Morning Media Summary

Tech:

Twitter endorsements face OFT clampdown:
“How does a celebrity declare their affiliations to certain brands in fewer than 140 characters? Many may have to learn, after a clampdown by the government’s consumer watchdog on non-declared endorsements in blogs and on social networking sites such as Twitter.”

Social Security Data Center Approaching Collapse:
“Compromised timing for a new data center transition and a slowdown in application modernization are among the top IT management challenges facing the Social Security Administration (SSA), according to a recent report by the agency’s inspector general (IG).”

Obama Eyeing Internet ID for Americans:
“President Obama is planning to hand the U.S. Commerce Department authority over a forthcoming cybersecurity effort to create an Internet ID for Americans, a White House official said here today.”

Global Warming / Environment / Energy:

Meat producers should replace cattle with insects, scientists say:

“In addition to the environmental impact of current meat production techniques, scientists believe that the inevitable increase in price as population-driven demand grows will ultimately result in traditional meat products becoming unavailable to many people around the world.”

Pennsylvania builders unhappy with state-imposed sprinkler mandate:
“While many Pennsylvanians celebrated the arrival of 2011 on New Year’s Eve, home builders in the state likely did not blow their bugles and pop their poppers with quite as much exuberance. That is because this year marks the beginning of a new government mandate in Pennsylvania requiring that all new one- and two-family homes have an automatic fire sprinkler system — a feature that costs thousands of dollars.”

Insurance / Gambling:

Wyoming Lawmaker Looking To Clarify Current Poker Laws:
“Legislators in the state of Wyoming updated their poker gambling laws four years ago when they decided to legalize friendly poker games. That meant that players could congregate in their friends homes’ and play poker without fear of breaking the law.”

Swissvale man accused in casino thefts arrested by federal agents:
“Moments before he was to stand trial for bilking The Meadows Racetrack and Casino out of nearly a half-million dollars in fraudulent jackpots, a Swissvale man was arrested Monday by federal authorities, who say he actually may have stolen as much as $1.4 million from casinos in the U.S. and abroad.”

Health / Safety:

Now Obamacare debate moves to the real world:
“First, although he briefly delves back into a defense of CBO calculations, he then turns, as many of us have, to considering how ObamaCare works in the real world. The Holy Grail of CBO accounting only gets you so far. As he puts it, the “more persuasive critique” of ObamaCare focuses on “some bad signs for the bill going forward.” That is a huge concession, but a smart one since the Republicans will spend the next two years revealing and explaining the load of unintended consequences.”

2nd person denied Ariz. Transplant coverage dies:
“A second person denied transplant coverage by Arizona under a state budget cut has died, with this death “most likely” resulting from the coverage reduction, a hospital spokeswoman said Wednesday.”

FoodPolitik: The unintended consequences of banning horse-slaughter:
“As a rule, Americans don’t eat horse meat. We dropped the habit after World War II, but 14 percent of the world’s population still has a taste for it. That’s more than one billion people. Should Americans be allowed to serve that market?”

Economics:

Sarkozy takes G20 case to Obama as food prices soar:

“Soaring food prices and riots in places like Algeria offer Sarkozy ammunition to press for more coordination between G20 governments to combat wild swings in vital commodity prices as well as exchange rates versus the long-dominant U.S. dollar.”

Economists foretell of U.S. decline, China’s ascension:
“Leading thinkers in the dismal science speaking at an annual convention offered varying visions of U.S. economic decline, in the short, medium and long term. This year, the recovery may bog down as government stimulus measures dry up.”

Legal:

Review of Carpenters’ Union Shows Corruption Persists:
“More than a year after its parent union placed the New York City District Council of Carpenters under supervision because its leader was charged with racketeering, the council remains influenced by the mob and is still a source of cash and illicit benefits for a select few, according to a recent assessment.”

City may get aid to curb tobacco:
“The push has intensified among city lawmakers to regulate and restrict tobacco sales in Buffalo, and anti-smoking forces from across the nation are preparing to create a legal defense fund to help the city pay for likely court fights if the law passes.”

Labor:

Review of Carpenters’ Union Shows Corruption Persists:
“More than a year after its parent union placed the New York City District Council of Carpenters under supervision because its leader was charged with racketeering, the council remains influenced by the mob and is still a source of cash and illicit benefits for a select few, according to a recent assessment.”

Transportation/ Land Use:

Kensal Green graves ‘may be disturbed by high speed rail line’:
“The “preferred route” for the High Speed Two rail link between London and Birmingham goes under Kensal Green Cemetery which contains 130 listed monuments and a Grade I listed chapel from the reign of William IV.”