Morning Media Summary
Tech:
Amazon’s 3G Kindle leaps ‘Great Firewall of China’:
“Amazon’s Kindle 3G e-reader is being snapped up on China’s grey market as it has an extra special advantage for customers – it automatically leaps the so-called “Great Firewall” of state web censorship.”
Rewarding web application security research:
“Today, we are announcing an experimental new vulnerability reward program that applies to Google web properties. We already enjoy working with an array of researchers to improve Google security, and some individuals who have provided high caliber reports are listed on our credits page. As well as enabling us to thank regular contributors in a new way, we hope our new program will attract new researchers and the types of reports that help make our users safer.”
Violent Video Games: Our Responsibility, Not the Courts:
“My 15 year old son has shot monsters, aliens, cops, horses and more. None of it in the real-world, mind you. Instead, the weapons he wields are made of pixels and the blood (red, green, yellow) his victims shed is made up of, not cells, but millions of lines of code. And yet, any time I see him do it, I wince and know I have only myself to blame.”
Global Warming / Environment / Energy:
A few thoughts on California’s Proposition 23 “battle for the planet”:
“As we head to the polls November 2nd, one of the ugliest and most watched global warming battles will get a litmus test by the voters of California. First some background.”
Insurance / Gambling:
Illegal Gambling Parlor in Moscow Raided by Russian Police:
“With few exceptions, Russian gambling laws generally forbid any form of gambling throughout Russia. Of course, this prohibition has only a limited effect against this popular form of amusement. Less so when operators still find gaming parlors profitable enough that they will undertake the risks, or pay off corrupt cops.”
A cure for the common cold may finally be achieved as a result of a remarkable discovery in Cambridge laboratory:
“In a dramatic breakthrough that could affect millions of lives, scientists have been able to show for the first time that the body’s immune defences can destroy the common cold virus after it has actually invaded the inner sanctum of a human cell, a feat that was believed until now to be impossible.”
E-Cigarette Company Agrees Not to Market to Minors in California:
“The electronic cigarette company Smoking Everywhere has agreed, under a settlement with California authorities, not to aim its marketing at minors or claim that its products are safe alternatives to tobacco.”
Economics:
Companies may have to make amends after midterm elections:
“Republicans have a message for the businesses that worked closely with the Obama administration over the past two years on key controversial issues: We won’t forget.”
A Visual History of U.S. Government Deficits:
“A number of my readers are claiming that the only reason Obama is running such a big deficit is that revenue has collapsed. I don’t see that in the data:”
Who’s up for another Krugman op-ed about how we should be spending more?:
“So what should we be doing? First, governments should be spending while the private sector won’t, so that debtors can pay down their debts without perpetuating a global slump. Second, governments should be promoting widespread debt relief: reducing obligations to levels the debtors can handle is the fastest way to eliminate that debt overhang.”
Questions for Stewart ralliers: Is Obama a Keynesian, or was he born in America (Video):
Fed Will Probably Start $500 Billion of Bond Buys, Survey Shows:
“The Federal Reserve will probably introduce an unprecedented second round of unconventional monetary easing tomorrow by announcing a plan to buy at least $500 billion of long-term securities, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.”
Legal:
Violent Video Games: Our Responsibility, Not the Courts:
“My 15 year old son has shot monsters, aliens, cops, horses and more. None of it in the real-world, mind you. Instead, the weapons he wields are made of pixels and the blood (red, green, yellow) his victims shed is made up of, not cells, but millions of lines of code. And yet, any time I see him do it, I wince and know I have only myself to blame.”
Bangor police officer denied right to vote after refusing to surrender weapon:
“In the 18 years that he has been a police officer in Bangor, James Dearing couldn’t think of a single time when someone has asked him to turn over his firearm.”
Labor:
Unions fear rights rollback if Republicans take control:
“By many measures, labor unions have been the Republicans’ fiercest, biggest-spending opponents in this year’s campaign, laying out more than $200 million in hopes of safeguarding the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.”
Transportation/ Land Use:
China to build world’s fastest 510-km-long intercity high-speed rail line:
“China has approved plans for a 10.6 billion dollars railway link to connect two major western cities of Xi’an and Chengdu -being claimed as the world’s fastest intercity high-speed rail line.”