INTERNET
'Virtual March' Floods Senate With Calls Against an Iraq War
FCC
Unreality TV and Yellow Journalism
FCC Member Defends Stance on State Powers
INTERNET
'VIRTUAL MARCH' FLOODS SENATE WITH CALLS AGAINST AN IRAQ WAR
In another display of how technology plays a role in activism, anti-war
protestors participated in a "Virtual March" on Washington yesterday,
inundating Senate phone lines with calls and emails. Sen. Edward Kennedy's
(D-Mass.) office fielded an estimated 1,800 calls and 4,000 e-mails, and the
Washington Post estimates that some 100,000 people were able to register
their opinions with Senate staffers. Tom Andrews, whose Win Without War
organization coordinated the effort, said that march "exceeded our
expectations." Some lawmakers, however, reported that the calls failed to
change their views on the situation.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: Juliet Eilperin]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8107-2003Feb26.html)
FCC
FCC MEMBER DEFENDS STANCE ON STATE POWERS
FCC Chairman Michael Powell and Commissioner Kevin Martin faced harsh
criticism as they testified before the House Energy and Commerce
Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet yesterday. House
Republicans are disappointed with last week's local telephone ruling that
gives state officials broad powers to regulate local telephone competition.
Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.) called it "a devastating blow to an already sick
telecom sector." Martin defended his position, explaining that "The barriers
competitors face in deploying equipment and trying to compete for
residential customers in Manhattan, Kansas, are different from the barriers
faced to compete for business customers in Manhattan, New York." He said the
rules would pass muster in federal court.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: Christopher Stern]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8020-2003Feb26.html)
UNREALITY TV AND YELLOW JOURNALISM
[Commentary] Today's FCC hearing in Richmond, VA will not give the public a
clear view of the issues regarding media ownership deregulation. Instead,
media conglomerates will provide the same scripted arguments aimed at
misleading the public, according to the Center for Digital Democracy. Media
company claims that current regulations stifle competition and are
unnecessary due to existing anti-trust rules and the rise of the Internet
are bogus, says the Center. Furthermore, the FCC's timid contention that
federal courts and the Telecommunications Act of 1996 require the removal of
the rules is nothing more than Michael Powell's attempt to "distort the
legal record to suit his own ideological beliefs."
[SOURCE: Center for Digital Democracy]
(http://www.democraticmedia.org/news/washingtonwatch/Richmond.html)
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