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

Ted Cruz bruised in Indiana as Leicester City stage huge soccer upset

Republican candidate heckled by 12-year-old on eve of primary as England witnesses a sporting fairytale



High noon for Ted Cruz in Indiana
Donald Trump is on the verge of a win in Indiana tonight that would leave him the likely Republican nominee. One recent public poll had the real estate mogul up 15 points over rival Ted Cruz, who was heckled by a 12-year-old and quizzed about his birthplace while his wife faced questions over whether he was a serial killer yesterday. Oh, and he seemed to ignore his running mate Carly Fiorina falling off the stage. These indignities and others came on the last day of campaigning in a state he desperately needs to win in order to continue his strategy of denying Donald Trump the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the GOP nomination. Here’s where the delegate count stands for both parties. On the Democratic side Hillary Clinton is a few points ahead of Bernie Sanders in the polls. Results are expected some time after 6pm ET and we’ll have live coverage throughout the evening. Continue reading...





Published By - Theguardian.com - Tech News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Tuesday 3 May 2016 13.27 BST

Bernie Sanders vows a contested convention despite 'tough road' ahead

The underdog presidential candidate in the Democratic primary admitted ‘uphill climb’ to nomination but promised to shape the party’s future

Bernie Sanders acknowledged “an uphill climb” ahead of him in the Democratic nomination race on Sunday, but vowed to continue battling against Hillary Clinton despite his diminishing chances of catching her.

In a press conference to mark the one-year anniversary of an insurgent campaign that few ever imagined, he also revealed plans for a new series of mega-rallies in California and renewed calls on the party’s handpicked superdelegates to change their allegiances before this summer’s national convention.

The Vermont senator conceded that in order for such appeals to make a difference, he would also have to win a majority of the remaining “pledged delegates”, whose votes are fixed according to election results. He would require him to win 65% of those 1,083 in remaining states to have a chance. Continue reading...





Published By - Theguardian.com - Tech News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Sunday 1 May 2016 22.16 BST

Donald Trump damns Cruz-Kasich pact as five more states head into primaries

Republican frontrunner attacks ‘pathetic’ John Kasich and Ted Cruz for lining up their campaigns to deny him votes in Indiana, Oregon and New Mexico

Donald Trump has decried “collusion” between his Republican rivals to deny him victory in upcoming primary contests as five more states prepared to vote for their preferred presidential candidate.

Trump fumed over the alliance between John Kasich and Ted Cruz to cede upcoming states to each other in the hope that they can stop the frontrunner winning enough delegates to clinch the Republican nomination outright.

Trump attacked Kasich and Cruz as “truly weak” over the strategy whereby Cruz, a Texas senator, will concentrate his resources in Indiana while Kasich, the Ohio governor, will focus on Oregon and New Mexico instead.

“Collusion is often illegal in many other industries and yet these two Washington insiders have had to revert to collusion in order to stay alive,” he said. “They are mathematically dead and this act only shows, as puppets of donors and special interests, how truly weak they and their campaigns are.”

Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Tuesday 26 April 2016 05.17 BST