Tag Archives: Facebook

Business, Food, Human Interest, International, Politics, Technology

SILICON VALLEY CEOs JOIN RANKS OF FOOD STAMP, SECTION 8 BENEFICIARIES

April 2, 2014 Pol Pinoy 1 Comment

San Jose, California – Top Silicon Valley CEOs and executives have applied for federal and county subsidy programs, according to leaked confidential documents from the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the County of Santa Clara.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have all been pre-qualified and approved for the federal Section 8 housing and county food stamps programs.

Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937, authorizes the payment of rental housing assistance to private landlords on behalf of approximately 3.1 million low-income households. It operates through several programs, the largest of which, the Housing Choice Voucher program, pays a large portion of the rents and utilities of about 2.1 million households. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development manages the Section 8 programs. Eligibility for the housing subsidy is determined based on annual gross income, elderly, disabled or family status.

The food stamp program is administered by counties and is basically a food subsidy for individuals and families that meet certain criteria, not the least of which is income level.

By virtue of their $1 a year salaries, Zuckerberg, Page and Brin have qualified for the housing and food subsidies. Both HUD and the County of Santa Clara have sent notices to the three executives regarding their pre-qualification, according to the leaked documents.

Meanwhile, two other Silicon Valley CEOs, John Donahue II of eBay and Marissa Ann Mayer of Yahoo! are reportedly considering a pay cut to $1 a year so that they can be in the prestigious company of tech executives availing of government subsidy programs.

International, Technology, The Media

FACEBOOK TO BANISH ‘SELFIES’ BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2014

December 31, 2013 Pol Pinoy 1 Comment

Menlo Park, California- It doesn’t matter that “selfie” was chosen the 2013 word of the year by the Oxford Dictionaries.

On the eve of New Year’s, Facebook announced that begining January 1, it will banish all selfies from its social networking site because majority of its subscribers have expressed annoyance over the posting of self-shot photos.

Facebook has installed a selfie detection device that would delete said photos even before they are posted online. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, speaking from his office at the Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California, defended the decision by saying that “it is not that difficult to ask someone else to take one’s picture — your server at the restaurant, your fellow tourist at scenic spots, even your little brother or sister at home.” Zuckerberg also pointed out that the “mirror image” you see in a selfie is just an illusion. “In the eyes of others seeing your selfie, you don’t look anywhere close compared to a photo of you taken by another person,” he added.

Other social networking sites like Pinterest and LinkedIn are reportedly also considering a similar ban.

The good news for selfie addicts is that the ban is not retroactive. This means that all selfies posted as of midnight on December 31, 2013, will forever live in infamy on the Internet.

Business, Politics

FACEBOOK, GOOGLE, TWITTER THREATEN TO SHUT DOWN

October 2, 2013 Pol Pinoy 3 Comments

Silicon Valley, California – As the government shutdown enters its second day — thanks to the stubborn Republicans and Tea Partiers in the U.S. Congress — three of the country’s social media giants threatened to go into their own shutdown unless the Legislature gets its act together soon.

Facebook, Google and Twitter issued a joint statement today saying that unless Congress passes a bill to reverse the government shutdown that went into effect yesterday, the social networking sites will also shut down their operations, essentially creating a total black screen on smart phones, tablets and computers.

Washington politicians know that the shutting down of Facebook, Google and Twitter will enrage millions of Americans who are already addicted to the social networks, and would, in effect, derail their chances of winning in next year’s midterm elections.

Facebook , Google and Twitter have given Congess until midnight tomorrow night to put up or shut up. The companies are urging their customers to inundate the phones, Facebook and Twitter pages, and web sites of their legislators with text messages and posts to pressure them to pass legislation that would put the government back in operation.

None of the Relublican leaders could be reached for comment because they all had left the Capitol early for happy hour in Washington, D.C. bars which were uncharacteristically empty tonight.