Morning Media Summary
Tech:
Gmail accidentally resetting accounts, years of correspondence:
“If you’ve got a working Gmail account, you might want to back it up every so often — as many as 500,000 Gmail users lost access to their inboxes this morn, and some of them are reporting (via Twitter and support forums) that years worth of messages, attachments and Google Chat logs had vanished by the time they were finally able to log on. While we haven’t experienced the issue personally, we’re hearing that the bug effectively reset some accounts, treating their owners as new users complete with welcome messages. For its part, Google says that the issue “affects less than .29% of the Google Mail userbase,” engineers are working to fix the issue right now, and that missing messages will be restored as soon as possible. We’ll soon see if this is a momentary setback… or a lengthy wakeup call.”
Playing around with Tracking Protection in IE9:
““The issue though becomes how do they make that difficult decision? What are the criteria for what the tracker can do?” Trilli noted. “We’re helping them make that complicated decision because people don’t want to spend a lot of time understanding the specific nuances of this.””
Boehner rips bid to regulate Internet:
“House Speaker John A. Boehner lashed out against efforts to regulate Internet traffic before an audience of evangelical Christian media leaders and pointedly responded to President Obama by comparing the challenge of the burgeoning national debt to the Sputnik-era space race.”
Websites to Google: ‘You’re killing our business!’:
“Google made one of the biggest changes ever to its search results this week, which immediately had a noticeable effect on many Web properties that rely on the world’s biggest search engine to drive traffic to their sites.”
Global Warming / Environment / Energy:
Small Nuclear War Could Reverse Global Warming for Years:
“During the Cold War a nuclear exchange between superpowers—such as the one feared for years between the United States and the former Soviet Union—was predicted to cause a “nuclear winter.””
Insurance / Gambling:
Big Week Ahead For Online Gambling Bill in New Jersey:
“Governor Chris Christie has been getting hit from all angles when it comes to online gambling legislation that has been proposed. Christie is expected to make his decision on an online gambling bill this Thursday, and millions of gamblers are giddy with anticipation.”
Health / Safety:
What would a smoke-free America cost the government?:
“New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others in the anti-tobacco movement are working to turn America into a land without smokers. But what would an America without smokers look like?”
Economics:
High pump prices rattle drivers and businesses:
“High fuel prices are putting the squeeze on drivers’ wallets just as they are starting to feel better about the economy. They’re also forcing tough choices on small-business owners who are loathe to charge more for fear of losing cost-conscious customers.”
3M chief warns Obama over business regulation:
“The head of one of the US’s biggest industrial groups has launched a scathing attack on Barack Obama’s attempts to repair relations with companies, dubbing him “anti-business”.
Madoff to NY magazine: Government a Ponzi scheme:
“Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff said in a magazine interview published Sunday that new regulatory reform enacted after the recent national financial crisis is laughable and that the federal government is a Ponzi scheme.”
Legal:
Tobacco money is about tobacco:
“Why does the Legislature insist on taking “tobacco” out of the tobacco settlement? The tobacco settlement money is coming to North Dakota because of the issues created by tobacco to our health, health care system and future of our youth.”
Labor:
Union files claim over ONT worker transfers:
“SEIU Local 721 has filed an unfair employee relations practice claim against Los Angeles World Airports, accusing management of not conferring with the union before transferring 16 civilian traffic officers from L.A./Ontario International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport.”
Public Unions & the Socialist Utopia:
“The Democratic lawmakers who have gone on the lam in Wisconsin and Indiana-and who knows where else next-are exhibiting a literal fight-or-flight response, the reaction of an animal facing a threat to its very existence.”
Unions Debate What to Give to Save Bargaining:
“As Wisconsin’s governor and public employees square off in the biggest public sector labor showdown since Ronald Reagan fired striking air traffic controllers in 1981, government employees’ unions in a range of states are weighing whether to give ground on wages, benefits and work rules to preserve basic bargaining rights.”
Transportation/ Land Use:
High-speed rail ‘will make 44bn for Britain’:
“Launching a five-week consultation into the plans to build the first phase of the project, linking London to the West Midlands, Mr Hammond said the line was “vital to the prosperity of future generations.””
High Speed to Insolvency:
“Generations hence, when the river of time has worn this presidency’s importance to a small, smooth pebble in the stream of history, people will still marvel that its defining trait was a mania for high-speed rail projects. This disorder illuminates the progressive mind.”