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Backers of the leading industry proposal for self-regulation of the press in the UK have pledged to revamp their plan after release of the report by Lord Justice Leveson.
The move is an attempt by Lord Hunt and Lord Black, who are pushing a beefed-up version of the current self-regulatory regime, to heal divisions within the newspaper industry over what sort of watchdog should oversee the press. It precedes a meeting of editors and publishers called for Dec 4 by Maria Miller, the culture secretary, at which she will urge the industry to act swiftly to create a viable alternative to Lord Justice Leveson’s blueprint for press regulation. His report followed a year-long inquiry into press standards triggered by the scandal over phone-hacking and other abuses by newspapers.
Press vow to beef up self-regulation plan
Internet and cell phone coverage were restored Dec 1 to most Syrian provinces, according to the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, two days after a blackout shut down virtually all Internet service in the country. Residents in the capital, Damascus, told CNN via Skype that their Internet and cell phone services were working again.
Internet, phone services back online for much of Syria Parts of Syria Back Online Following Two-Day Internet Blackout (WSJ)
In a demonstration of their growing sophistication and organization, Syrian rebels responded to a nationwide shutdown of the Internet by turning to satellite technology to coordinate within the country and to communicate with outside activists. Using the connection, the activists in Saqba talked to rebel fighters on Skype and relayed to overseas activists details about clashes with government forces. A video showed the rebels’ bare-bones room, four battery backups that could power a laptop for eight hours and a generator set up on a balcony.
For Syria’s Rebel Movement, Skype Is a Useful and Increasingly Dangerous Tool
Twitter, perhaps more than any other social media outlet, has become one of the most powerful tools to promote democracy in the Middle East. The service, which helped Arab Spring protesters in their drive for a new order in the region, is now under attack over aiding and abetting terrorist organizations. Along with six other Republican lawmakers, Rep Ted Poe (R-TX), a judge turned Congressman, sent a letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, demanding that Twitter ban two militant groups, Hamas and Hezbollah, that are on the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations. “Failure to block access arms them with the ability to freely spread their violent propaganda and mobilize in their war on Israel,” he said in a statement to news outlets, adding: “The FBI and Twitter must recognize sooner rather than later that social media is a tool for the terrorists.” The demand is based on laws saying that any person or group offering material support — contributing cash, weapons and other tangible aid, including “service” and “expert advice or assistance” — to terrorist organizations is essentially working with them. But some might argue that running AK-47s and rocket launchers to terrorists, and using Twitter, which allows groups to post 140-character missives online, are two very different things.
Disruptions: Silencing the Voices of Militants on Twitter
For the better part of four years, progressive media has had President Barack Obama’s back. Now that he’s won re-election, it is faced with a choice: Should the left continue always to play the loyal attack dog against the GOP, blaming the opposition at all hours of the news cycle for intransigence? Or, should it redirect some of that energy on the President, holding him to his promises and encouraging him to be a more outspoken champion of liberal causes? Already, there are rumblings of change.
In the days and weeks following Obama’s victory, progressive voices, primarily in print media, have made efforts to push the President on key parts of the unfinished liberal agenda - including climate change, drone strikes, troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, the closing of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, civil liberties and gun control. In conversations with POLITICO, some of the left’s most influential voices in media said that, with the concerns of re-election over, they intend to be more critical of the President’s performance and more aggressive in urging him to pursue a progressive agenda as the clock ticks on his last four years in office.
Left media has 'issues' with Obama
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) has a reputation as a conservative bomb-thrower, but observers expect him to adopt a conciliatory approach when he ascends to ranking Republican on a powerful committee next year.
The new post on the Senate Commerce Committee will give Sen DeMint, a Tea Party favorite, an opportunity to hone his expertise on policy issues and boost his reputation — possibly laying the groundwork for a future presidential run or a bid for a Senate leadership position. "I think this is a very good opportunity for him," Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), the chairman of the panel, told The Hill.
When Sen DeMint was elected to the Senate in 2004, Rockefeller was assigned as his Democratic mentor, helping him to learn the ropes of the upper chamber. Sen DeMint said he continues to have a good relationship with the senior Democrat. "We may not agree philosophically on a lot of things, but there are a lot of things in the telecommunications industry that I want to work with him on," Sen DeMint said. "There's a lot of common ground." DeMint said there is bipartisan agreement that the government should not try to regulate or control the Internet.
Sen DeMint could go from bomb-thrower to dealmaker on key Senate panel
Legislation to legalize online poker has driven a wedge between lottery providers and the convenience stores that have long been the primary seller of their tickets.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) push to ban all forms of online gambling except for poker has led to a split between the two major trade associations for each industry. Lotteries want to bury the bill, while convenience stores are pushing for passage. Both sides have upped their lobbying in Washington and say the future of their business is at stake. Next week, about a half-dozen state lottery officials are flying to Washington (DC) on a trip organized by the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL). They will meet with lawmakers to lobby against Reid’s legislation, which could come up for a vote during the final weeks of the lame-duck session.
Convenience stores, lotteries face off over Reid’s online poker bill
While workers at many newspapers owned by Advance Publications have tried to brace themselves for what seems to be the inevitable — layoffs and the end of a daily print product — reporters and editors at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland are fighting back in an unusual way: they are taking their case directly to the public.
The staff there has started a campaign to rally community support and to try to prevent cuts like the ones Advance has made in other cities. Using money provided by Local 1 of the Newspaper Guild and a grant from the Communications Workers of America, organizers have produced a television commercial, created a Facebook page that has attracted nearly 4,000 “likes” and started a petition that has nearly 6,000 signatures so far. They have also enlisted some celebrities, like the “Hot in Cleveland” star Valerie Bertinelli, to support their cause.
A Cleveland Newspaper Takes Steps to Prevent Cuts
“The Internet is the largest experiment involving anarchy in history,” begins a new book written by two top Google executives, which aims to explain how this experiment will play out in politics, business and even personal lives. While the book, titled “The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business,” is not about Google, it does hope to benefit from the cachet of the Google executives who collaborated to write it: Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, and Jared Cohen, director of Google Ideas. It grows out of an essay the two wrote for the November 2010 issue of Foreign Affairs magazine called “The Digital Disruption.” The article, which appeared before the citizen revolutions in the Middle East, was considered prescient because it predicted technology would empower citizens to stand up to despotism. As befits a book with large sales ambitions, “The New Digital Age” promises to be broad in scope, taking in how technologies will shape business and politics. According to the publicity materials, it will touch on future considerations such as how to curate an online identity, and it will also predict who will gain power from the Web.
A Book by Two From Google Takes a Deep Look at the Web
A new study by mobile security vendor Lookout finds that 62 percent of American households have at least one old cellphone lying about. Some 10 percent of households have four or more old devices stuffed into a drawer somewhere. Reasons for hanging on to the redundant phones vary, but they include not knowing what to do with the devices, concerns about security, and the fact that some information remains only on that device.
No Shocker: Typical American Household Full of Old Cellphones