MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Lott, Dorgan Call for Rollback of FCC Ownership Rules
TECHNOLOGY
Scientists Say Virtual Reality Can Help 9/11 Survivors
DIGITAL TELEVISION
FCC Seeks to Promote Digital TV, HDTV Rollout
PRIVACY
Global Privacy Report Most Comprehensive Ever
-------------------------------------------------------------------
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
LOTT, DORGAN CALL FOR ROLLBACK OF FCC OWNERSHIP RULES
At a press conference today, Senators Trent Lott (R-MS) and Byron Dorgan
(D-ND) announced new bipartisan opposition to the FCC's media ownership
rules. The rules are facing a "resolution of disapproval" vote from the
Senate, expected on Monday, which if passed would effectively overturn the
new FCC rules. A coalition of organizations from across the political
spectrum joined the senators' opposition to the FCC rules. "A vote to give
these corporations more power is a vote to censor independent community
voices across this nation," said Brent Bozell, president of the conservative
Parents Television Council. MoveOn.org announced they had collected 340,000
signatures in a petition drive against the FCC rules -- 200,000 of which
occurred in only two days. "That's the fastest response rate we have ever
had," said Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org campaigns director. "Americans are
demanding that Congress protect their interests, not the special interests."
SOURCE: MoveOn.org
http://www.moveon.org/stopthefcc/press/PRESS%20RELEASE.htm
TECHNOLOGY
SCIENTISTS SAY VIRTUAL REALITY CAN HELP 9/11 SURVIVORS
Scientists at the University of Washington's Human Interface Technology
(HIT) laboratory are helping survivors of the September 11 terrorist attacks
to relive their experiences therapeutically using virtual reality. "These
people are suffering because they are avoiding their own memories of the
event," said Hunter Hoffman, a researcher at HIT. Using a
computer-generated, three-dimensional and animated recreation of the
destruction of the World Trade Center towers, Hoffman and psychiatrist Dr.
Joann Difede are trying to help people confront and overcome their
debilitating anxiety associated with the tragedy. Patients are first shown a
scene of the twin towers with airplanes flying by, rather than into, the
skyscrapers. Over time, the scientists add in crashes, explosions, screams,
falling bodies and even physical tremors (by shaking the chair) to mimic the
patient's experience of the 9/11 attacks. Though the treatment method may
sound disturbing to some, it has been beneficial to at least one victim who
had failed to respond to traditional therapy. After six weeks of virtual
reality therapy, her symptoms of depression, emotional outbursts and
insomnia were reduced and the woman was able for the first time to talk --
and cry -- about what she had experienced.
SOURCE: Seattle Post-Intelligencer; AUTHOR: Tom Paulson
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/139098_virtual11.html
DIGITAL TELEVISION
FCC SEEKS TO PROMOTE DIGITAL TV, HDTV ROLLOUT
The FCC has approved new technical and labeling standards that aim to make
new television sets, such as digital and high-definition televisions (HDTV),
more compatible with cable television. Digital cable signals would be able
to flow seamlessly into TV sets using a "plug-and-play" technology that
would require consumers to insert a security card provided by their cable
service into the set. FCC Chairman Michael Powell said that because of the
ruling, "[C]onsumers who want digital television sets will have an easier
time connecting them to their cable service and having them work with
high-definition and other digital programming." Digital signals allow for
sharper pictures and other potential features, such as Internet access,
video games and multiple programs on one channel. Congress has set a goal of
December 2006 for the United States to switch from analog to digital
signals, at which time digital tuners, either inside a TV or a set-top box,
will be needed to receive broadcasts. "The FCC action could be an important
tipping point in the US transition to digital television," the Consumer
Electronics Association said in a statement.
SOURCE: Washington Post; AUTHOR: David Ho, AP
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54846-2003Sep10.html
PRIVACY
GLOBAL PRIVACY REPORT MOST COMPREHENSIVE EVER
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Privacy International
have released the survey "Privacy and Human Rights 2003: An International
Survey of Privacy Laws and Developments." The sixth-annual report reviews
conditions in 55 countries, examining topics such as Total Information
Awareness, public response to the USA-Patriot Act, traveler profiling, and
surveillance technologies. Under the banner of anti-terrorism, several
governments are using new systems and methods of surveillance, from
biometrics and computerized national ID cards to DNA databases and
face-recognition. But public opposition is growing, according to EPIC
Executive Director Marc Rotenberg. "The public in the United States and
around the world is now voicing its opposition to the dramatic expansion of
government surveillance that occurred after September 11," he says. "The
resignation of John Poindexter, the suspension of the Total Information
Awareness program, and campaigns against identity cards in Europe and East
Asia make clear that citizens are not prepared to make privacy one of the
casualties in the war on terrorism."
SOURCE: Out-Law.com
http://www.out-law.com/php/page.php?page_id=globalprivacyrepor1063034355
Read the report:
http://www.privacyinternational.org/survey/phr2003/
----------------------------------------------------------------------