INTERNET
Internet Banned in Afghanistan (NADO)
Bloomberg Pitches Plans to Make Police More Accountable (NYT)
FCC
Tristani, FCC's Most Liberal Member, Says She'll Quit Panel After
Labor Day (WSJ)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Programming a Way Out of Poverty (Wired)
Wireless Village Waits to Connect (Wired)
INTERNET
INTERNET BANNED IN AFGHANISTAN
Issue: International
Afghanistan's Taliban banned any use of the Internet on Saturday and ordered
the religious police to punish users according to Islamic law, the official
radio station reported. "Within the territory of the Islamic Emirate of
Afghanistan, no governmental or non-governmental, domestic or international
NGO (non-governmental organization) or individuals can exploit the
Internet," Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar said in a decree broadcast on
radio Shariat. The radio report gave no reason for the ban nor did it say
what punishment awaited Internet users. In July, the Taliban barred
government officials and ordinary citizens from using the Internet to
prevent un-Islamic influences, and said the ban would be lifted after the
country built its own telephone network. The earlier ban did not include
international NGOs such as the Red Cross and the United Nations.
[SOURCE: The Nando Times, AUTHOR: Agence-France Presse]
(http://www.nando.com/technology/story/67756p-962641c.html)
BLOOMBERG PITCHES PLANS TO MAKE POLICE MORE ACCOUNTABLE
Issue: Internet
Michael R. Bloomberg called yesterday for measures to make the police more
accountable to the public, saying that racial data on stop- and-frisks
should be posted on the Internet and that the Civilian Complaint Review
Board should report to the mayor rather than to the police commissioner.
Last week, the City Council passed a bill championed by Mr. Vallone, a
Democratic candidate for mayor, that requires the police to release
quarterly reports on the race and sex of people who are stopped and frisked.
Mr. Bloomberg said the measure did not go far enough. "If we are going to
have those statistics available to the City Council," he said, "they should
be out there on the Web."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Andy Newman]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/28/nyregion/28BLOO.html)
(requires registration)
FCC
TRISTANI, FCC'S MOST LIBERAL MEMBER, SAYS SHE'LL QUIT PANEL AFTER LABOR DAY
Issue: FCC
Gloria Tristani, one of two Democratic commissioners at the Federal
Communications Commission has announced that she is stepping down after
Labor Day. Her resignation, effective Sept. 7, means President Bush will
have the rare opportunity of almost completely remaking the agency. The
White House named three new commissioners earlier this year, and it will
appoint a fourth to succeed Ms. Tristani. By law, the FCC has five
commissioners, with three coming from the party that controls the White
House, so Ms. Tristani's successor also will be a Democrat. Ms. Tristani,
often considered the commissions most liberal member, was a fierce opponent
of media consolidation.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Staff Reporter]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB998950932156722472.htm)
(requires subscription)
See Also:
COMMISSIONER GLORIA TRISTANI SPEECH TO MANA DE ALBUQUERQUE
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Tristani/2001/spgt107.html)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
PROGRAMMING A WAY OUT OF POVERTY
Issue: Digital Divide
The Multicultural Foundation for Technology and Science of Mission High
School, San Francisco was born to reach kids who would need a way to enter
the job market after high school. The students in the program are from all
backgrounds and learn computer programming and multimedia skills. The
foundation offers the kids skills to earn a livable salary and offers job
placement opportunities. The foundation's computers, software and servers
are maintained by the students, and the foundation is funded by night
computer classes taught to members of the community, who pay for classes on
a sliding scale. Mark Alvarado, founder, said the school board and the
administration have been unanimously supportive of the foundation's presence
in the high school, but it does receive some critism from the school's
teachers. They'll say, 'Why are we buying computers when I don't have enough
books in my class?'" Alvarado said. "We need to have high expectations for
all kids," said Alan Warhaftig, coordinator for Learning in the Real World,
a nonprofit organization that examines the pros and cons of computers in
schools. "What have they subtracted in their curriculum to give more
importance to technology? It would be wrong to take a kid out of a high
school in 2001 without computing skills. But I don't know that looking at a
computer screen makes you smarter, or a more knowledgeable voter."
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Robin Clewley]
(http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,45922,00.html)
WIRELESS VILLAGE WAITS TO CONNECT
Issue: Digital Divide
Westbury, a southeastern Virginia neighborhood being redeveloped with
federal money, would become the first wireless community in the nation at
the point that one of its residents decides to go wireless. The 63 home
community is the first housing development in the country built with a
wireless Internet infrastructure. Any of the 30 families who live in the
community now can browse the Web without the need for a telephone line or
cable modem. But most of the new home buyers aren't in the financial
position to take advantage of their home's wireless capability. Many of the
residents, the community's builders say, can't afford the necessary
computers and PC cards to tap into the network, while almost all of them
don't know how. "There's an educational process they will have to go
through," said Eric Sheffield, owner of Combined Computer Services, a
Virginia computer consulting company that implemented the wireless
infrastructure in Westbury. "I don't think people quite get it yet."
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Elisa Batista]
(http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,46050,00.html)
--------------------------------------------------------------