Ban on sex toys targeted

 

Rogers tries again to revoke ban

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

By BRIAN LYMAN

Capital Bureau

MONTGOMERY -- A Birmingham legislator has filed a bill that would revoke the state's 10-year ban on the sale of sex toys, a prohibition that has drawn national attention and led to lengthy court battles.

It's the second attempt by state Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, to strike the 1998 prohibition on the sale of such devices.

"A shower head could be considered a sex toy," he said. "It's just bringing the state into the 20th century."

Dan Ireland, executive director of the Alabama Citizens' Action Program, a Baptist group, said it would oppose any effort to overturn the law.

"Laws are made to protect the public," he said. "Sometimes you have to protect the public against themselves."

The 2008 regular session is scheduled to begin Feb. 5.

The law prohibits the sale and manufacture of items "designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs." It does not prohibit the possession of those items and provides an exception for devices sold for medical purposes.

The statute drew national attention and led to a nine-year court struggle over its enforcement. A series of lawsuits were filed against the state by civil libertarians, store owners and women who said the law violated privacy rights.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ban in 2004, ruling there was no law guaranteeing sexual privacy for citizens and that states could pass laws regulating the sale of sex toys.

The justices added that legislators could repeal the law if they found the "prohibition on sex toys is misguided or ineffective or just plain silly."

A final attempt to overturn the law was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in October, seemingly removing the final roadblock against enforcement of the ban. However, a Circuit Court last month rejected an attempt by the city of Hoover to close a store selling sex toys, saying the law is too vague.

Attorney General Troy King's office has suggested that the vagueness in the bill should be addressed by the Legislature. A message left with spokesman Chris Bence Monday afternoon was not returned.

State Sen. Tom Butler, D-Madison, sponsor of the 1998 bill, did not return a message Monday seeking comment.

Ireland said the ban is a "good law" that has bolstered public safety.

"Sexual matters are not to become a nuisance to people and the community," he said. "We have enough problems with sexual-oriented crimes without enticing or promoting it."

Randy Brinson, chairman of the Christian Coalition of Alabama, did not have any comment. "It seems we have better things to deal with than that, but I need to study it more," he said.

Loretta Nall, the 2006 Libertarian gubernatorial nominee, recently began a "Sex Toys for Troy King" drive in protest of the law, which she called a waste of time and an invasion of privacy.

She called Rogers' bill "absolutely superb" and hoped her drive would help it pass.

"If anything, it will make the Legislature and Troy King aware that we want repeal," she said. "My gut feeling is we won't see a lot of people pushing to make it tougher."

Rogers first introduced a repeal measure in 2003, but the bill made so little progress that it won the House of Representatives' "Shroud Award," an annual prize given to the legislation considered the "deadest" of the session.

Despite that and the rulings in federal court, Rogers said Monday that he believes the ban is unconstitutional and embarrassing to the state. He is optimistic about getting the repeal passed.

"I intend to pass this bill this year," he said. "I want it to be one of the first bills on the calendar."

Ban on sex toys targeted- al.com

Technorati Tags: Lame,Laws,Weird

Egg in nog? No joke, says Smiling Hill

BILL NEMITZ November 18, 2007

When your family owns and operates a place called Smiling Hill Farm, you tend to go through life with a grin. But last week, the best Warren Knight could manage was a grimace.

It started with a spot inspection from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration -- it happens every year or two at the Westbrook dairy farm and has never been a big deal.

But this time was different. Looking over a fresh batch of the Smiling Hill egg nog, the inspector did a double take: The bottle cap -- the only place on the otherwise all-glass container with any printing -- was out of federal compliance.

How so?

"Eggs were not listed as an ingredient," Knight recalled.

Egg, you see, is an allergen. As such, the inspector told Knight, it must be explicitly listed as an ingredient somewhere on the one-and-three-eighths-inch-wide cap.

"But the cap says 'Egg Nog!' " protested Knight.

Didn't matter.

"But we're limited by cap space," Knight persisted. What's more, they can't start slapping warning labels onto their reusable bottles without gumming up the bottle washer.

Not the feds' problem.

Then things turned really sour. The FDA notified the Maine Department of Agriculture that all Smiling Hill egg nog on store shelves -- about 400 gallons at that point -- had to be recalled to protect people with egg allergies who don't know there's egg in egg nog.

Enter, not a moment too soon, Ashley Slattery, Maine's dairy inspector.

"We really didn't want to do a recall," Slattery said Friday. Still, she added, the FDA wanted something on that cap "so the people would know egg nog contains eggs."

Umm ... wouldn't people already know that by the name of the product?

"You'd think so," Slattery said.

So here's the deal. No recall, but Knight agreed to have his label redesigned to include the ingredients and, in the meantime, affix a warning label to every bottle of egg nog that leaves his farm.

Knight headed for Staples Thursday and bought a bunch of red, one-inch-round labels. Then he fired up his computer and printed "WARNING Contains EGGS" twice on each one.

Then he and the rest of the family spent the day cutting each label in half and affixing the semi-circular warnings to the cap on each bottle -- being careful not to encroach on the bar code.

"Someday we're going to look back at this and laugh," chortled one of the workers.

Replied Knight, "Yeah, but it won't be tomorrow."

It's not that Knight has anything against enforcing food safety regulations.

"The health and safety of our customers is foremost," he said. "Since without them, we cease to exist."

But Knight checked with the National Institutes of Health and found that .05 percent of the U.S. population is allergic to eggs. And he has a strong hunch that every last one of those poor folks already knows that egg nog contains eggs.

So go ahead and chuckle. But if you're within earshot of Smiling Hill Farm, please do it quietly.

"Sometime after applying sticker number 783," said Knight, "this theater of the absurd stopped being funny."

