politics

Google grabbed the news spotlight this week as it hosted its annual I/O developer conference in San Francisco, but nothing shone as bright as its Chrome browser and the Chrome-based laptop the company introduced.

The Chromebook, touted as an always-on and always-connected computing experience, will be offered by Samsung and Acer starting June 15. The Samsung Chromebook will go for $429 in the U.S. for the Wi-Fi only version and $499 for the 3G version. Acer's Wi-Fi only Chromebook will cost $349.

The devices will be sold in the U.S. by Amazon.com and Best Buy. … Read more

Daily deals site Groupon owes a chunk of its fast growth to new customers brought in by its unavoidable ads all over the Web and on Facebook--but it doesn't want them appearing on the Web site of "The Apprentice," the reality show hosted by real estate mogul Donald Trump, a political firebrand of late.

In a blog post Thursday, the freewheeling Groupon took a rare serious tone as it explained its decision to ask advertising partner NBC, which airs "The Apprentice," to ensure that its ads not be displayed on the show's site. "… Read more

Twitter Chief Financial Officer Ali Rowghani posted a message to his Twitter account on Friday that confirmed the company will be keeping its headquarters in San Francisco, ending much speculation and city politicking. "Happy to say that Twitter is staying in San Francisco," Rowghani's tweet read. "We've signed a lease to move our HQ to the Central Market area."

A post on the Twitter blog announced that the move, to a building called Market Square, will happen in mid-2012.

"We are proud that Twitter will be among the first companies moving into the … Read more

There's something quite endearing about politicians.

They'll rail against drunk drivers, just before being caught driving in an intoxicated state. They'll vote for anti-gay legislation, even though they might themselves be gay.

And then there are the ones who would cheerily declare that sex is a frightful thing, while themselves indulging in all sorts of carnal behaviors that might make their constituents blush or envy.

But none, surely, has offered more food for cognitive dissonance than an Indonesian politician who, like Brazilian soccer players, goes by the name of Arifinto.

You see, Arifinto helped in the passing … Read more

Nothing is ever truly serious unless a politician says it or does it.

So there can be no question that Facebook has been been rocked to its sneakers by a lawsuit served upon it from on high by a would-be Michigan congressman.

Majed Moughni was a Republican candidate for Congress last year. He failed in this quest, coming fourth in the Republican primary in Michigan's 15th district. However, according to The Detroit News, Moughni seems to believe that the reason he lost was Facebook.

Moughni, you see, had a cunning plan to defeat U.S. Rep. John Dingell. As … Read more

An IBM supercomputer named Watson has made headlines for the past month for its ability to defeat the most successful human champions from classic game show "Jeopardy"--but it looks like one New Jersey congressman, Rush Holt, got the better of Watson in a round of the game in Washington, D.C., last night.

"I played a full round against @IBMWatson tonight and was proud to hold my own: the final tally was Holt $8,600, Watson $6,200," tweeted the Democratic Congressman, who has represented New Jersey's 12th district, a section of the middle … Read more

There were two critical masses that led to the resignation of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on Friday: One was the horde of protesters who flooded Tahrir Square in the country's capital of Cairo for two weeks. The second was the fusion of millions of observers, pundits, and supporters around the world into a sort of leaderless digital watchdog, an unwavering force that ensured the international eye would not stray from Egypt.

It's the latter where we can credit social media.

We shouldn't go so far as to call this a social media revolution, but it nevertheless is … Read more

This is a story with whose protagonist, I feel sure, many men will sympathize.

Especially if those men are politicians or NFL quarterbacks.

I refer, with sad, troubled eyes, to the demise of Christopher Lee, a Republican congressional representative from New York.

The 46-year-old Lee announced his resignation on his Web site after he allegedly sent a photograph of his rather fetching upper half (rather than his better half) to a woman he encountered on Craigslist.

It seems, according to Gawker, that the congressman was in need, as are so many male politicians, of female company.

So he reportedly scoured … Read more

WASHINGTON--Scientific research, environmental protection and other priorities of the Obama administration would face steep cuts under a congressional Republican spending plan released today.

More than 60 programs would be eliminated entirely, including Obama's effort to build a network of high-speed passenger trains.

Birth control funding, the Americorps volunteer program, public broadcasting, the community-oriented policing program, and a "weatherization" program to insulate homes and office buildings also would be eliminated.

The proposal has virtually no chance of becoming law because President Barack Obama and the Democrats who control the Senate are certain to oppose it.

But it will … Read more