Found with the assistance of Google.

These big tech companies really do think of themselves as nations unto themselves, don't they? For example: Google. Even as chairman Eric Schmidt jets around the world, lecturing nations on the benefits of a free and open Internet, the team back home is pressuring Sweden.

What on Earth could the Swedes have done to piss off Planet GOOG?

Every year, the Swedish Language Council comes out with a list of new words, recently adopted by native speakers. The Local reports that this year's roundup included the noun "ogooglebar," defined as something "that you can't find on the web with the use of a search engine."

Google apparently objected to its name being used to describe the generic act of searching online and asked that the Council alter the definition so the word describes the specific act of using Google. Cue mild international incident:

"Instead, we're removing the word today and stating our displeasure with Google's attempt to control the language," Language Council head Ann Cederberg said in a statement.

Ms. Cederberg added: "If we want to have ogooglebar in the language, then we'll use the word and it's our use that gives it meaning - not a multinational company exerting pressure. Speech must be free!"

We await the obnoxious, attention-seeking response from Bing.

(h/t the Verge)

(Photo: Free Assange)

Citing health concerns, Ecuador has asked the British government to guarantee medically related safe passage for  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Mr. Assange, who faces allegations he assaulted two women in Sweden in 2010, has been living inside Ecuador's London Embassy since June. British authorities have insisted they will arrest Mr. Assange should he leave the embassy, but Reuters reports that Albuja Martinez, Ecuador's vice foreign minister, seeks a formalized exception:

Ecuador has asked the British Foreign Office for a document that would enable Assange to enter hospital safely if necessary and return to the embassy with refugee status, the Voice of Russia quoted Albuja Martinez as saying.

Ecuador offered asylum to Mr. Assange in August. In public appearances at the time, he appeared fit and tan, but Ecuadorian officials are concerned that he has lost weight and now appears "very pale."

In addition to accusations he "sexually molested" two Swedish women, Mr. Assange may also face charges in the United States related to publishing leaked secret cables between U.S. diplomats two years ago.

(Photo: Twitter)

The official Twitter account for the country of Sweden has tweeted relatively uneventfully following its Henry Blodget moment back in June, when a Swedish citizen named Sonja dispatched some questionable tweets about Jewish people. But this week's Swedish tweeter is Naseer Alkhouri, a "homeopathic Swede" who develops games for a living. In addition to tweeting adorable fruit sculptures and a treatise on citizenship, the issue of sexism in gaming appears close to Mr. Alkhouri's heart. For the past couple of hours, he's used the platform--which boasts close to 68,000 followers--to broach the sensitive topic.

Mr. Alkhouri's argument is a reasonable one: "I am not only a game dev, but a gamer as well. That said, I don’t feel particulary welcome in the community. Gamers got issues," he tweeted. "Gamers tend to be misogynist, rasist and rather unpleasant overall, especiallly online. I am rather saddened by the behaviour of my peers, for me gaming is an inclusive hobby. That’s why I got hooked afterall."

Upon receiving some unfavorable responses, Mr. Alkhouri tweeted, "I am getting flack for speaking about this, but no threats, no harrasement. What did Anita Sarkeesian get?"

Ms. Sarkeesian gained a modicum of notoriety in gaming circles after she spearheaded a Kickstarter project to make a docuseries about gender tropes in video games and became a target for angry gamer dudes worldwide.

By standing up for her, Mr. Alkhouri probably didn't do himself any favors in the rabid gaming community, but his actions are pretty commendable. Using a well-read platform to discuss issues that are important to you seems like a better way to use Twitter  than talking about Jewish penises.

(Photo: Free Assange)

As rumored, Ecuador officially granted Wikileaks founder Julian Assange asylum today, according to the BBC. The Ecuadorian foreign ministry claims that its decision was based on the fact that Mr. Assange's human rights may be violated if he is extradited to Sweden for those "hilarious" sexual assault allegations.

Swaths of Mr. Assange's supporters are already celebrating on Twitter and beyond, but the U.K. government insists that Ecuador's decision doesn't change its obligation to extradite him:

Outside Ecuador's embassy in London, the BBC's James Robbins said news was slowly spreading through Mr Assange's assembled supporters.

Our correspondent said they were delighted, but the UK government is insisting it changes nothing.

They will still seek to arrest him and they will not grant him safe passage. If he steps out, he will be arrested.

Somebody grab the popcorn.

Ms. Abrahamsson (Photo: Twitter)

Days after the New York Times chronicled Sweden’s plans to hand its Twitter account over to a new citizen each week, the idea seems to have hit a PR snag. This week's tweeter, a 27-year-old mother named Sonja Abrahamsson, appears to have some serious confusion about Jewish people.