Quoted from http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=148740&ac=PHnws:

Egg in nog? No joke, says Smiling Hill

Technorati Tags: Business,Lame,Laws,Maine,Sad,Weird

Tax ruling leaves 150 Raytheon workers out in cold

Pay for Antarctic work not considered by IRS as earned outside US

By Jonathan Berr, Globe Correspondent | October 31, 2007

Meghan Prentiss thought working for Raytheon Co.(RTN) as a meteorologist at McMurdo Station in Antarctica was "like going to the moon for a year." But as far as the IRS is concerned, she never left the state of Massachusetts.

What the 31-year-old Boston resident describes as "the ultimate adventure" seven years ago turned into a painful lesson in tax law. Prentiss is among about 150 people who worked on the frozen continent for the Waltham-based defense contractor who were penalized by the Internal Revenue Service for claiming on their taxes that they were working outside the United States.

Because other federal courts have ruled that Antarctica is a foreign country with regards to tort claims and the Fair Labor Standards Act, the workers believed they were on safe ground claiming the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, which allows some US citizens who work overseas to exempt as much as $82,400 in income from federal taxes.

But the Tax Court, which handles disputes between the IRS and taxpayers, thought otherwise. In a January ruling that's binding for all the cases, the court said the workers' arguments were "irrelevant or without merit" since they were based on laws other than the tax code, which specifies that foreign countries must have governments recognized by the US government. The US rejects any territorial claims over Antarctica.

"I guess I fought the law and the law won," joked Prentiss, whose case was officially decided this month.

Many Raytheon workers claimed the foreign income deduction for years, according to Dean Klein, who spent 12 seasons at the South Pole. Raytheon took over running the Polar research stations for the National Science Foundation in 2000. The company hires about 1,000 contract workers at the South Pole and employs 400 there full-time, supporting three year-round research stations and two vessels.

"Until Raytheon took over, there was never an issue with the IRS," said Klein, 45, a North Carolina resident who hasn't been hired back by Raytheon since 2005. "I was told that you didn't need to worry."

But a company spokesman, Jonathan Kasle, said workers hired for Antarctica are told during orientation that they can't claim the foreign income exclusion.

Many of the workers who had the tax problems used a Colorado accounting firm run by former IRS official Joyce Zeglin, said Scott Saltzman, a former Raytheon worker from Brockton. At Zeglin's suggestion, they hired a tax attorney together. "The idea was power in numbers," Saltzman said.

It didn't work out that way. Zeglin said she was disappointed with the ruling. Larry Harvey, the Colorado lawyer who represented the workers, said he isn't filing an appeal because chances are slim for prevailing.

The question of who owns Antarctica is unsettled as a matter of international law. New Zealand claims sovereignty over the Ross Dependency, where McMurdo and Palmer Station are located. The United States doesn't recognize New Zealand's claim.

"Not all [New Zealand] law is automatically applied to or exercised in the Ross Dependency," said Lorraine Schofield, a spokeswoman for the New Zealand Embassy in Washington, who said she was unable to determine if tax law was applicable. "It is significant to note, though, that [New Zealand] does not exercise jurisdiction over other national programs in Antarctica, including the US"

Tangling with the IRS has taken its toll on the former polar workers. When she first was notified the agency had questioned her taxes, Prentiss immediately posted a $5,000 bond, which forced her to borrow more than she planned to go to graduate school. Other former Raytheon workers found themselves in worse shape.

Saltzman fell down a flight of stairs at Palmer in 2002, breaking his neck leaving him disabled. He took the same deduction Prentiss did in 2001 and now owes the IRS $12,604.71, which includes $1,665.75 in penalties, and $2,112.93 in interest, which he's paying off in monthly installments of $171. The IRS seized his social security benefits from his bank account and wouldn't release them until he worked out a payment arrangement.

"I got a raw deal," said Saltzman, 43, who lives in Florida part of the year because he can no longer take New England winters. "Now, if I miss a payment they will take my disability away again."

Quoted from http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/10/31/tax_ruling_leaves_150_raytheon_workers_out_in_cold/:

Tax ruling leaves 150 Raytheon workers out in cold - The Boston Globe

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Maine: English Only for Driving Tests

 

Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles announces it will only print driving manuals and testing materials in English.

The state of Maine announced on Wednesday that testing materials for anyone seeking a driver's license would only be provided in English. Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap canceled a planned program that would have printed the materials from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles in multiple languages. Dunlap suggested that it was too expensive to print materials for the six percent of the population that speak either French or Spanish.

"The prices really surprised us," Dunlap said in a statement. "We were hopeful this could be a cost-efficient project, but based on the prices companies were quoting us to provide accurate translations, that hasn't proved to be the case."

Dunlap may revisit the issue if there proves to be sufficient demand. Census Bureau statistics show that about 64,000 Maine residents speak French as their primary language and 10,000 speak Spanish.

Maine: English Only for Driving Tests

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Activists Test Canada Border Policy

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. - Peace activists Medea Benjamin and Ann Wright have been arrested in the U.S. while protesting the Iraq war, but they never dreamed that would prevent them from entering Canada.

The arrests landed Benjamin's and Wright's names in an FBI-run database, the National Crime Information Center, which Canada also relies on to screen visitors. When the two women visited the country in August, they were told they would have to apply for "criminal rehabilitation" and pay $200 if they wanted to visit again. Neither did.

On Wednesday, Benjamin, co-founder of the anti-war group Code Pink, and Wright, a retired Army colonel, walked into Canada at Niagara Falls to test whether they really would be denied entry because of their anti-war-related arrests.

They were.

Now, Benjamin and Wright are asking why the names of people arrested during peaceful protests would be included in an FBI-maintained database meant to track fugitives, potential terrorists, missing persons and violent felons.

"We are certainly no threat to the Canadian people," Benjamin said.

Benjamin said she and Wright, who resigned as a senior diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Mongolia in 2003, planned to protest at the Canadian embassy in Washington on Thursday and to ask the FBI to remove the protest charges from the NCIC database.

