Planet Wired and its discontented upgrades

The newest pieces of the Great Firewall of China will not be put into place as scheduled. Global pushback has forced the Middle Kingdom into shelving their latest unwanted upgrade indefinitely. But that's not the only technological wonder to experience issues. Looking to cheat on your significant other? There may be an ap for that. But if you're going to use it on the iPhone 3GS, it may not be just your heart that's burning. But it's not just the new phone's IED potential that is slowing game development. It's also the fact that despite the phone's popularity, it's still considered a niche product and developers are taking a "wait and see" approach. Which is probably for the best because the new version of Firefox, rolled out in honor of National Sovereignty Day, is set to remake the Internet. Again. But the new version may not have many fans in the Chinese government. A new feature, indelicately called the 'porn mode' allows private browsing without leaving evidence of where your browser has been. On the other hand ... 

A recipe for an Iraqi turnover

Iraqis and Americans agree on something: Pulling out of Iraq's cities is a good thing. The Iraqi government is recognizing the event with a new national holiday called National Sovereignty Day. Iraqi's celebrated by staying at home. The run-up to the holiday has been messy, with more than 200 people killed in terrorist attacks in June. Despite the spasms of violence, many Iraqis remain optimistic about the handoff. As the new Iraqi democracy matures, we'll see if the new holiday remains as Iraqi as oil, sand and U.S. turnovers.

Eulogy for Madoff

I'll let Burt Ross sum up:

"What Bernard L. Madoff did far transcends the loss of money, it involves his betrayal of the virtues people hold dearest—love, friendship, trust—and all just so he could eat at the finest restaurants, stay at the most luxurious resorts, and travel on yachts and private jets. He has truly earned his reputation for being the most despised person living in America today."

'Nuf said.

Love or marriage

Recessions can force one to reconsider their marriage decision-making paradigm: CNN

What happens in Berlin, stays in Berlin: Reuters

Even when what happened in Berlin happened 35,000 years ago: BBC

A blatant effort to get Londoners to forget about that moat business: NPR

Don't cry for him Argentina

Put another governor on the barby mate, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is the latest to join the political rouges gallery of cheaters. The admission came in the wake of his sudden and inexplicable disappearance and the revelation that he skipped the country. In shocking direct language during a news conference, Sanford said:

"What I did was wrong. Period. End of story."

During his very public apology, he admitted that the affair has gone on for a year and that his family has known for months. As a result, he's stepping down from his post as chairman of the Republican Governors' Association. While he is in a trial separation, he admitted that he was trying to reconcile with his wife. That may be harder to accomplish than rejecting federal stimulus money.

Neda and Obama

Iran's Guardian Council has declared that the contested election will not be annuled and the government is blaming everyone from the U.N. Secretary General to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man for the current turmoil. President Obama has finally said his peace on the matter, calling U.S. instigation of unrest there "patently false and absurd." Even so, top moderate opposition figures have been rounded up. The unrest in Iran, however, is giving its friends -- Syria, Hizballah and Hamas -- some pause. But there may be more to come. A day of mourning has been called for Thursday and the martyr of the hour is Neda Soltani. This could start a new 40-day cycle of protests in Iran. Iran's revolutionary past may well come full circle.

Iran so far away

In 1979, the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi left Iran in the midst of an unfolding revolution. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has left Iran to visit Russia to attend a summit. The question is whether Ahmadinejad faces a fate similar to the shah. First the good news: Iran's Guardian Council has agreed to recount the votes in the presidential election. The bad news: It won't annul the election. Iran's authorities continue to ban opposition rallies and foreign media are forbidden to leave their offices to do reporting. 

But the real lesson of the unfolding drama is how the communications arms race between protesters and governments is heating up. The Iranians seemed to have learned the lessons of Moldova's Twitter Revolution, and the Obama campaign's use of Internet organizing. So did the Iranian government when it blocked Web sites and text messaging. It seems that the U.S. State Department is playing a quiet role in this by helping to keep the social networks up for the Iranians.  Twitter was asked to delay scheduled maintenance so that Iranians can get around their government's blockout. Cyberstrikes against the Iranian government have also been called for by pro-Democracy supporters.

What remains to be seen is whether the proposed recount will matter, whether the protests will continue and what kind of Iran Ahmadinejad will return to.

They said they wanted a reformation

In the 1980s, Chicago djs Steve Dahl and Garry Meier produced a parody called "Ayatullah" to the tune of "My Sharona." The weekend Iranian election, which is quickly being exposed as a parody of an election, has resulted in protests the likes of which have not been seen since the 1979 revolution. There were reports of gunfire at the end of the peaceful protest which may have resulted in the death of a protester and several injuries when security forces opened fire on the crowd. Communications and media blocks remain in effect as well. Confronted by evolving realities on the ground, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has called for an investigation into the charges of election fraud. Khamenei may simply be trying to protect his exposed flank. It may not be enough to overcome the widening fissures in Iranian society as well as within its ruling caste. What started as a parody election could very well turn into a real revolution. And that could be bad for the ruling ayatullah.

As Persepolis Burns

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Indecision 2009 - Ahmadinejad Rally in Iran
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Don't know how The Daily Show's Jason Jones is going to make it out of this one. The rally he covered was before the election. At the rally after the election was marred by violence in the wake of what many are considering to be a fixed election. Election results show Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with 62.6 percent of the vote and his nearest rival, Mir Hossein Mousavi, with 33.8 percent. The turnout was at 85 percent. And while Mousavi has lodged a complaint with the Guardian Council, U.S. Vice-president Joe Biden has expressed doubts over the election results as well. Ahmadinejad was declared victor barely an hour after the polls closed. With 40 million votes to count, it would have taken two hours to count just 5 million of those votes. It didn't matter because Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has already rubberstamped the election results.

Ahmadinejad likened the election to a soccer match. But at least a soccer match has independent referees to adjudicate the game. Independent observers were banned from an election that Moussavi was expected to win. Special forces units in Tehran have been chasing down protesters and there seems to have been a wave of arrests of opposition leaders following the elections. With the rioting that has broken out in the wake of Ahmadinejad's reelection, maybe Jon Stewart should have sent Rob Riggle instead.

Obama where art thou?

President Obama is making his pass through the Muslim world this week. Following a swing through Saudi Arabia, he gave his anticipated address at Egypt's Cairo University. Now that he's president, one wishes he could have given this speech in a library in Alexandria. While seeking a new beginning with the Muslim world, he promised no immediate miracles in the wake of his speech. 

He hit all the principle themes: Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Arab-Israeli conflict; human and women's rights; and the need for a two-state solution. His speech was what we've come to expect of this president: it was eloquent, nuanced, balanced and designed to show Obama's street-cred. He's a Christian, but he is the heir of Muslim forebears and can cite the Qu'ran. America has made its mistakes, but the Muslim world's got some splanin' to do. America's relationship with Israel is unbreakable, but those cribs in Palestinian territories are a real problem. And he told the Palestinians to get their Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on because resistance through violence is futile.

Whether, or to what extent, Team Obama's efforts will bear meaningful fruit remains to be seen. His next stops will include France and Germany. Maybe now that he's president, he'll be able to make his address in Germany before the Brandenburg Gate.