The RP’s Weekly Web Gems: The Politics of Tech

This news hit late last week and didn’t make it into the previous post, but it’s still relevant now; Syria has been disconnected from the Internet. All 84 of its IP addresses have become unreachable. [renesys]

In response Google and Twitter have opened Speak2Tweet – international phone lines where Syrians with internet connection cut can leave a voicemail which will be automatically tweeted. [Google+]

The U.S. Dept. of Energy creates “Manhattan Project” with the goal to develop battery and energy storage technologies that are five times more powerful and five times cheaper than today’s within five years. [ComputerWorld]

The US House has voted 397-0 to approve a resolution to keep Internet control out of UN hands. [The Hill]

Tim Cook, who took over as CEO of Apple after Steve Jobs, has announced that beginning next year one of the lines of Mac computers will be built exclusively in the US. This has to be considered a smart PR move considering what a PR disaster their relationship with Chinese manufacturer Foxconn has turned into. [NBC News]