The protesters believe the inclusion of activists' names in the database is a form of political intimidation of people opposed to Bush administration policies.

FBI spokesman Paul Moskal said that while the FBI maintains the database, the data is supplied by arresting agencies and others.

John Curr III, director of the New York Civil Liberties Union in Buffalo, said that by relying on the database to screen visitors, Canada is participating in the administration's suppression of free speech.

"The Canadians accepted wholesale once you're on the list, you don't get into Canada," Wright said shortly before walking across the Rainbow Bridge into Ontario. She and Benjamin spent 2 1/2 hours in the customs inspection area before being sent back to the United States.

Derek Mellon, a spokesman with the Canada Border Services Agency, said he was unable to comment on Wright and Benjamin specifically, but said all foreign visitors must meet longstanding admissibility requirements, such as having valid travel documents and a clean criminal record.

Canada generally refuses entry to anyone who has been convicted of a criminal offense, regardless of the nature of it, he said. Those with convictions, however, may apply to be rehabilitated, which involves filing paperwork and paying a processing fee ranging from $200 to $1,000.

"We welcome millions of American visitors every year," he said.

 

Quoted from http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-protesters-border,0,3936218.story:

Activists Test Canada Border Policy -- Newsday.com

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Officials eye ban on smoky dwellings

 

Health Dept. to survey landlords

By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff  |  September 28, 2007

There are smoke-free offices, smoke-free bars, smoke-free malls. Could smoke-free apartment houses and condo towers be next?

Scattered apartment units across the state already ban smoking. But early next year, the Department of Public Health plans to survey landlords, condominium associations, and tenants about the feasibility of making smoke-free residential zones the norm, rather than the exception.

There could even be a state-run registry to connect tenants with landlords and condo boards that offer developments entirely devoid of smoke.

The state review emerges as an influential coalition of health and housing officials is issuing a sweeping call to make smoke-free housing standard across New England. The Asthma Regional Council will issue a report today saying that mounting evidence about the dangers of secondhand smoke, especially to children, provides the best argument for establishing rules that restrict smoking in buildings with multiple units.

It is striking evidence that the war against tobacco has shifted to a new front: the home. Having succeeded in eliminating smoking from most public haunts, antismoking forces are now turning their attention to residences, equating the dangers of tobacco to lead or asbestos.

"For a lot of people now, they go to their workplace, and the workplace is smoke-free, and then they go home and they realize they're being exposed to secondhand smoke," said Eileen Sullivan, director of policy and planning for the state of Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program.

A 2006 US surgeon general's report concluded that secondhand smoke "is not a mere annoyance."

"It is a serious health hazard that can lead to disease and premature death in children and nonsmoking adults," the report said.

Still, health authorities in New England are treading lightly, concerned that if they push for measures that are considered draconian - backing laws that ban smoking in all homes, for example - they will be dismissed as the "public health police," their efforts derailed. Instead, they are championing an approach that combines education with voluntary smoking prohibitions.

Laurie Stillman, executive director of the Asthma Council, said her group has no interest in forcing landlords to go smoke-free. Instead, she said, the coalition is hoping "to get a snowballing effect where you get a few developments doing this, and then more and more will see this as more of a common thing."

That is precisely the course charted in Maine, where a Web-based registry of smoke-free units has proved successful. Landlords who promise their buildings are truly free of smoke can post their vacant units - there are 1,600 listed - and tenants weary of smoke seeping into their apartments can locate a new, smoke-free home.

The Smoke Free Housing Coalition of Maine appeals to a landlord's bottom line. "We emphasize the financial aspect," coalition chairwoman Tina Pettingill said. "They want to save money."

The average cost of maintaining an apartment occupied by a smoker is $2,740, five times more than a unit that is home to a nonsmoker, according to a landlord survey the Maine coalition conducted. The money is spent to slather special paint on smoke-stained walls and replace burned carpeting and counters.

Allen Hebert is all too familiar with those costs. For the last five years he has advertised the 14 apartments he owns in Cambridge, Somerville, and Waltham as nonsmoking. A leader of the Massachusetts Rental Housing Association, a trade group, Hebert enthusiastically endorsed the prospect of a registry listing smoke-free apartments in Massachusetts.

Under state law, according to the Asthma Regional Council report, property owners can prohibit smoking in much the same way that pets can be barred.

"There are still people who smoke; they have to live somewhere," Hebert said. "But if I'm a nonsmoker and I detest smoking and the person next door is smoking like a chimney, why should I have to put up with it?"

When Dana Ann Whidden, 60, moved two years ago into a senior housing development in Dedham, the downstairs neighbor sent cigarette smoke swirling into her apartment.

"And I have asthma," Whidden said. "I would cough, I would get wheezy, I would get sick. It was awful."

So she asked to be moved. Nine months later, she got a first-floor apartment - and neighbors who didn't smoke.

"It's a big difference," Whidden said, "a big, big difference."

Officials eye ban on smoky dwellings

Technorati Tags: Lame , Laws , Sad

Suit against blogger a legal test in Paris, Texas

 

Hospital's pursuit of critic's identity tests the limits of speech and privacy

By R.G. RATCLIFFE

An unlikely Internet frontier is Paris, Texas, population 26,490, where a defamation lawsuit filed by the local hospital against a critical anonymous blogger is testing the bounds of Internet privacy, First Amendment freedom of speech and whistle-blower rights.

A state district judge has told lawyers for the hospital and the blogger that he plans within a week to order a Dallas Internet service provider to release the blogger's name. The blogger's lawyer, James Rodgers of Paris, said Tuesday he will appeal to preserve the man's anonymity and right to speak without fear of retaliation.

Rodgers said the core question in the legal battle is whether a plaintiff in a lawsuit can "strip" a blogger of anonymity merely by filing a lawsuit. Without some higher standard to prove a lawsuit has merit, he said, defamation lawsuits could have a chilling effect on Internet free speech.

