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Russia bans all of Reddit over a single 'shroom thread
Russia's censoring spree continued on Wednesday when the government's internet agency, the Roskomnadzor, banned the entire Reddit website from Russian access -- all because of a single thread that discussed how to grow psilocybin (aka "magic") mushrooms titled, "Minimal and Reliable Methods for Growing Psilocybe". According to reports from Meduza, the ban came at the behest of Russia's Federal Drug Control Service, which felt that the content promoted discussion of these substances. The government had first sought to ban just the individual threads it found objectionable but, because Reddit uses HTTPS, the only way to eliminate of those threads was to nuke the entire site from orbit (it's the only way to make sure).
Russia considers blocking Facebook over gay emojis
Vladimir Putin's Russia doesn't like Facebook and it doesn't care for gay people, and the government is now attempting to censor both of these things in one fell swoop. Mikhail Marchenko, a Russian senator in the upper house of parliament, has called for his government to investigate whether Facebook emojis depicting two boys and two girls kissing violates the country's 2013 ban on exposing "homosexual propaganda" to minors, Time reports. Russia's Roskomnadzor (The Federal Service For Supervision of Communication, Information Technology and Mass Media) is investigating Marchenko's concerns and is prepared to "take reactive measures," the site says.
Russia's head of censorship ***** after being censored on ********
An aide to Vladimir Putin has told Russians to leave Facebook after the head of the country's telecommunications regulator was censored by the social network. As the Moscow Times reports, Maxim Ksensov was given a 24-hour time out after posting an ethnic slur for Ukranians on his personal page. The paper believes that the word has now been blacklisted by the service and will be instantly deleted if it's found. In response, Putin aide Igor Shchegolev has instructed locals to abandon Facebook in favor of Vkontakte, its homegrown alternative.
Auto-complete blunder leaks passport details of world leaders
Australia has proved that it can hold its own against Hillary Clinton any day when it comes to email gaffes. The nation's immigration department accidentally disclosed the passport numbers and other personal info of every world leader attending last year's G20 summit, then compounded the problem by hushing it up. Affected leaders include US president Barack Obama, Russia's Vladimir Putin and British prime minister David Cameron. According to an email obtained by the Guardian, "the cause of the breach was human error... (an immigration employee) failed to check that the autofill function in Microsoft Outlook had entered the correct person's detail into the email 'To' field."
Russia's new anti-extremism law targets online communications
What is "extremism"? That's up to Russian president Vladimir Putin to decide, according to a new amendment to Russian law announced this week by the Kremlin. The law gives Putin more flexibility to punish what he deems as "extremist" behavior -- on par with terrorism, legally -- and it works hand-in-hand with a redefinition of online activity. Previously, Russia defined such activity as "international computer communications"; that definition was amended to also include, "information telecommunication through the internet." This distinction is important, because it means not just websites, but also any form of online communication can be considered under Russia's "extremist" label.
Slacker Radio embraces Pussy Riot through 'Protest' station
There's been plenty of talk about Russian feminist punk collective Pussy Riot in the global media over the past few weeks, but the neon-ski-mask-donning assemblage's music isn't particularly easy to come by here in the States. Streaming music service Slacker is throwing some weight behind the group by adding such government-riling gems as "Putin Wet Himself" and "Kill the Sexist" to its "Protest Radio" station. The station is free and will kick off with one of four PR tracks "for some time," according to the service. You can access the offering below, just make sure you've got some ear holes cut in your own ski mask before you do.
Russian carrier gives $5,000 vacation to its most data hungry customer
Use more data, win more prizes. It may sound counterintuitive, but that's exactly what Russian operator MegaFon is offering to its subscribers, as part of a curious 3G promotion. It all began back in November, when the provider announced a rather straightforward contest: customers who downloaded the most data with their 3G modems would be awarded prizes worth up to one million rubles (about $33,000), including a $5,000 vacation. According to Russian news site C News, MegaFon launched the campaign in order to showcase the expanse of its data network, which apparently covers more than 80 percent of northwestern Russia and offers speeds of up to 21Mbps. The promotion came to an official close on January 31st, with the coronation of a lucky winner who, over the course of a single week, managed to scarf down 419GB of data on the company's 3G network. MegaFon didn't offer usage statistics on the second and third place winners, nor did it say what they won for their efforts, if you wanna call them that.
