DalaiLama
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Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu plan birthday Hangout on Google+
If you're not a Google+ user, odds are pretty good that your weekend plans don't involve spending time with the likes of the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The social network will be hosting a Hangout with the two peaceniks as part of the celebration for Tutu's 80th birthday. The online meeting was planned after South Africa refused to grant a visa to the Tibetan spiritual leader. The Hangout will be a late one for those of us in the Eastern time zone, occurring at 4:30AM, but Google has promised to post the video for those who miss the party.
WikiLeaks: Chinese Politburo responsible for Google hacking
You had to know something interesting would come out of the quarter million diplomatic cables that WikiLeaks just, well, leaked late on Sunday, and the New York Times has picked out a doozie for us. As it turns out, that big brouhaha in China surrounding the hacking of Gmail accounts was actually a state-authorized attack. Such was the report from a Chinese informant working for the US embassy, and the disclosure goes on to say that it was part of a "coordinated campaign of computer sabotage," reaching a wide net of targets, including American government machines, American private businesses, and... the Dalai Lama. Hey, China's hardly the first country to ever engage in state-sponsored cyber espionage (ahem, Stuxnet), but we can't say we're not disappointed. Let's keep it classy from here on out, alright guys?
Apple, censorship, and cogs in the wheel: the Dalai Lama is expunged from Chinese App Store
It's being reported by PC World that Apple has begun censoring iPhone applications that contain any reference to the Dalai Lama in the Chinese App Store. At least five applications that contain references to the Dalai Lama have been banned: three of the apps – Dalai Quotes [$.99, iTunes], Dalai Lama Quotes [$.99, iTunes], and Dalai Lama Prayerwheel [$.99, iTunes] – contain quotes by His Holiness, while a fourth, Paging Dalai Lama [free, iTunes] tells users where he is currently teaching. A fifth app called Nobel Laureates [$.99, iTunes], details information about all the Nobel Peace Prize winners since the prize began in 1895. The Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. If you don't know much about the Dalai Lama, there's a great documentary you should check out called 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama [iTunes]. The filmmaker poses some tough questions to the Dalai Lama about today's world and the individual's place in it, as well as presenting the viewer with an excellent biography of this remarkable man. In May of 2008 I had the honor of seeing the Dalai Lama speak in London. He's a wonderful person with an infectious laugh (and he even sounds like Yoda – no joke, check out my videos here). If his laughter doesn't win you over, perhaps the fact that he's a spiritual leader who loves and embraces technology will.
