesy: Foreign Policy

Afghanistan In 2010: the images of a war-torn country

A brilliant slideshow on Afghanistan.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/12/13/afghanistan_2010_a_year_in_photos

Courtesy: Foreign Policy

America Lost A Diplomat But The World Lost A Human

Richard Holbrooke, a Statesman, a gentleman, a politician, an intellectual, passed away at the age of 69.  He is known for brokering the peace negotiation during   the Balkan crisis in 1995.  He was a hard-charging diplomat who never relented from a challange.  President Obama said, "He never stops. He never quits. Because he's always believed that if we stay focused, if we act on our mutual interests, that progress is possible. Wars can end. Peace can be forged" (Chandrasekaran, 2010).

Click on the links below to read more about Richard Holbrooke.

The Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/13/AR2010121305198.html

Foreign Policy:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/12/14/remembering_richard_holbrooke

Information Technology & Healthcare: people's lives at a crossroad

E-Health:
Is standardization possible?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yae3p31drGo&feature=related

E-Health:
What's the future of IT in improving healthcare?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq4OugnHdZ8&NR=1

Courtesy: YouTube

News On Technology

Technology + South America:
Investment and innovation of technology in South America
http://www.innovationmanagement.se/2010/11/24/innovation-in-south-america/
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001898/189823e.pdf

Technology + Nepal:
Investment and innovation of technology in Nepal
http://www.nitc.gov.np/
http://www.nast.org.np/

Cloud computing:
The U.S. Federal agencies adopt cloud computing
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/10/AR2010121006106.html

Social networking:
The power of internet and social networking reaches the marginalized
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/12/AR2010121203509.html

China's Iron Grip On Censorship

China is setting a 21st-century standard for media manipulation that many outsiders have failed to adequately appreciate. The Chinese Communist Party has leveraged China's growing economic wealth, using advanced censorship techniques that use market forces to reinforce its political control.

Click on the link below to read more.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/12/10/censorship_without_borders

Courtesy: Foreign Policy

WikiLeak Leaks: what lesson to be learned from these revelations

So Julian Assange is on trial.  For what?  Rape, espionage?  No charges stuck as of now.  The Swedish rape law states that if sexual encounter begins with a consensus then rape cannot be ruled even if the encounter becomes non-consensual.  In other words, if a partner commits to a sexual act he/she cannot claim rape even if the act becomes non-consensual afterwards.

Regarding espionage, Mr. Assange did not publish anything that we don't know already.  The WikiLeak reports are hardly any deepthroat information.  So what did these reports really reveal?  Did we learn anything new?

Click on the link below to read more on this topic.   

http://www.slate.com/id/2277764/?from=rss

Courtesy: Foreign Policy

The Rise of The African Nations

The African countries are becoming prosperous through investment, innovation of technology, and political and social reform.  Angola and Eqatorial Guinea are a prime examples of the emerging prosperity among the African countries.

Click on the link below to read more on this topic.

The African Miracle - By Norbert Dörr, Susan Lund, and Charles Roxburgh | Foreign Policy

Courtesy: Foreign Policy

Google's Expansion: a concern from companies, countries, and government

Google is everywhere on the net. What started out as a search engine has turned into a dominant providers of a multitude of services – from movies, videos, games, and just about everything else or so it seems. Now Google is planning to buy ITA, a software that provides airline reservations. Soon, Google will decide where and how far we would want to travel. Google’s expansion is taking place at a breath-taking speed. And not everyone is happy about that. To some extent, some are outright fearful of Google’s expansion. The European Commission, for example, is investigating Google’s techniques and practices for search results. The Justice Department and FTC are looking into Google’s merger and acquisitions and anti-trust violations. But the company seems to be nonchalant and denies any wrongdoing.

Click on the link below to read more on this topic.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/12/AR2010121201798.html?referrer=emailarticle&sid=ST2010121202652

Courtesy: The Washington Post

Technology As We See IT

This week's technology topics follow:


Snippet # 1

New America Foundation, November 19, 2010

Topic:

Innovation and technology

Link:

http://oti.newamerica.net/blogposts/2010/design_philosophies_to_empower_marginalized_communities-40334

Description:

This article describes innovative technological initiatives to empower the marginalized population.  Ms. Rhea discussed three innovative designs:  Human-centered design (HCD), Appprpriate technology (AT), and Participatory technology design (PD).   HCD focuses on describing the process of the technology design, AT focuses on the parameters of efficient and less expensive technology solutions to he participants, and PD focuses on the active participation of the constituents.

Why do I like it:

I like this article because it illustrates technology solutions to the marginalized population who may not have access to technology but have the capacity to learning.

Snippet # 2

Technology Review, November 22, 2010

Topic:

Green IT/energy

Link:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/26759/?mod=chfeatured

Description:

This article describes a method of creating energy from biogas by Huishan, a Chinese firm, to mitigate emission of methane to the environment.  According to the article methane is more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas.  The item that will be used to produce biogas is cow manure.   Producing electricity from manure has been minimal, only two mega-watt.  But Huishan’s initiative is expected to produce 20 million cubic meters of biogas.

Why do I like it:

I like it because it illustrates how serious China has become about green house emission and protecting climate.

Snippet # 3

Wired, November 29, 2010

Topic:

Technology and science

Link:

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/11/mf_algorithmolympics/

Description:This is unbelievable!  A story about computer programming competition for highschool protégés from around the world.   This year’s competition took place at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.  Three hundred and fifteen protégés competed.  Among them were a kid from Belarus and a kid from the States.  The two had an intense rivalry although the kid from Belarus was a clear favorite.  The competitors are allowed to use three programming languages, Pascal, C, and C++.  The Pascal is popular in Asia and East Europe while C and C++ are widely used in the States. 

Why do I like it:

I like this story because it describes the passion for science, math, and computer among the students all around the world.