politics

Etiquette, politeness, and decorum are not words that normally bother the tech world.

When your life's work consists of disrupting existing systems, you can hardly spend a moment considering whether the fork goes on the left or the right side of your burger wrapper.

Today, though, there is much consternation concerning Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and the hand that stayed in his pocket when he met Korean President Park Geun-hye on a visit to her country.

There are many moms reading this who would be appalled if their male offspring greeted any adult with their right hand extended and … Read more

On balance, there may be worse things in life than sending someone pictures of yourself in your underpants.

However, there may be fewer more ill-advised things, especially if you've never met the recipient and you happen to be a politician held in some regard.

For his intimately twittered transgression, Anthony Weiner paid a certain price and that price was what, in some media, is defined by the word "disgrace." It seems odd that this word might be damning, as it is one so often used to describe politicians.

Some might have imagined that Weiner would seek a quieter, more contemplative life after events which saw the Democratic Representative for New York resign in 2011 for his socially networked unseemliness.

A decent amount of time has passed, however, and Weiner seems to be girding his loins for a run at the mayor's office. With this perhaps in mind, he has returned again to the place of alleged disgrace, Twitter. … Read more

Presidents want to be loved just like anyone else.

Actually, presidents want to be loved a lot more than anyone else, which is why they became politicians in the first place. Well, that and the money.

It was touching, therefore, to see President Bill Clinton appear with Stephen Colbert on "The Colbert Report" and admit he was afraid of not being loved. On Twitter, that is. How could the man who turned the last election with one speech fear that he would be left all alone, with just a little blue bird for company? The president admitted that … Read more

North Korea appears currently to be banging the (conun)drum for world instability.

Its apparent enmity to all things American has recently been pierced by such luminaries as Google's Eric Schmidt and the slightly noodly Dennis Rodman.

You might be tickled or troubled by the fact that today, North Korea's Twitter and Flickr accounts were mercilessly invaded by Anonymous.

My emotions, on the other hand, have been moved by the fact that an NFL star is encouraging Kim Jong-un's missiles to be targeted at New England.

There is no known additional antipathy on behalf of North Korea'… Read more

Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is at work on a new, politically focused project, according to a new report.

Zuckerberg, along with his close friend and Harvard roommate Joe Green, is organizing a political advocacy group, the Wall Street Journal is reporting, citing people who claim to have knowledge of his plans. The group should be formally announced at some point in the next few weeks, according to the Journal's sources.

The two men are currently in the process of raising cash, with the ultimate goal of hitting the $50 million mark. With the funds, the group, which … Read more

Editors' note: This review was updated March 25, 2013, with information on how to subscribe to third-party podcasts.

Apple's Podcasts (for both iPhone and iPad) gives you a standalone app that lets you subscribe to, play, and discover podcasts from any category. The app got off to a very shaky start with several missing features, but a new update might give podcast fans some relief.

The Podcasts interface is easy to navigate. You have a Store button in the upper left where you can search the iTunes App Store for podcasts by category, most popular, and other criteria (the … Read more

Sometimes people don't appreciate flattery.

They are so engrossed in their own grossly skewed view of the world that their sense of humor flies into the night like a married lover late home for dinner.

How else can one explain the quite bizarre intentions of Georgia state Rep. Earnest Smith?

He clearly sees a vast importance in being Earnest.

He clearly believes that his constituents are so drawn to his Earnestness that anything that deviates it from absolute Earnestness deserves the full metal force of the law.

Which is why he wants to make lewd, coarse, filthy Photoshopping illegal … Read more

Julian Assange, the controversial WikiLeaks founder, is planning to run for a senate seat in Australia, reports out of that country say.

Assange's application to enroll in the election for a Victoria Senate seat was filed with the Australian Electoral Commission in Melbourne yesterday, The Age is reporting. His father, John Shipton, was among the people who filed the application on his behalf.

Assange, a native-born Australian, is currently living in political asylum at the Ecuador embassy in London, which has provided him a sanctuary from the Swedish and U.S. governments. Swedish officials have sought Assange to question … Read more

Though Silicon Valley tends to support Democrats, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is throwing his might behind Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

Zuckerberg is holding a fundraiser at his house for Christie's reelection campaign. The February 13 event will be Christie's first out-of-state trip for this campaign and, reportedly, the first political fund-raiser Zuckerberg is holding at his home. Friends and colleagues of Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are attending the event, and they'll shell out no more than $3,800 -- New Jersey's limit on contributions.

Zuckerberg hasn'… Read more