Morning Media Summary
Tech:
Google Launches Site-Blocking Extension Against Content Farms:
“Aimed at stripping search results of pages from “low-quality” sites, a new Google Chrome extension allows users to block specified websites from appearing in search results. The names of these sites are then sent to Google, which will study the collected results and use them to determine future page ranking systems. ”
London Stock Exchange in historic Linux go-live:
“UPDATED The London Stock Exchange has successfully set into live trading a new matching engine based on Novell SUSE Linux technology, following successful last-step setup procedures on Saturday.”
Global Warming / Environment / Energy:
Global Warming Will Not Cause ‘permanent El Nino’:
“Boffins in Blighty have said that global warming and retreating Arctic sea ice cover is unlikely to result in a so-called “permanent El Niño” state in the Pacific, nor cause similar major weather-changing shifts in the behaviour of the Atlantic ocean.”
Insurance / Gambling:
Texas Lawmakers Still Split On Gambling Legislation:
“While the rest of the country has expanded their casino gambling industries at a record pace over the past couple of years, Texas has remained one of the states that has kept casino prohibition alive. It had been expected that one of the country’s most conservative states would shy away from casinos.”
Health / Safety:
Mitch Daniels on Medicare We can’t afford every form of end-of-life care for everyone:
“He said it a few days ago but it’s best contemplated today, through the lens of the fiscal apocalypse that is Obama’s budget. All along, I’ve been thinking that the Romneyites want this guy to stay out of the race lest the moderate/managerial wing of the primary grow too crowded. But now? Mitt would inevitably use Daniels as a foil to frame himself as the voice of reason on health-care reform, hammering Mitch the Knife as a de facto rationer. Then Daniels would turn around and bludgeon him for the sins of RomneyCare. And the Palinistas would watch it unfold, rubbing their hands with glee and chuckling all the while.”
UM Study Says Energy Drinks Pose Serious Risk to Kids:
“Energy drinks not only may make your kid hyper, but it turns out they might also make them seriously unhealthy.”
Economics:
Obama’s 2012 Budget Proposal: How $3.7 Trillion is Spent:
“Mandatory spending, which includes entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security, is expected to continue to rise.”
Top 5 silliest state tax hikes:
“With states facing a collective $175 billion budget shortfall, legislatures across the country are proving the old aphorism, “necessity is the mother of invention” — even if that invention is as absurd as the “Shake Weight.””
Consumer prices on most goods expected to rise in 2011:
“A package of Oscar Mayer cold cuts. A pair of Nine West boots. A Whirlpool washing machine.”
Seizing the Future: Budget battle in Washington; Obama: “Live within our means” …by spending into oblivion:
“Oh, no. It’s another White House White Board (click here for Austan Goolsbee’s turn last week).”
Ryan: Obama punted budget, it’s ‘Debt on Arrival’:
“House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan dubbed President Obama’s budget “debt on arrival,” in the first Republican response to the $3.7 trillion plan released by the White House Monday, adding “it would be better if we did nothing than if we passed this budget.””
Latest Salaries For SJ City Employees Posted Online:
“The latest information about the salaries and benefits of each San Jose city employee was posted online Friday in an effort to maintain transparency in the city’s government.”
Legal:
Shirley Sherrod Catches Andrew Breitbart’s Car:
“You know that saying about the dog which chased the car but didn’t know what to do once it caught it. Shirley Sherrod just filed suit against Andrew Breitbart, but I think she’ll find it was not worth the pursuit. “
Labor:
Wisconsin AFL-CIO ads attack Walker plan on collective bargaining:
“The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO on Sunday launched a major advertising campaign against Gov. Scott Walker’s plan that would erase almost all collective bargaining rights for most public workers as a way to shore up the state’s finances.”
Transportation/ Land Use:
Bill would strip mining of eminent domain powers:
“A bill that would strip mining companies — and Nevada’s long-defunct sugar beet industry — of eminent domain powers was championed Monday by supporters who argue that the law is antiquated and susceptible to abuse.”
High-speed train system has a long way to go:
“The Obama administration is proceeding at full speed with plans to create a national high-speed rail system, proposing billions in next year’s budget to help lay the groundwork. But political opposition and hefty costs could mean the ambitious program goes nowhere fast.”