House Panel Recommends Contempt Case Against Holder

WASHINGTON — Republicans on the House oversight committee on Wednesday voted to recommend holding Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in contempt of Congress in a dispute over internal Justice Department documents related to the botched gun trafficking operation called “Fast and Furious.”

The 23-to-17 vote, which fell along party lines, came after President Obama invoked executive privilege to withhold the documents and communications among Justice Department officials last year as they grappled with the Congressional investigation into the case. As part of the operation, weapons bought in the United States were allowed to reach a Mexican drug cartel. 

It was the first time that Mr. Obama asserted the privilege since taking office, and it sharpened the long-festering dispute between Mr. Holder and Representative Darrell Issa, Republican of California, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Democrats called for the panel to hold off voting on the contemptcitation during an often acrimonious partisan debate, but Republicans pressed forward with it.

Sharp Debuts Monolithic Mega TV

Sharp introduced its new 90-inch Aquos LED TV on Tuesday -- what it's calling "the largest TV on the planet." At 4-ft. tall and 6-ft., 8-in. wide, it's sure to dominate the room -- and this week, at least, the consumer electronics conversation.

In addition to being large, the TV also delivers a high-quality consumer experience, according to the company, with "stunning" picture quality. Content is displayed at 1080p, the highest resolution available.

[ Sharp's 90-inch Aquos TV] --------->


The TV has a suggested retail price of US$10,999.99. It's fairly light, considering its size, weighing only 141 pounds without the stand. It's 5-in. deep, making it compatible with a sturdy wall mount, and it's also relatively efficient, using less energy than two 75-watt light bulbs.

The Aquos is a full HD active 3DTV, with two 3D glasses included. It also features AquoMotion 240, which makes fast-action motion appear seamless. The TV has built-in connectivity, offering users direct access to services like Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) and Hulu, as well as Aquos Advantage Live, a free service that puts users in touch with customer support representatives via the Internet.

Facebook Kills Credits, Starts Up Subscriptions

Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) has changed its payment system, doing away with its Credits program as well as allowing app developers to offer subscription billing.

Facebook currently sells in-app purchases for Credits -- digital tokens that allowed users to buy virtual goods within games or apps. But the company found that Credits didn't catch on as a Facebook currency, and many developers introduced their own virtual coinage, such as Farm Cash in Zynga's (Nasdaq: ZNGA) "FarmVille" game. To streamline the monetization process across the platform, Facebook will support local currencies rather than just Credits.

Google Signals YouTube's Free MP3 Ride Is Over

YouTube's attorneys have sent a cease-and-desist letter to YouTube-mp3 demanding that it stop allowing users to extract audio clips from YouTube videos in order to copy them onto personal devices.

YouTube-mp3 is a highly user-friendly service. All a user must do is enter a video's URL, and the audio is generated within moments. That process is the main reason for being for these sites.

Who's Watching You On Facebook?

There can't be many Internet users who haven't heard of Facebook – the social network site, brainchild of U.S. college student Mark Zuckerberg. But worryingly, it's not just our friends who are keeping up with what we're doing online. Debt collectors, potential employers and even lawyers could be finding out much more than you'd want them to. Here we examine the worrying trends on the social network site and consider how you can take steps to avoid being spied on.

Debt Collector Watch

It seems that debt collectors have caught on to how difficult it is to hide on Facebook. According to MSN Money, debt collectors are infiltrating social network pages, contacting you, your friends and family through the site to force you to pay what you owe.

One debt collection agent, Michelle Dunn, confirms that this is a strategy used by debt collection agencies today. "If you look like a really good-looking girl, a lot of people would accept a friendship even if they don't really know the person," she explains. Luckily the The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, designed to protect consumers against abusive practices by the debt collection industry, does offer you some protection in this area. Although it is not forbidden for collectors to post on your Facebook wall or ask your contacts of your whereabouts, they cannot post about your debt, because that is a serious breach of privacy.

Nevertheless, it should be common practice not to accept friend requests from people you don't know, and of course, if you do owe money, in order to avoid being found and potentially harassed on Facebook, you should answer mail or calls or from collection agencies in the first instance. Ignoring the problem will not make it go away.

Job hunting

When you're applying for a new job, polishing up your resume may not be enough anymore. Rather, you should check what information is out there about you on the web. Facebook profiles are routinely being checked by your future employers. According to a survey carried out by Careerbuilder in 2009, 45% of employers check your social media presence when hiring, and some 35% of employers reported that they have found content on social networking sites that meant they did not hire the candidate. As social media has only grown over the past few years, we can only imagine that this figure would be much higher today.