"Anybody could file a lawsuit and say, 'I feel like I've been defamed. Give me the name,' " Rodgers said.

But there is little case law in Texas or nationally to give judges a standard for when to expose anonymous postings on the Internet.

"Right now it's a very murky area of the law," Rodgers said this week.

Since March 2005, The-Paris-site blog has been relentlessly critical of the business management and health care provided by the Paris Regional Medical Center, owned by Essent Healthcare Inc. of Nashville, Tenn.

"Quality issues are in play, patients are avoiding the facilities unless they have no choice, and employees are only staying because their families anchor them, not because of any loyalty to Essent," is a mild example from an April blog posting.

Commenters targeted, too

The blogger identifies himself under pseudonyms of fac_p and Frank Pasquale. Most blog commenters — some of whom appear to be hospital employees — are anonymous.

In June, Essent filed a defamation lawsuit in state district court against "John Does 1-10" for postings and comments made on the Paris blog, which the suit says has had 169,272 page views "from sites throughout the United States and the rest of the world" since it began. The lawsuit also claims patient privacy was violated under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, HIPPA.

"We understand and respect the blogger and general public's right to voice their opinions about PRMC and welcome constructive criticism," the company said in a statement issued this week.

"However, the method used by the defendants is wholly unacceptable. It is a cowardly infringement on the confidentiality rights of PRMC patients and an unwarranted attack on the reputation of the hospital."

The company claims in one instance, the blog posted enough information on a patient death to identify the patient before the family was notified.

Essent asked District Judge Scott McDowell to order a Dallas Internet Service Provider to release the blogger's name. Federal law bars an ISP from releasing the name of a customer without a court order. McDowell on Monday notified lawyers for Essent and for the blogger that he will be issuing such an order within the next week.

"The only thing this might do is silence an open criticism of Essent's method of doing business," fac_p said on the blog in reaction to the judge's notice.

Fac_p said on his blog that what Essent really wants is the names of hospital employees who have posted comments on his site or given him information. Rodgers said these employees could be considered whistle-blowers.

Spokeswoman Kim Fox said Essent is pleased that McDowell will order the release of the blogger's name, because now the lawsuit can proceed.

Fox said Essent's biggest concern is that the blogger has said some hospital employees have given him patient records. Even though they have not been posted on the blog, Fox said this represents a violation of federal law and the company needs to find the employees who are doing it.

But Rodgers said the next step will be some sort of appeal. He said the problem is that Texas has no appeal procedure for an anonymous defendant who actually hasn't been served the lawsuit.

Lawsuit part of trend

The blogger's lawyer said he is studying how to appeal to the 6th Court of Appeals in Texarkana or to file a lawsuit in federal court. He said he also hopes groups that deal with free speech and Internet privacy issues will get involved.

Rodgers said the question is not whether a plaintiff in a defamation lawsuit should be able to get the name of an anonymous blogger, but "what hoops they have to jump through" before violating the blogger's free speech rights.

The number of corporate and political lawsuits around the country against "John Doe" bloggers has been growing dramatically since 2000, said University of Florida law professor Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky, an expert on these types of lawsuits.

Lidsky, a Texas native and graduate of the University of Texas law school, said most Internet libel lawsuits are brought to "chill the speech of bloggers," though some involve genuine defamation.

"It is evolving. You're seeing courts struggling to accommodate different interests," Lidsky said. "On the one hand, you do have a right to speak anonymously. On the other hand, you do not have the right to defame people."

Suit against blogger a legal test in Paris, Texas | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

 

Technorati Tags: Internet, Lame, Laws, Privacy, Scary

Klobuchar and Rockefeller Announce Cell Phone Consumer Empowerment Act of 2007

Empowers consumers to get the best wireless service for their needs and budget

September 7, 2007

Washington, D.C. – Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) today unveiled legislation aimed at empowering the 200 million cell phone customers nationwide to make informed choices about a wireless service that best fits their needs and their budget.

The Cell Phone Consumer Empowerment Act of 2007 will require wireless service providers to share simple, clear information on their services and charges with customers before they enter into long-term contracts; a thirty-day window in which to exit a contract without early termination fees; and greater flexibility to exit contracts with services that don’t meet their needs.

“The rules governing our wireless industry are a relic of the 1980’s, when cell phones were a luxury item that fit in a briefcase instead of a pocket,” said Klobuchar. “Early termination fees are a family budget-buster; families should be able to terminate service without outrageous fees; know if their cell phone will work on their drives and in their home and office; and understand what to expect in their monthly bills once you pile on charges and fees. It’s a simple matter of fairness.”

“Anyone who’s looked at a cell phone bill knows it’s a hodge-podge of fees and surcharges that supposedly cover regulatory or administrative costs,” said Rockefeller. “The reality is, often these are nothing more than operating costs that the companies are passing on to the consumer disguised as fees and taxes. It’s high time to protect cell phone users from these deceptive billing practices.”

Among the bills provisions are: detailed data on coverage areas and dropped calls provided to consumers before committing to a long-term contract; pro-rated early termination fees for those who exit their contract after thirty days; the ability to exit a contract within thirty days without a termination fee when wireless service is found to be unsatisfactory; and transparency in contracts and billing, including explanations of taxes and fees. The legislation also calls upon the FCC to study the practice of “locking” phones – making them exclusive to one service provider and requiring consumers to purchase a new phone when changing carriers.

The Cell Phone Consumer Empowerment Act will be introduced in the Senate on Friday. Earlier this week, Senators Klobuchar and Rockefeller sent a letter to Chairman Inouye requesting a hearing before the Commerce Committee.