iPhone 4S supports GLONASS satellite system, much to the delight of Russia
What does a Russian satellite system have to do with the iPhone 4S' GPS capabilities? Allow us to explain. Russian site iPhones.ru recently noticed that the 4S' spec page lists support for both assisted GPS and GLONASS -- the Kremlin's global navigation satellite system and acronym for GLObalnaya NAvigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema. The country launched GLONASS 35 years ago in the hopes that it would eventually provide an alternative to GPS and the EU's forthcoming Galileo, thereby reducing Russia's dependence upon US- or Europe-operated systems. The global system has since been beset by delays and budgetary setbacks, but last week, a Russian rocket successfully launched the 24th and final GLONASS satellite, completing the constellation and inching the infrastructure closer to full activation. News of the iPhone 4S' support has already elicited a delightfully surprised response from the Russian media, with daily Vedomosti writing: "If the iPhone 4S really does have Glonass navigation, this would be the first time the Russian system reached the world market." (Nokia, it's worth noting, announced in August that it would manufacture GLONASS-compliant handsets, while Samsung's High Fidelity Position app offers similar compatibility.) In light of Russia's economic and regulatory climate, however, the move may not seem so shocking. The Kremlin already imposes import taxes on handsets that don't support GLONASS and, as Russia's iGuides.ru points out, has even threatened non-compliant devices with an outright ban. Apple, meanwhile, has made no secret of its interest in expanding its influence within the country, with CEO Tim Cook recently referring to the Russian market as "more promising." It remains to be seen whether this added support results in sharper navigation capabilities, or if it enhances Apple's presence within Russia, but it's certainly a compelling development, nonetheless. [Thanks, AXR]
Putin orders Russian federal agencies to switch to open source software, galavant topless in the out-of-doors
Never one to pass up the opportunity to run a hunkitudinous (look it up!) picture of Vladimir Putin, we were thrilled to hear that the Russian Prime Minister and ex-KGB man has signed an order specifying that "federal executive bodies and agencies of the federal budget" should transition to open source software beginning in Q2 2011. That's right -- it looks like there is something, at least, to those recent rumors that the country was dissing Redmond and contemplating a national open source OS. There's a lot more to it that appears to be of little interest unless you're a member of the apparat, in which case you'll probably be reading this thing in the original in Russian soon enough. As for us, we're just curious to see how the new software will be used to bedevil dissident groups once Microsoft is out of the picture.
Putin to Dell: "We don't need help. We are not invalids."
As you may be aware, the Davos conference for the super-rich and powerful is going on in Switzerland right now, and throwing all those egos into a room together can lead to some testy moments -- like today, when Michael Dell asked Vladimir Putin how the US could help Russia improve its IT infrastructure. Putin's response? "We don't need help. We are not invalids. We don't have limited mental capacity." Saucy! Vlads followed up by pointing out that Russian scientists mainly focus on software, not hardware -- interpreted by many as a further slap at Dell. Any bets on whether Mikey D replied by saying that if he were in charge, he'd shut Russia down and give it back to the people?
Vladimir Putin finally acquires satellite collar for his dog
Just under a year ago, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced his hopes that one day he could pinpoint the location of his black Labrador, Koni, at any time of the day. Today, a dream has been realized. Mr. Putin has finally procured a satellite collar that will enable him to track the lab regardless of which of the eleven times zones she may be in while waltzing through Russia. Once the collar was slipped on, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov immediately said "she looks sad, her free life is over." Putin didn't miss a beat when snapping back: "In Soviet Russia, GLONASS track you!"[Image courtesy of Picasa, thanks MJ]
Russian GPS alternative near completion, Putin and dog celebrate
Russia has announced the successful launch of three additional GLONASS navigation satellites on Christmas Day, bringing the total number of functional units to 18, and reportedly scaring the beejezus out of Santa and his reindeer during liftoff. The GPS competitor -- first begun in the Soviet era and only recently revived after years of post-collapse neglect -- is now theoretically capable of providing coverage to the entire Russian territory, with First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov claiming that the first compatible consumer devices will be available in the middle of next year. By 2010 Russia plans to open the system up to outside nations as well, contributing to an eventual three- or even four-system global market, and ensuring that President and Man of the Year Vladimir Putin will finally achieve his stated goal of being able to pinpoint his treasured black lab Koni anywhere in the world.