Earlier today, Ms. Abrahamsson tweeted the following: "Whats the fuzz with jews? You can't see if a person is a jew, unless you see their penises, and even if you do, you cant be sure!?" Uhh...yikes. Also of note? Her official profile, which (jokingly?) lists her nickname as "Hitler."

Ms. Abrahamsson is the second public figure to incite a howl of WTFs after wondering aloud (on the Internet) why some people are not big fans of Jewish people. Business Insider founder Henry Blodget did the same thing recently, only in his case, it seemed to be inspired less by painfully un-PC clueless and more by pageviews.

Ms. Abrahamsson's tweets do raise important questions about government censorship, and point to the inherent dangers of entrusting strangers with an account that ostensibly operates as a PR machine, blasting messages about the kinds of people who make up Sweden to over 35,000 followers.

Tommy Sollén, social media manager at VisitSweden, spoke with the Wall Street Journal about the country's view on Ms. Abrahamsson's tweets:

Swedes frown on censorship, Mr. Sollén said, and to selectively delete posts or ban a particular participant could be seen as blatant censorship. “You cannot look at any specific tweet, you can only judge a curator on the whole week…How else are you going to show the multi-faceted people that Sweden is composed of?”

In the end, @Sweden still does exactly what it's supposed to: showcase the people that make Sweden tick. Unfortunately, some of those people make you wonder about the definition of anti-semitism.

@afghanistan: Suspended.

@antigua: Some guy kickin' it in Antigua.

@australia: This unofficial account has three tweets and more than 6,000 followers.

I went in a hot air balloon this morning... I'll post some images on the blog soon. PS - it was great fun!

— australia (@australia) February 6, 2011

@brazil: Suspended.

@brunei: Suspended.

@canada: A dutiful citizen (who also owns @japan) is attempting to hand this account over to the state.

@pmharper Trying to give this account to the Government of @canada | contact w/ @xabel

— canada (@canada) February 22, 2012

@colombia: Suspended.

@cuba: Suspended.

@egypt: Protected account owned by a girl in the Bay Area. Her bio reads: "I AM NOT EGYPT THE COUNTRY. OKAY? I AM. NOT. EGYPT. THE. COUNTRY."

@fiji: Someone tweeting in Japanese.

@greece: Two tweets and an egg.

@hungary: Hungary hasn't tweeted yet.

@india: Domain name supplier.

@iran: News aggregator The Iran Project.

@jamaica: Tweets news links about Jamaica to more than 11,000 followers.

@kazakhstan: Looks like someone trying to sell the handle.

Kazakhstan! Kazakhstan!

— Kazakhstan (@Kazakhstan) August 18, 2009

@laos: Run by Ray, in Nashville, Tenn.

@maldives: Tweets about the Maldives, mostly about hotels.

Book Now:: Hilton is having a SALE of 50%

— maldives (@maldives) June 11, 2012

@mexico: Surprisingly racy?

Something in her eyes told me I couldn't trust her.twitpic.com/7xc79n

— mexico (@mexico) December 23, 2011

@nepal: "A designer, a blogger, a dreamer, an enthusiast and a wanna be entrepreneur."

@panama: Suspended.

@peru: Suspended.

@poland: Suspended.

@rwanda: Suspended.

@saudiarabia: Saudi Arabia has tweeted once.

السلام عليكم

— المملكة العربية السع (@SaudiArabia) April 28, 2012

@singapore: Suspended.

@russia: Россия has a broken profile picture and no tweets.

@southafrica: "This is the Official Twitter page of South African Tourism for North America." It has been verified by Twitter.

@thailand: Suspended. Probably tweeted a picture of the king.

@uganda: Someone who does not appear to live in Uganda.

I hate myself when I explain life or some events by a few sentences. Is there anyone feeling the same?Lifeismorecomplexandnoonecanknowtruth

— uganda (@uganda) September 22, 2011

@usa: Some dude.

(facebook.com)

Twitter aired its first ever TV commercial yesterday--during a NASCAR race. [AllThingsD]

Everything you wanted to know about the @Sweden Twitter account: "I wanted to show that I’m often kind of immature and often kind of stupid and so is this country, and I bet you are, too, and so are a lot of people around the world." Think Mayor Bloomberg would let us do something like this? [New York Times]

There is now a Silicon Valley Bank in the U.K. for just technology investments. Discuss bubble implications as you wish. [BBC]

Google is shutting down Meebo messenger: be still my 8th grade heart. [meebo.com]

Facebook's user growth is slowing, which cannot be good for the company's already-battered stock. [Wall Street Journal]

No one wants to IPO now that Facebook's went so terribly. [Wall Street Journal]

For your morning rage blackout: Ellen Pao is obviously lying because her husband has sued people before. [New York Post]