THE CELL PHONE CONSUMER EMPOWERMENT ACT OF 2007

Summary

•EARLY TERMINATION FEES (ETF)
-The FCC shall set forth regulations to pro-rate ETFs. At a minimum, the ETF for a 2-year contract shall be reduced by ½ after 1 year.

•MAPPING AND SERVICE QUALITY

-Maps are to be detailed enough to identify whether or not a consumer shall be able to receive wireless service at the consumer’s home.

-Wireless providers shall provide the FCC with information on dropped calls and coverage gaps; and the FCC shall make this information publicly available.

•DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR PLANS AND CONTRACTS
-Publication of the terms of a wireless plan shall include information on: contract terms; charges; minutes; information on taxes and surcharges; wireless E-911 service; and other information that the FCC considers appropriate.

-This information shall be given to a consumer prior to entering into any contract.

•CONTRACT BILLING

-Taxes and fees shall be set forth in a separate section of the bill; and roaming charges shall be separately itemized and sent to a subscriber not later than 60 days after such calls were placed.

-Carriers will not be able to list charges or fees other than fees for the wireless service and any charge expressly authorized by federal, state, or local regulation.

•CONTRACT EXTENSION, MODIFICATION, OR RESCISSION

-Extension: An extension of a contract shall not be valid unless the wireless provider provides point-of-sale notice of the extension to the customer and allows the customer to cancel the extension within 30 days after such notice.

-Modification: Wireless carriers must provide subscribers with written notices of changes in rates and terms at least 30 days before such changes are to take effect.

-Rescission: A contract for wireless service may be canceled upon the request of a subscriber for any reason up to 30 days after entering into the contract.

•REPORT ON HANDSET PORTABILITY AND HANDSET QUALITY

-The FCC shall submit a report to Congress that studies the practice of handset locking in the United States and the effect of handset locking on consumer behavior and competition.

•TERMINATION OF CONTRACTS FOR ARMED SERVICE PERSONNEL

-U.S. military personnel may terminate their cell phone contracts if, during the term of the contract, the member receives orders for deployment outside of the U.S. for a period of not less than 90 days.

•ENFORCEMENT

-The FCC shall enforce the legislation’s provisions and the attorney general of a State, or the public utility commission of a State may bring a civil action in federal district court or establish or use existing administrative procedures to enforce the Act’s provisions.
-The Act preempts state law, except that the Act does not preempt state laws that provide additional protections to wireless subscribers.

Quoted from Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Technorati Tags: Business, Cell Phones, Cool, Laws

More than half of minority teacher applicants fail test

BOSTON--More than half of black and Hispanic applicants for teaching jobs in Massachusetts have failed a crucial state licensing test.

Since the start of the test nearly a decade ago, 52 percent of Hispanics and 54 percent of blacks failed the writing portion of the test compared to a 23 percent failure rate among white applicants.

Blacks and Hispanics also fall behind white applicants in other test subjects like English, history and math.

Education officials say the gap is making it harder to bring more diversity to the state's teaching ranks.

Chris Anderson, chairman of the state Board of Education, said he's willing to consider other ways of assessing teachers, as long as standards remain high.

"There's no reason to have any barriers to quality teachers if we don't need them," Anderson told The Boston Sunday Globe. "At the same time, we need to have accountability and assurance that there are basic abilities for any new teacher in Massachusetts."

The problem is so persistent that a special state task force of teachers, state education officials and hiring directors has been set up to find out why minorities don't do better on the tests.

Sally Diaz, a vice president at Emmanuel College in Boston and a member of the panel, said one test shouldn't make or break a career.

"One of the fallouts which is particularly upsetting in our experience across the colleges is fewer and fewer students of color are even going into teaching because word has gotten out that these tests are very difficult for them," she said.

Adding to the worries are stricter federal rules focused on improving teacher quality.

Under the 2001 federal law, states must prove their teachers have met a competency bar set by the state. Massachusetts school districts risk losing federal funding if they aren't making progress toward licensing all their teachers.

Some deans of education schools are raising questions about whether the lower results among minority applicants shows the tests are culturally biased and whether the quality of education that minority applicants receive is good enough.

Some minority applicants say the tests includes questions that white applicants and those with liberal arts backgrounds can more readily identify with, such as questions about ancient literature or investing in the stock market.

A Cambridge lawyer said he's planning to file a class action lawsuit against the state Department of Education and the testing company on behalf of three minority teachers who failed the test multiple times.

 

Quoted from http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/08/19/more_than_half_of_minority_teacher_applicants_fail_test/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Globe+West:

More than half of minority teacher applicants fail test - Boston.com

Technorati Tags:Business,Lame,Laws,Sad,Scary

Balloon ban wipes smile off British clown's face

 

LONDON (AFP) - A British clown has had the smile wiped off his face after being told he couldn't use balloons in his act because children might be allergic to latex.

Barney Baloney said he was told by bosses at a supermarket where he was booked to appear that he should leave his balloons at home because of the potential for allergic reactions.

The 47-year-old entertainer, also known as Tony Turner, has previously had to ditch his bubble-making machine because he could not get public liability insurance as companies assessed that youngsters might slip and hurt themselves.

He said he was also told by one venue he could not twist balloons into the shape of guns for fear of encouraging youngsters to commit violence, although swords were deemed acceptable.

"At this rate I will have no act left. Things are going from crazy to ridiculous," Baloney, from Sheffield, northern England, was quoted as saying by the Yorkshire Post regional newspaper.

"This country is going crazy with its political correctness and health and safety issues and it's making us a laughing stock."

A spokesman for the Tesco supermarket in Leeds where he was due to appear refused to back down: "This is a health and safety issue.

"We have banned balloons because latex is used in the manufacture of them and this can trigger an allergic reaction in some children. We always have the welfare of children at heart."

