Russia

China's high-speed rail plans get more ambitious by the day.  Not satisfied with having the world's most advanced and extensive rail line in the world, China is now planning to connect its rail system to 17 other countries in Asia and Eastern Europe where it will join the European rail network.

Repressive regimes have stepped up efforts to censor the Internet and jail dissidents, Reporters Without Borders said in a study out Thursday.

China, Iran and Tunisia, which are on the group's "Enemies of the Internet" list, got more sophisticated at censorship and overcoming dissidents' attempts to communicate online, said Reporters Without Borders' Washington director, Clothilde Le Coz.

Meanwhile, Turkey and Russia found themselves on the group's "Under Surveillance" list of nations in danger of making the main enemies list.

In History News Ne

One-quarter of Russian software outlets sell bootleg Microsoft programs, the company said Monday as it published the results of a survey intended to elbow authorities into taking more action.

Russia is a notoriously lucrative market for unlicensed software, movies and music -- a persistent issue in Moscow's stalled accession to the World Trade Organization.

Microsoft checked 2,500 retailers in 53 Russian cities over the last few months and found 25 percent offered illegally copied software, while 11 percent of stores offered to install the unlicensed programs onto clients' computers.

Internet search giant Google has tapped government agencies to help the company find the person or people responsible for a recent cyberattack. But privacy advocates are not happy with the backdoor partnership between Google and government authorities.

Google is working with the National Security Administration (NSA), according to published reports. While the company admits it's working with relevant U.S. authorities on the cyberattack, Google would not disclose which agencies are involved.

From Scientific American:

From The Guardian:

Justin E. H. Smith "We are so presumptuous as to
wish to be known by all the world and even by those who will arrive
when we are no more. And we are so vain that the esteem of five or six
people who surround us amuses us and renders us content." --Blaise Pascal (tr. Jason Boone, the epigram to his 2002 poem, "Ho There, Raise Up the Tommy Lift!")*

Justin E. H. Smith "We are so presumptuous as to
wish to be known by all the world and even by those who will arrive
when we are no more. And we are so vain that the esteem of five or six
people who surround us amuses us and renders us content." --Blaise Pascal (tr. Jason Boone, the epigram to his 2002 poem, "Ho There, Raise Up the Tommy Lift!")*

Justin E. H. Smith "We are so presumptuous as to
wish to be known by all the world and even by those who will arrive
when we are no more. And we are so vain that the esteem of five or six
people who surround us amuses us and renders us content." --Blaise Pascal (tr. Jason Boone, the epigram to his 2002 poem, "Ho There, Raise Up the Tommy Lift!")*