Old professors don’t fade away. They join the ExxonMobil board of directors.

Fisker Kharma

If you want a sporty performance vehicle but are worried the poor gas mileage will give you bad kharma, Fisker Automotive may have just the answer.

On Monday the California start-up unveiled the Fisker Kharma, which they are billing as the first ever luxury four-door plug-in hybrid. It is being shown at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

When Congress gets back to business in the New Year, one of its priorities will be consideration of the Bush administration’s request for a massive arms sale - in the neighborhood of $20 billion - to Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states.

Israel and Egypt also stand to gain billions more in U.S. weapons as part of the package Congress will review.

The proposed deal is controversial because of the Saudi component. Given the Saudi government’s questionable record on fighting terrorism and curtailing terrorism financing, its funding of extremist wahabbist mosques, its supply of foreign fighters into Iraq and a judicial system that recently ordered 200 lashes for a rape victim, some in Congress don’t believe the kingdom should be rewarded with top-of-the-line American weaponry.

Despite losing to Microsoft in its bid for a piece of Facebook, Google isn’t giving up on social networks.

The behemoth of search is partnering with other tech companies and social networks to develop a competing approach called OpenSocial. The open-source technology will enable developers to write applications that can be used on many sites, including partners in the project, such as LinkedInand Friendster.

The battle for the America’s Cup is being fought not on the high seas but in New York State Supreme Court.

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, whose team lost the race this year, has accused winner Ernesto Bertarelli of manipulating the rules governing the next cup.

The court case, filed by the Golden Gate Yacht Club, charges that Bertarelli’s team has accepted a challenge from a team with no standing, and has refused to disclose design specifications for boats sailing in the race. Bertarelli’s group, Societe Nautique de Geneve, has turned the competition into a “Defender’s Cup,” the suit charges.