Quoted from http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070814/od_afp/britainentertainmentchildrenoffbeat_070814122358;_ylt=AjwX7h.xt1Q4Sp3Nf66E8vFkMfQI:

Balloon ban wipes smile off British clown's face - Yahoo! News

Technorati Tags:Business,International,Lame,Laws,Sad,Weird

Pittsfield woman charged with misuse of 911 line

By CRAIG CROSBY
Staff Writer

PITTSFIELD -- A woman's complaints about a missing house key landed her in handcuffs over the weekend.

Sandra Hickey, 58, of Pittsfield, was arrested shortly after midnight Saturday and charged with misuse of the 911 emergency line, a Class E misdemeanor, said Sgt. Timothy Roussin of the Pittsfield Police. Hickey called the line more than a dozen times over five days to complain someone had taken her house key, Roussin said.

The 911 emergency line is intended only for situations when life, health or property are in jeopardy. Department policy in Pittsfield, and in much of the state, requires officers to personally check on an individual who has called 911 even when dispatchers are told there is no emergency.

"She was warned repeatedly," Roussin said.

According to a partial Somerset County dispatch center call log, Hickey called 911 six times in less than 30 minutes on July 24, as well as three times in 45 minutes on July 27.

"She was asked by the dispatcher if there was an emergency," Roussin said. "Her response was there was no emergency at this time."

Hickey, who allegedly was intoxicated at the time of the calls, would sometimes make an excuse for calling the emergency number, Roussin said. At one point she claimed to have information on a murder, police say. But her complaints always went back to the missing key, Roussin said.

The missing house key, it was later learned, had been returned without Hickey's knowledge, Roussin said.

Police arrested Hickey after responding to a call she made a little after midnight on Saturday, Roussin said. She was later released on bail.

Though misuse and misdials of 911 are common, it is the first time Roussin can recall the department arresting someone for making too many false calls.

"All we have to do is warn them once," Roussin said. "They don't realize, for someone who has one chance to get in, they are tying up the line."

This was found at MaineToday.com

Technorati Tags: Justice, Laws, Maine, Weird

Do Not Call Registry gets wake-up call

If you signed up for the federal or your state’s Do Not Call Registry a few years ago, you might want to think about refreshing it. Pennsylvanians this week got a wake up call, so to speak from the state’s Attorney General Tom Corbett who kicked off a public awareness campaign designed to remind people what many have forgotten or never knew - that the 2002 law set registrations to expire after five years. That is of course unless you want to start hearing from those telemarketers as you sit down to dinner. Corbett said about 2 million people signed up in the immediate aftermath of the law taking effect and those who do not act by Sept. 15 will have their numbers dropped from the registry on Nov. 1. The Pennsylvania action is a reminder that the National Do Not Call Registry has a five year life span as well. The Federal Trade Commission is set to being a nation campaign in Spring 2008 to remind all US citizens to refresh their federal Do Not Call Registry standing.The FTC has also warned landline and cell users to be on the lookout for Do Not Call Registry scams. A recent report said emails have been circulating saying cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and a separate cell phone registry has been set up in conjunction with the national Do Not Call Registry. The FTC says neither of these actions are true. In congressional testimony this week the FTC said of the Do Not Call Registry: While the Commission appreciates the high rate of compliance with the Do Not Call provisions, it vigorously enforces compliance to ensure the program’s ongoing effectiveness. Violating the Do Not Call requirements subjects telemarketers to civil penalties of up to $11,000 per violation. Twenty-seven of the Commission’s telemarketing cases have alleged Do Not Call violations, resulting in $8.8 million in civil penalties and $8.6 million in redress or disgorgement ordered. A Harris Interactive Survey released in January 2006 showed that 94% of American adults have heard of the Registry and 76% have signed up for it .”The testimony states that the committee is in the process of reauthorizing the Do Not Call Implementation Act. “The Commission believes that the bill can be strengthened by statutorily mandating the fees to be charged to telemarketers accessing the National Registry, and specifically mandating such fees in an amount sufficient to enable the Commission to enforce the registry.”

 

This was found at Network World.

Technorati Tags: Business, Laws, Privacy

Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq

 

Message to the Congress of the United States Regarding International Emergency Economic Powers Act

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as amended (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)(IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)(NEA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,

I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, find that, due to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by acts of violence threatening the peace and stability of Iraq and undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq and to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people, it is in the interests of the United States to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, and expanded in Executive Order 13315 of August 28, 2003, and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Order 13350 of July 29, 2004, and Executive Order 13364 of November 29, 2004. I hereby order:

Section 1. (a) Except to the extent provided in section 203(b)(1), (3), and (4) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(1), (3), and (4)), or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order, all property and interests in property of the following persons, that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons, are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported,

withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense,

(i) to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of:

(A) threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq; or

(B) undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people;

(ii) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, such an act or acts of violence or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; or

(iii) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.

(b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section include, but are not limited to, (i) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order, and (ii) the

receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.

Sec. 2. (a) Any transaction by a United States person or within the United States that evades or avoids, has the purpose

of evading or avoiding, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

(b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

Sec. 3. For purposes of this order:

(a) the term "person" means an individual or entity;

(b) the term "entity" means a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization; and

(c) the term "United States person" means any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States.

Sec. 4. I hereby determine that the making of donations of the type specified in section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by, to, or for the benefit of, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 and expanded in Executive Order 13315, and I hereby prohibit such donations as provided by section 1 of this order.

Sec. 5. For those persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order who might have a constitutional presence in the United States, I find that, because of the ability to transfer funds or other assets

instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render these measures ineffectual. I therefore determine that for these measures to be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 and expanded in Executive Order 13315, there need be no prior notice of a listing or determination made pursuant to section 1(a) of this order.

Sec. 6. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the United States Government, consistent with applicable law. All agencies of the United States Government are hereby directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this order and, where appropriate, to advise the Secretary of the Treasury in a timely manner of the measures taken.

