Morning Media Summary

Tech:

Winklevoss Twins Won’t Take Facebook Case To Supreme Court:
“It appears the lengthy legal dispute between Facebook and twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss may be finally coming to an end.”

Consumer group reveals web-blocking plans:
“A consumer rights group has blasted proposals to block websites carrying pirated content, as laid out in a document handed to the Department for Culture, Music and Sport.”

Google Notches One Billion Unique Visitors Per Month:
“Google’s websites had more than a billion unique visitors in May, the first time an Internet company has hit that benchmark, according to comScore data released Tuesday.”

Global Warming / Environment / Energy:

Reduce your CO2 footprint by recycling past errors!:
“Anthony has pointed out the further inanities of that well-known vanity press, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This time it is Michael Mann (of Hockeystick fame) and company claiming an increase in the rate of sea level rise (complete paper here, by Kemp et al., hereinafter Kemp 2011). A number of commenters have pointed out significant shortcomings in the paper. AMac has noted at ClimateAudit that Mann’s oft-noted mistake of the upside-down Tiljander series lives on in Kemp 2011, thus presumably saving the CO2 required to generate new and unique errors. Steve McIntyre has pointed out that, as is all too common with the mainstream AGW folks and particularly true of anything touched by Michael Mann, the information provided is far, far, far from enough to reproduce their results. Judith Curry is also hosting a discussion of the issues.”

Insurance / Gambling:

Asian gambling giant gets foothold on US terrain:
“The cash-rich company, which controls casino resorts in Malaysia and Singapore, will make its first official foray into the U.S. gaming market with the opening of a gambling parlour at New York’s Aqueduct racetrack this fall.”

Tobey Maguire Sued Over Multi-Million Dollar Illegal Poker Game; DiCaprio, Affleck & Damon Involved:
“Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire is among more than a dozen high-profile Hollywood people being sued in connection with a mega-millions illegal gambling ring that ran high-stakes underground poker games, Star magazine is reporting exclusively.”

Health / Safety:

HURT: No ifs, ands or butts: FDA warning photos faked:
“For decades, the federal government has accused tobacco companies of running a campaign of relentless deception in order to sell cigarettes and convince customers that their product will make you sexy, skinny, cool or whatever.”

Women can’t keep breast implants for life: FDA:
“The Food and Drug Administration will work to revise safety labels for silicone breast implants after reviewing data from several long-term studies, which also showed that the products had a small link to a rare form of cancer.”

Economics:

Economic trouble puzzles Fed chief, too:
“The economy’s continuing struggles aren’t just confounding ordinary Americans. They’ve also stumped the head of the Federal Reserve.”

Study: $1400 Tax Hike Needed to Fund US Pensions:
“U.S. state and local governments will need to raise taxes by $1,398 per household every year for the next 30 years if they are to fully fund their pension systems, a study released on Wednesday said.”

Legal:

Rochester Woman Arrested After Videotaping Police From Her Own Front Yard:
“In May, the Rochester Police Department arrested a woman on a charge of obstructing governmental administration after she videotaped several officers’ search of a man’s car. The charge is a criminal misdemeanor.”

Labor:

Contract talks resume for Pa. state employees:
“Negotiating teams for the two largest state government unions in Pennsylvania took turns meeting with administration officials Tuesday in a concentrated effort to reach agreements on contracts that expire next week.”

How Much Money Do States Need to Make Unions Happy?:
“Professors Jonathan Rauh of the Kellogg School of Business and Robert Nova-Max of Rochester University have a new paper out that looks at how much revenue states will need to be able to pay in full the pensions of local and state public employees over the next 30 years. The answer: a lot of money.”

Former NLRB chairman: Union ‘quickie elections’ will hurt employers:
“In a conference call today, former National Labor Relations Board Chairman Peter Schaumber said the “quickie elections” proposed by the NLRB Tuesday will hurt employers and lead to uninformed voters.”

Transportation/ Land Use:

China’s railway boom hurtles into the red:
“The argument in support of the vast project — with many lines connecting to more sparsely populated inland regions — is that they are a strategic investment that will link markets across the country.”