Morning Media Summary
Tech:
University Begins Reporting All P2P Users to the Police:
“Georgia’s Valdosta State University has updated its network with software that can pinpoint students who use P2P software. The university is committed to stop file-sharing on its network even if that results in prison sentences for students. Offenders will be disciplined by the school and then handed over to the police, the university has announced.”
Google’s growth online reflected by expansion in Mountain View:
“Google’s aggressive online growth increasingly has a counterpart in bricks and mortar, with the company’s Mountain View headquarters mushrooming in the past four years to occupy more than 4 million square feet, or the equivalent of about 40 Home Depot stores.”
Global Warming / Environment / Energy:
A suggestion to Dr. James Hansen: go protest coal in China:
“You see, Dr. Hansen of NASA GISS, has been using his position to protest the use of coal in America. That’s certainly his right. But, since his concern is global CO2 produced by coal, is he really being effective by protesting here? It seems that he should think locally, but act globally. Have a look at this graph and see if you think he’s making any difference in the places coal is being used the most:”
Alternative Headline: Guy wastes power to protest wasting power:
“The “Power Eater” is a public art piece that takes the shape of a giant igloo made from 312 refrigerators in the middle of Hamburg. Inside, there’s a “tower of consumption,” by artist Esa Ott, made from gadgets such as fans, TVs and toasters all plugged in and draining electricity. A nearby meter measures the total electrical requirement of the “Power Eater.””
Insurance / Gambling:
ChiliPoker Set to Show US Online Gambling Laws Are a Joke:
“The US government continues to keep prohibition of online gambling in place in the country, meanwhile, other countries have moved towards regulating the billion dollar industry. Now, as the prohibition continues, ChiliGaming is about to show once again just how ridiculous the current US laws are.”
Health / Safety:
FoodPolitik: Hypocrite Bloomberg behind latest salty Big Apple campaign:
“So here’s my question: Is New York City challenging San Francisco as the capital of Nannyland?”
San Francisco mayor vetoes happy meal ban:
“Despite Newsom’s opposition, the law may still end up on the books. The board passed it on an 8-3 vote Tuesday, the minimum needed to override a veto. An override vote has not been scheduled.”
Doctors brace for possible big Medicare pay cuts:
“Breast cancer surgeon Kathryn Wagner has posted a warning in her waiting room about a different sort of risk to patients’ health: She’ll stop taking new Medicare cases if Congress allows looming cuts in doctors’ pay to go through.”
Economics:
Secret Walmart Survey Shows Inflation Already Here:
“A new pricing survey of products sold at the world’s largest retailer showed a 0.6 percent price increase in just the last two months, according to MKM Partners. At that rate, prices would be close to four percent higher a year from now, double the Fed’s mandate.”
Losses double for U.S. Postal Service:
“The U.S. Postal Service more than doubled its losses in fiscal year 2010, despite cutting billions of dollars in expenses and trimming its staff.”
USPS puts significant blame on shift to online communication for $8.5 billion loss:
“The U.S. Postal Service announced Friday that it lost $8.5 billion dollars this fiscal year and blamed its financial problems on a significant decline in mail volume. The USPS operates off the revenue it generates from stamps and shipping costs, though it also has a $15 billion line of credit with the U.S. Treasury.”
White House Staffers Got a Bigger Raise Than You Did Last Year:
“Did you get a raise last year? Seventy-four percent of White House staffers did, according a Gawker analysis of the White House’s annual salary reports to Congress. Probably for the great job they’re doing with the economy.”
Legal:
Airport body-scan radiation under scrutiny:
“They’re arriving at airports across the country. Some complain they are invasive and an assault on our privacy. But are body scanners at security checkpoints dangerous?”
Full Frontal Nudity Doesn’t Make Us Safer: Abolish the TSA:
“The Republicans control the House of Representatives and are bracing for a long battle over the President’s health care proposal. In the spirit of bipartisanship and sanity, I propose that the first thing on the chopping block should be an ineffective organization that wastes money, violates our rights, and encourages us to make decisions that imperil our safety. I’m talking about the Transportation Security Administration.”
TSA encounter at SAN:
[These events took place roughly between 5:30 and 6:30 AM, November 13th in Terminal 2 of the San Diego International Airport. I’m writing this approximately 2 1/2 hours after the events transpired, and they are correct to the best of my recollection. I will admit to being particularly fuzzy on the exact order of events when dealing with the agents after getting my ticket refunded; however, all of the events described did occur.
Tobacco commission reforms needed, Baliles says:
“Former Gov. Gerald L. Baliles says it’s time for Virginia to act on reforms his blue-ribbon panel recommended for a state commission that was defrauded of $4 million in tobacco-settlement money meant to improve education in the state’s struggling tobacco belt.”
Labor:
Rough road ahead for Obama, unions as compromises loom:
“President Obama and labor unions are entering a new and difficult stretch in their relationship as the White House looks to find common ground with Republicans on issues like trade and the deficit.”
Unreal. SEIU Local 25 and 12 Other Unions Receive Obamcare Waivers:
“The Obama Administration recently handed out 111 Obamacare waivers to special US companies… And, they’re hiding this from the American public. It takes 6 clicks to find out this information on the government’s health care website.” (Listed here: http://www.hhs.gov/ociio/regulations/approved_applications_for_waiver.html)
Transportation/ Land Use:
Activists to rally in favor of Wis high-speed rail:
“Labor activists and supporters of high-speed rail are planning a rally in Milwaukee in favor of the imperiled project.”
High-speed rail forum looks at future:
“Politicians, business leaders, urban planners and academics converged on New York City Monday for a two-day symposium on the state of efforts to upgrade America’s train infrastructure and make high-speed rail a reality.”