Sec. 7. Nothing in this order is intended to affect the continued effectiveness of any rules, regulations, orders, licenses, or other forms of administrative action issued, taken, or continued in effect heretofore or hereafter under 31 C.F.R. chapter V, except as expressly terminated, modified, or suspended by or pursuant to this order.

Sec. 8. This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right, benefit, or privilege, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, instrumentalities, or entities, its officers or employees, or any other person.

GEORGE W. BUSH

THE WHITE HOUSE,

July 17, 2007.

 

This was found at The Freakin' White House.

Technorati Tags: Business, History, International, Justice, Laws, Politics, Sad, Scary, War

Steer's owner ticketed for "Excessive Mooing"

Technorati Tags: Animals, Lame, Laws, Weird

By Jana Shortal, KARE 11 News

You can accuse Wally the steer of a lot of things.
His kisses are a little sloppy and his nudges might be a little too much.
But these days Wally's crazy ways are going beyond the pasture because Wally is apparently a nuisance. Why? Because Wally, shockingly, is mooing and apparently he's mooing loudly.
"I'm being charged with a criminal complaint," Wally's owner Karyl Hylle said.
That's right the Washington County Sheriff's Department cited Hylle, who owns the 33 acre farm where Wally resides, with a misdemeanor. The ticket specifically cites her for ongoing nuisance cow mooing.
"I honestly am speechless," Hylle said.
It seems Hylle's next door neighbor has called authorities more than 20 times claiming Wally is a moo-maniac. But in the more than an hour we were on the farm, we couldn't get Wally to make a peep.
"I mean he does moo, he's a cow, but it's rare and it's few and far between," Hylle said.
Karyl says Wally lets out a moo about twice a day. Hardly enough, she thinks, to warrant 21 complaints that have been filed with Washington County by the neighbor.
It's important to note too that Karyl's land is a zoned farm. She could have 50 head of cattle if she wanted to.
The beef on the complaints is the mooing but when officers showed up to the farm, the complaint says the cow didn't moo for them either.
So after one court appearance Karyl faces a $1,000 fine and or 90 days in jail for Wally daring to do what all steer have done before. Moo.
The Hugo city attorney says in his 15 years of prosecuting for the city he has never seen a case like this. He says the next step is to find out if this really is an enforceable citation. He says his hunch is, that it isn't.

This was found at kare11.

Unwanted Result of Ballot Confusion: A Beerless Town

Technorati Tags: Funny, Laws, Weird

By MICHELLE YORK

Published: June 19, 2007

POTTER, N.Y., June 16 —This sleepy Finger Lakes town, which does not lay claim to any actual lakefront, misses much of the tourism that helps support the picturesque region. Agriculture is the main industry here in this dot of a town of 1,800, where drivers have to yield to roosters that wander onto the road.

Without help, the nearest six-pack will soon be 10 miles from Potter.

There are no bars or liquor stores, but the town does have three restaurants and one small grocery, which has long sold beer, lots of beer.

Residents say that nearly two years ago they made a sobering mistake that has bedeviled them ever since. While trying to grant one of the restaurants permission to serve beer and wine with meals, voters unwittingly banned the sale of all alcohol in the town’s 37 square miles.

“It got all screwed up,” said Katie Brown, the manager of Federal Hollow Staples, a grocery owned by her father, Frederick Brown, that was the first in town to get a liquor license, more than 30 years ago, and now relies on beer sales for 78 percent of its annual revenue. “We’re a farming town, you know?”

Since that 2005 vote, some townspeople have tried repeatedly to reverse the ban before Federal’s license expires on July 1 and the town effectively becomes dry again. A second referendum, in 2006, asked for permission to sell hard liquor, which residents approved — only to hear later from state officials that the new law did nothing to undo the ban.

A letter-writing campaign ensued, and the State Legislature recently passed a law extending Mr. Brown’s liquor license through November, and allowing the town to put the first proposal back before the voters this fall, waiving the state restriction that says a municipality must wait three years between such votes. [Christine Pritchard, a spokeswoman for Gov. Eliot Spitzer, would not say whether the governor would sign the bill. “We’ll review the legislation when it is delivered to our office for consideration,” she said on Monday.]

Before the mix-up, people here could buy beer in two places, the Federal Hollow and the Hitchin’ Rail, a combination convenience store, ice cream stand and restaurant.

Owners of the Hitchin’ Rail, a fixture here for decades, wanted to add wine and beer to the menu at the restaurant, where hearty meat loaf and pot roast entrees top out at $8.95.

It was not as simple as it seemed. state alcoholic beverage control laws require that whenever a town wants to expand the way it sells alcohol, it must ask voters five questions — “stupid questions,” according to the town supervisor, Leonard Lisenbee, a retired federal game warden who has been in office six years and who characterized the state-mandated wording as post-Prohibition-era legalese.

The questions, requiring more than 300 words, ask whether alcohol should be allowed in a variety of settings, including a hotel and, separately, a “summer hotel.” “Shall any person be authorized to sell alcoholic beverages at retail to be consumed on premises licensed pursuant to the provisions of Section 64 of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law?” was the relevant one to the Hitchin’ Rail. But there was also “Shall any person be authorized to sell alcoholic beverages at retail, not to be consumed on the premises, where sold in the town of Potter?” which relates to stores like the Federal Hollow.

“I read it and I couldn’t understand it, and I’ve got a college education,” Mr. Lisenbee said. “When voters get confused, they vote no.”

And they did.

The voters said no to all five questions, not only keeping the Hitchin’ Rail’s restaurant from serving beer and wine, but also blocking both stores from selling it, upon the expiration of their current licenses. Which means that on July 1, when the Federal’s license expires, the closest six-pack available for purchase will be in a town 10 miles away.

The Hitchin’ Rail has already had to pull the beer from its convenience store, because its liquor license expired when a new owner, David Spampinato, took over last year.

