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PC World, February 20 2009: by Cyrus Farivar In the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, recently enacted by Congress, many details regarding the allocation of funds for high-tech projects remain blurry. Nevertheless, the nation’s tech community appears to be encouraged by the $7.2 billion provision for broadband in the near $789 billion economic stimulus package signed into law by President Barack Obama earlier this week. Many observers believe that the allocation is a clear first step toward establishing…

The Wall Street Journal, February 10 2009: But last spring, some of the temple’s neighbors decided they’d had their fill. They asked the city’s zoning board to shut down what they call a “commercial enterprise” operating in a residential zone. At a public hearing, a dozen neighborhood opponents sounded off: Some said they couldn’t stand the “offensive odors” of Thai food being prepared; others objected to litter, traffic and clanging pots early in the morning. One compared the temple to…

So former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005) has just announced that he’s running for president in the upcoming June 12 2009. That’s flippin’ interesting, man. Let’s see if he’s allowed to stand for election. Don’t forget that this is the guy who told the BBC in 2006 that wearing a hejab was a “personal choice.” Here’s what my cousin, Karim Sadjadpour, told the Los Angeles Times in an interview: “If it’s a totally free and fair election, Khatami stands a…

I had the honor of being interviewed (again!) by Marco Werman on “The World” today to talk about the relationship of the Estonian economy to technology. It will be available on any of these stations (and their Internet streams): New York – 3 pm Eastern – WNYC – 820 AM – www.wnyc.org Washington, DC – 8 pm Eastern – WAMU – 88.5 FM – www.wamu.org Los Angeles – 12 pm Pacific – KPCC – 89.3 FM – www.kpcc.opg Boston –…

Financial Mail (South Africa), February 6 2009: Trading looks set to become more difficult in Iran for SA-based emerging markets cellular network operator MTN. The telecommunications group is about to face a spirited new competitor in the Islamic republic in the form of Etisalat. United Arab Emirates-based Etisalat, which claims it has 74m customers, mainly in the Middle East, plans to invest billions of dollars in the next few years building a network to rival Irancell. MTN holds a 49%…

AFP, February 1 2009: But Estonia slid into recession in 2008 as rampant inflation dented domestic consumption. The global economic crisis compounded the bleak picture by hitting exports — as well as the tourist trade, as many would-be foreign visitors stay at home. The economy contracted by an estimated 2.8 percent in 2008. Authorities expect it to shrink by 4.5 percent this year, although analysts say it may plunge by as much as 7.0 percent. Dozens of hotels built in…

Hot damn! I reported on WiFi Rail back in July 2008 for NPR. Well done! From WiFi Rail‘s press release: Service on BART is scheduled to begin on selected segments during 2009. Four downtown San Francisco stations and some segments of the tunnels are already fully functional, and have been providing premium service free to subscribers for the past year. “We are thrilled to showcase our technology in the network designed for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit system,…

My cousin Amir, who I visited while on my Iran (I still need to upload the rest of the photos!) trip in March 2008, just sent me a link to Rick Steves’ hour-long documentary on Iran, which just aired on PBS stations around the country this week. (You can watch it on Google Video here.) Steves and his film crew visited in May 2008 (just two months after I was there), and they hit Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz — taking…

First Estonia. Then Georgia. Now Kyrgyzstan. Computerworld: A Russian “cybermilitia” has knocked the central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan off the Internet, a security researcher said today, demonstrating that the hackers are able to respond even faster than last year, when they waged a digital war against another former Soviet republic, Georgia. Since Jan. 18, the two biggest Internet service providers in Kyrgyzstan have been under a “massive, sustained distributed denial-of-service attack,” said Don Jackson, the director of threat intelligence at…

Rebecca’s back (again!), with yet another potent pairing of poems, this time in Octopus. I will say that I’m a big fan of “Cold,” as it mentions one of my favorite countries, Estonia! ECHOLOCATION Most days I wear the hunched run of an animal, darting until caught in net or claw— and that’s fine. Trapped, I noise and flap, send you pressed air, let you forge toward me. Let you touch me. Let you cut through net and claw. COLD…