politics

If you're not a fan of the Patriot Act, you may not appreciate the fact that it was extended for four more years by a machine.

President Obama used an autopen to renew the controversial legislation on Thursday, raising some eyebrows with the mechanical surrogate.

Obama was in France when he authorized the signing just before a midnight expiration deadline. It followed a House vote of 250-153.

First developed 200 years ago by British inventor John Isaac Hawkins, autopens are machines that trace engraved signatures and are often used to sign cards and letters sent by the White House. … Read more

How would you feel if a male politician sent you a photograph of boxer briefs that were, um, well filled?

Perhaps, these days, an appropriate answer might be: "Not in the least bit surprised."

However, in the case of New York City Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner, he reportedly says that a nefarious hacker infiltrated his social network's undercarriage.

Politico, encouraged by a report from BigGovernment.com offered that Rep. Weiner's Twitter and yfrog handles may have been used to send a somewhat boastful image of a male package in boxer briefs to a female student in … Read more

Just months after becoming Twitter CEO, Dick Costolo will also be joining a presidential advisory committee.

Last night, President Obama announced his intent to appoint Costolo to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC). Costolo became the CEO of Twitter in October, taking over from site co-founder Evan Williams. Prior to becoming CEO, Costolo served as Twitter's chief operating officer.

The president also announced plans to appoint to the committee Scott Charney, corporate vice president for Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Group, and David DeWalt, McAfee president.

"I am proud to appoint such impressive men and women to these … Read more

Google's YouTube is bringing political discourse to its site in a whole new way.

Dubbed Town Hall, the new service on the world's top video site pits members of Congress against each other on key topics, ranging from the budget to the economy to Afghanistan. YouTube Town Hall users can ask questions of lawmakers related to the many topics available, which are then voted on by other users.

The most popular questions are then posed to members of Congress on different sides of the debate who post videos to the Town Hall site, giving users their side of … Read more

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