politics

Egypt, Twitter, and the rise of the watchdog crowd

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

Congressman quits after shirtless-photo flap

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

House Republicans push energy and science cuts

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

Amid unrest, Egypt went offline (roundup)

Following widespread street protests demanding an end to autocratic rule by President Hosni Mubarak, a country of more than 80 million people found itself almost entirely disconnected from the rest of the world. Here's how the story has unfolded:

Vodafone: We were forced to send pro-Mubarak texts Egyptian government of President Hosni Mubarak forced carrier to send prescripted, propagandistic text messages during recent unrest, Vodafone says. (Posted in Politics and Law by Lance Whitney) February 3, 2011 11:43 AM PST

U.S. defended Egyptian activist's YouTube videos WikiLeaks cable shows U.S. State Department talked Google into … Read more

Aussie pubs beat bar fights with biometrics

Pubs and clubs in Australia are signing up in droves to national and state biometrics databases that capture patron fingerprints, photos, and scanned driver licenses in efforts to curb violence.

The databases of captured patron information mean that individuals banned at one location could be refused entry across a string of venues. Particularly violent individuals could be banned for years.

The databases are virtually free from government regulation as biometrics are not covered by privacy laws, meaning that the handling of details are left to the discretion of technology vendors.

"You don't get on the [ban] list because … Read more

There's no such thing as 'social media revolution'

There seems to be a contingent out there that analyzes each of the globe's various political conflicts and attempts to figure out, through plenty of speculation and the occasional Wikipedia look-ups of far-flung sovereignties, which uprising will mark the first true "social media revolution."

A dictator toppled by Twitter or ousted through the efforts of a Facebook group? It's an enticing idea, particularly for those who are in the business of social media and have a personal stake of sorts in tallying each instance of social media's global value making headlines. Twitter punditry this week … Read more

Why Twitter is mum on Egypt block

Update at 5:05 p.m. PT: Twitter has confirmed that it has been blocked in Egypt. According to the @TwitterGlobalPR account: "We can confirm that Twitter was blocked in Egypt around 8am PT today. It is impacting both Twitter.com & applications." Also: "We believe that the open exchange of info & views benefits societies & helps governments better connect w/ their people."

As fierce anti-government protests in the Egyptian capital of Cairo began to escalate, word broke out this morning that government forces had blocked access to Twitter's Web site. Twitter users throughout … Read more

With solar power, it's Green vs. Green

When Mike Peterson jumped into a colleague's single turboprop Pilatus and flew over the remote Central California valley that he now hopes to turn into a solar plant, he saw sunshine, flat land that would require little grading, and two big transmission lines to tap into. "Wow," he remembers thinking at the time. "God made this to be a solar farm."

But when Kim Williams looks out at that same land from her lowslung ranch house, she sees an area rich with wildlife that is helping support her grass-fed chicken farm, her neighbor's cattle operations, and her peaceful way of life. She supports solar energy on a small scale--the electric fence around her chicken coop is powered by solar--but says when she learned about the solar plant she felt shock and disbelief. Now, she's suing to block it.

The push to create an alternative to carbon-based fuel has hit an unlikely snag: environmentalists. … Read more

Most don't want the FCC to regulate the Internet

A majority of American voters wants the FCC to keep its hands off the Internet.

At least, that was the finding of new survey results released this week by polling firm Rasmussen Reports.

Among the 1,000 "likely U.S. voters" questioned, only 21 percent said they'd be in favor of the Federal Communication Commission regulating the Internet. A majority 54 percent said they're opposed to government control of the Net, while 25 percent were left undecided.

Rasumussen conducted its survey on December 26, just a few days after the FCC unveiled new regulations that would … Read more