March 2008

ADOPTED EMERGENCY CALL HANDLING REQUIREMENTS FOR INTERNET-BASED TRS PROVIDERS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
On Wednesday the Federal Communications Commission released a report and order on emergency call handling requirements for Internet-based telecommunications relay service (TRS) providers. These measures will ensure that persons using Internet-based forms of TRS, i.e.,Video Relay Service (VRS), Internet Protocol (IP) Relay, and IP captioned telephone relay service (IP CTS), can promptly access emergency services, pending adoption of a solution that will permit Internet-based TRS providers to immediately and automatically place the outbound leg of an emergency call to an appropriate public safety answering point (PSAP), designated statewide default answering point, or appropriate local emergency authority.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-78A1.doc

* Commissioner Copps: "A 911 call may be the most important call you'll ever make. When most people place such a call, 911 operators immediately know where they are calling from based on their phone number. But imagine if the operator didn't know because you don't have a phone number and because you're not calling from a traditional phone line. Imagine the additional time it would take to determine where to send emergency services or worse, imagine if the operator refused to take your call at all. The deaf and hard of hearing don't need to imagine these situations because they have faced these scary scenarios when relying upon Internet-based Telecommunications Relay Services such as Video Relay Service, Internet Protocol Relay and IP-captioned telephone relay service to communicate."
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-78A2.doc

* Commissioner Adelstein: "Today we take a significant step in furtherance of the Americans with Disabilities Act's (ADA) powerful mandate that telecommunications services for those with hearing and speech disabilities be "functionally equivalent" to those services provided to hearing individuals. A hallmark of a functionally equivalent service must be the ability to access emergency services. Indeed, the ability to reach public safety officials via "911" has had a remarkably beneficial impact on American consumers."
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-78A3.doc

* Commissioner Tate: "The dynamic and marvelous innovations and devices that we as consumers use everyday enable us to be connected globally whether for travel or education; entertainment or telemedicine. However, today, we ensure that all Americans benefit from advances in telecommunications services and equipment as Congress intended, specifically in times of emergency. While I often advocate a light regulatory touch for Internet-based services, it is essential that critical social goals-such as TRS-are implemented in an equitable and non-discriminatory manner across platforms, service-providers and specific technologies."
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-78A4.doc

BUSH PICKS SECURITY AIDE WITH WIRETAP BACKGROUND
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Randall Mikkelsen]
President George W. Bush named a Justice Department official with experience in terrorism wiretap programs as his White House homeland security adviser on Wednesday. President Bush chose Kenneth Wainstein, the department's first assistant attorney general for national security and a former FBI general counsel, to succeed Frances Townsend as assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism. Townsend stepped down in November. Wainstein, in his Justice Department post, oversaw efforts to bring Bush's controversial warrantless domestic wiretapping program under the auspices of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Critics have charged the wiretap program launched by Bush after the September 11 attacks was illegal because it lacked court oversight. Wainstein has also helped lead the administration's effort to pass new surveillance legislation that would grant legal immunity to telecommunications companies that took part in Bush's surveillance program.
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1932456920080319

FIVE YEARS OF THE WAR IN IRAQ: WHERE'S THE MEDIA COVERAGE
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Paul Rieckhoff]
[Commentary] This week marks the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq, but you wouldn't know it from what you see on TV. With all the scandal-mongering coverage of the Democratic primary, the media's been too busy to spend much time talking about the two wars we're still fighting. In fact, just 3% of the news in February was dedicated to the war. That's down from 15% of news coverage last July. For the men and women risking their lives overseas, that's a slap in the face. And it's skewing Americans' perceptions of the war. Over 80% of Americans are aware that Oprah Winfrey endorsed Senator Obama, yet only 28% know how many American troops have died in Iraq. That's less than one in three Americans. For any readers who aren't sure, the casualty number is about to hit 4,000. You can see the names and faces of these brave men and women here. Most Americans will say that it's the very least we can do is take the time to honor their sacrifice. But how can we, as Americans, claim to be honoring their sacrifice if the average American can't even measure it?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-rieckhoff/five-years-of-the-war-in-_b...

* Believe It or Not -- 5 Years Ago Many Top Newspapers Opposed the War
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Greg Mitchell]
[Commentary] You may be surprised to learn that, precisely five years ago, at least one-third of the top newspapers in this country came out against President Bush taking us to war at that time. Many of the papers may have fumbled the WMD coverage, and only timidly raised questions about the need for war, but when push came to shove five years ago they wanted to wait longer to move against Saddam, or not move at all.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/believe-it-or-not-5-ye_b_922...

* Penn's War: Media Lap Dogs Backed Iraq Mess
Sean Penn, the actor-director-turned-political-activist, narrates a new anti-war documentary that alleges U.S. presidents since Kennedy have manipulated the public to wage wars.
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=4477332&page=1

* Why Are Winter Soldiers Not News?
Dozens of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars gathered in Silver Spring, Maryland last weekend for the Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan hearings (3/13/08-3/16/08), where they offered harrowing testimony about atrocities they had witnessed or participated in directly. The BBC predicted that the event, organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War, "could be dominating the headlines around the world this week." The hearings were covered as far afield as the U.K., Australia (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), Croatia (Javno), and Iran (Press TV). Yet there has been an almost complete media blackout on this historic news event in the U.S. corporate media.
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3318

AS DEADLINE NEARS, CONFUSION CLOUDS CLEAR CHANNEL BUYOUT
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Matthew Karnitschnig matthew.karnitschnig@wsj.com]
Confusion surrounded the buyout of Clear Channel Communications yesterday amid escalating tensions between the private-equity companies behind the deal and the banks that have agreed to finance it. As a key deadline approached, it was unclear whether the deal would close, some 16 months after it was announced. These doubts prompted a nearly 9% drop in Clear Channel's shares to $32.60, below the $39.20 per share Thomas H. Lee and Bain Capital LLC agreed to pay for the company in May, suggesting the market is betting the transaction won't close. If the deal isn't completed by the end of a so-called marketing period, which ends next week, Clear Channel could turn to the courts to force the private-equity concerns and the banks to finish the deal. People close to three of the five banks funding the deal, which include Citigroup Inc., Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, Deutsche Bank AG, Credit Suisse Group and Morgan Stanley, insisted the syndicate was prepared to go ahead with the deal. They blamed the private-equity companies for delaying the close. People close to the private-equity concerns assert it is the banks that are holding out.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120598326920151039.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
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