Morning Media Summary

Tech:

Lawyers Seek to Block Twitter Handover:
“Lawyers on Friday asked a US judge to overturn a ruling from earlier this month, forcing Twitter to hand over account details to the US Department of Justice, in a case related to the US federal government’s ongoing investigation of Wikileaks.”

The New York Times’s pretend pay wall:
“For years, newspapers have struggled to cope with the challenges of the Internet age: declining print circulations, the evaporation of the market for personal ads, and advertisers’ gradual shift from print to online media. But that may be about to change, because The New York Times has finally found a solution to the newspaper industry’s troubles: preying on the guilt and ignorance of loyal readers.”

AT&T merger could swell ranks of union that backs Democrats:
“The merger of AT&T and T-Mobile could swell the ranks of a union with close ties to the Democratic Party.”

Australian Government’s Computers Hacked Including PM’s – Chinese Intelligence Suspected:
“Chinese hackers are suspected of having penetrated the parliamentary computers of Prime Minister Julia Gillard and up to nine other senior ministers. Thousands of emails are believed to have been accessed in the cyber attacks.
The Epoch Times reported:”

Stories From Main Street: Montvale School Ditches Books, Chalkboards For Laptops:
“In this district, teachers don’t say “Open your textbook.” They say, “Open your laptop.”

NYC Family Sues Facebook Over Image Of Daughter’s Corpse:
“The outraged family of a local murder victim is taking on Facebook.”

Global Warming / Environment / Energy:

EU Consideration Banning Combustion Cars From Cities By 2050:
“Keeping all gasoline and diesel powered cars out of urban centers is an impossible, impractical dream right now–there simply isn’t any efficient alternative to preserve mobility without combustion-powered cars. But the EU thinks it could be possible by 2050. If that sounds like a long way out to you, consider that the same agencies within the EC only see half of Europe’s vehicle fleet being zero-emission (tailpipe emission, presumably) by 2030.”

Insurance / Gambling:

Russia’s New Anti Online Gambling Laws are not Kidding Around:

“Following up on a story we brought to you a few months ago the Russian Interior Ministry Police who have been cracking down on all gambling, land based & online recently made a huge raid on the biggest online casino operating out of Russia. Allegedly, the casino operator in question is Goldfishka Casino. Goldfishka is a Microgaming powered online casino that is said to be the largest in Russia. No mention of the casino’s name has been officially said as of yet, but all information coming out of this raid points to the casino in question as Goldfishka. The Ministry’s representative, Ms. Larisa Zhukova said that the casino in question had an estimated daily profit of 200,000 rubles, which is $7,000 USD. The owner and five employees of the raided online casino were taken into custody and if found guilty of “illegal business” under Article 171 could carry as much as five years in prison.”

Health / Safety:

Alaska gov’s health exchange strategy questioned:
“Lawmakers scrutinized Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell’s approach to establishing a health care exchange Monday, with a leader of the powerful Senate Finance Committee questioning whether Parnell intended to consult with the Legislature on the “major public policy question.””

Economics:

Regulators to Set Rules on Mortgage Securities:
“Banks will be forced to retain some risk when they securitize all but the most conservative mortgages under rules that regulators are expected to vote on Tuesday. But the banks are likely to be given wide leeway in determining what risks to keep.”

Legal:

Should smartphones be allowed in the courthouse?:
“Some say they should be banned outright while others say they should be allowed in but their use curtailed. Unregulated use of smartphones has resulted in mistrials, exclusion of jurors and fines in some case. The problem isn’t so much what the phones can do technology, but that users will link to social sites such as Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin or perhaps blog about an ongoing case.”

Labor:

AT&T merger could swell ranks of union that backs Democrats:
“The merger of AT&T and T-Mobile could swell the ranks of a union with close ties to the Democratic Party.”

Transportation/ Land Use:

Vermont Officials Want High Speed Rail Funds:

“The deputy chief of the Federal Railroad Administration was in Rutland Monday to listen to Vermonters’ pleas for better rail service in the western part of the state.”