Facebook to sponsor GOP convention despite Zuckerberg's veiled dig at Trump

In April, Zuckerberg talked of ‘fearful voices building walls’ – but Facebook insists that sponsorship of Republican convention is not an endorsement

Facebook will sponsor the Republican and Democratic national conventions this summer providing “financial and other support” – despite pressure from progressive organizations and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s own veiled criticisms of presumptive Republican candidate Donald Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric.

“This support allows Facebook to facilitate an open dialogue among voters, candidates and elected officials during the conventions, just as it has during other critical moments in the US elections and in elections around the world,” Erin Egan, Facebook’s vice president of public policy, said in a statement.

Facebook maintains that its sponsorship of the GOP convention, which will reportedly include a “lounge”, does not constitute an endorsement, but the announcement has angered a coalition of organizations that have launched campaigns urging technology companies and other corporations not to sponsor the party of Trump. Continue reading...

Published By - Theguardian.com- Tech News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Friday 6 May 2016 20.32 BST

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US unions plan attack on Donald Trump in attempt to derail presidential bid

Concerned labor group leaders are organizing ad campaigns and phone banks as Trump’s populist message on trade and jobs draws in union voters The prospect of a Donald Trump nomination has labor leaders scrambling to hold the line as the Republican frontrunner’s appeal to disaffected working-class voters threatens to upset the traditional political calculus. The majority of America’s almost 15 million unionized workers can be usually be relied upon to back the Democratic candidate in a presidential year, but leaders are concerned by Trump’s populist message on trade and jobs – and his insistence that union workers are just one of many groups on a long list of those he claims “love” him. Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Tuesday 26 April 2016 12.00 BST

North Carolina's 'bathroom bill' battle embarrasses residents on both sides | TheNews Linzer

The escalating fight over LGBT rights has turned the historically sophisticated, inclusive southern state into a battleground of intolerance In the family of southern states, North Carolina has long been the cousin who made it. It enjoyed excellent universities, world-class industries, smooth roads and political stability. A whole class of people arose called “halfbacks”: people who retired from the north-east states to Florida, only to realize North Carolina was better and moved halfway back. Now, with the state squaring off against the federal government about who can use which bathrooms, the state finds itself at the pointy end of jokes, and lumped in with more strident southern states like Mississippi and – most bitterly – South Carolina. It’s unfamiliar for North Carolinians. It’s uncomfortable. And many are asking: how did we get here? How did the high-achieving, well-educated cousin end up with a black eye and busted knuckles, reeling over a public toilet? Continue reading....

From Uber to Eric Schmidt, tech is closer to the US government than you'd think

Twitter was scrabbling to defend the appointment of a Chinese head with government ties, yet US tech has a busy revolving door with its own government What’s worse for a Silicon Valley executive: ties to the Chinese military or friends in the US Defense Department? Twitter found itself confronting that question this week after it hired Kathy Chen, a former engineer for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), to head up ad sales and business development in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Internet freedom activists and Chinese dissidents, who have to skirt Beijing’s digital censors to use Twitter, said it was a betrayal. The spat illustrates the delicate balancing act technology companies face as they are forced to expand overseas to grow. In the US, Silicon Valley, like any industry, has embraced and relied on close relationships with former government officials both for technical talent and to help grease the wheels as they confront regulatory issues. Alphabet’s executive chairman, ...

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