“It really created a lot of hostility in this small town,” said Mr. Spampinato, who bought the Hitchin’ Rail between the 2005 and 2006 votes and has seen total revenue drop by a third since the beer ban. Despite the 2006 referendum, no one has stepped up to sell hard liquor.

The Browns returned to door-knocking, encouraging people to write to their legislators. State Senator George H. Winner Jr., a Republican from Elmira, whose district includes Potter, said letters pleading for help began to pour in, so he sponsored the bill providing the waiver and extension. “It’s extraordinarily unusual,” Mr. Winner said of the endeavor.

The Browns said they were confident that voters would understand the proposition this third time around and pass it.

“This is the only place where you can buy beer close to home,” said Bryan Brink, 32, who was among those to vote no on the first ballot and then regret it, as he stopped by the Federal Hollow on Saturday to buy a six-pack of Killian’s Irish Red.

Another customer, Ron Chapin, 45, picked up a six-pack of Labatt Ice on his way to visit his brother. “Why would somebody want to make this a dry community?” he asked as he stood in the summer sun. “It’d be a bummer.”

This was found at The New York Times.

Chinese Internet addict kills mother over money

Technorati Tags: International, Internet, Laws, Scary, Weird

BEIJING (Reuters) - A teenage boy in southern China, "heavily addicted" to the Internet, killed his mother and severely injured his father with a kitchen knife after he was refused money to go to a cybercafe, state media said on Thursday.

Wang, from Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, stabbed his mother to death at home during a heated argument, the Beijing Youth Daily said.

"After his father got home, Wang hacked at him causing serious injury. Seeing what he had done, Wang went to his room and sat on his bed," the paper said.

Wang's father ran bleeding to his brother's house, who then alerted the police, it said.

Wang had resolved to kill his parents a month earlier, and had once prepared to kill his father with an iron bar. He had also recently bought sleeping pills, the paper said.

Wang, who was "less than 16" but had left school a year before, would spend his spare time in Internet cafes when not working for his father who made a living selling barbecue food in their neighbourhood.

He had dreamed of being an outstanding politician or economist and believed his parents were stifling his development, the paper said.

China has seen an alarming rise in the number of Internet addicts in recent years, who it says may be responsible for up to 80 percent of juvenile crime.

In recent months, China has banned the opening of new cybercafes in 2007 and issued orders limiting the time Internet users can spend playing online games.

This was found at Reuters.

"Net neutrality" bill wins final OK in Senate

Technorati Tags: Internet, Laws, Maine

By Ann S. Kim Portland Press Herald Staff Writer

AUGUSTA — The Senate today gave its final approval to an amended version of the so-called “net neutrality” bill.

The amended measure calls for the Maine Office of the Public Advocate to monitor activity about Internet access on both the federal and state levels and report to the Legislature’s Utilities Committee by Feb. 1.

The original bill would have prohibited Internet providers from charging Web sites for faster load times, required information to be routed on a first-come, first-served basis and barred the blocking of content.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Ethan Strimling, D-Portland, said Maine is the first state to enact such legislation.

Senate Republican Leader Carol Weston of Montville characterized the passage of the overhauled bill as a defeat for Strimling. She also said the current version is unnecessary and that the same goal could have been accomplished with a letter.

The bill has received all the necessary votes in both chambers. It now goes to Gov. John Baldacci for his consideration.

 

This was found at MaineToday.com

House set to pass post-Virginia Tech gun bill

Technorati Tags: Justice, Laws, Safety

By Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Spurred by the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history, the Democratic-led House of Representatives is expected to approve a bill to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill, lawmakers said on Tuesday.

The legislation -- which the House is to take up on Wednesday -- was drafted in consultation with the 4-million-member National Rifle Association, the country's biggest gun rights group, after a deranged gunman killed 32 others and himself in April at Virginia Tech University.

The NRA generally fights legislation that restricts gun ownership.

Negotiators reached agreement in recent days on the measure, which would be the first major gun control bill enacted into law since 1994. It would provide financial incentives for states to provide mental health and criminal records to a data base used for federal background checks on gun buyers.

"It's going to pass," said Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, a New York Democrat and a chief sponsor of the bill, echoing the sentiment of many on Capitol Hill. "It's a good deal, and it's going to save lives."

Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's executive vice president, agreed -- provided lawmakers do not try to attach a lot of other gun control amendments to it.

"We've always been vigilant about protecting the (gun) rights of law-abiding citizens, but we have been equally vigilant about keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and mental defectives and other people who shouldn't have them," LaPierre said in a telephone interview.

'PREDICT IT WILL PASS'

"If this bill is kept in its present form, I predict it will pass the House and Senate and be signed into law" by President George W. Bush, LaPierre said.

"But if they turn it into a gun-control wish list, we will withdraw our support," LaPierre said, adding he believes such a sweeping measure would be rejected.

"I think chances are very good this will pass," said a Senate Republican aide said.

McCarthy and Democratic Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, who is a former NRA board member, began conferring with the NRA shortly after the Virginia Tech shootings.

The two lawmakers unveiled details of the legislation at a closed-door meeting of their Democratic colleagues on Tuesday.

Congress has long been reluctant to tackle the politically explosive issue of gun control. Lawmakers acted after it was disclosed that a judge earlier had deemed the Virginia Tech gunman as dangerous, but the information never reached a background check system for gun buyers.

The 1968 Gun Control Act prohibits anyone adjudicated to be "a mental defective" from possessing a gun. It also bars eight other groups, including felons, fugitives, drug addicts and wife abusers.

But because of state privacy laws and fiscal restraints, most states have failed to fully report such records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

The effort has draw bipartisan support but some mental health groups warn it would discourage the mentally ill from seeking help and fail to take into consideration that people can be cured.

 

This was found at Reuters.

Patent Bending

Technorati Tags: Cell Phones, Laws, business

Ding-a-ling! The ITC blows up the cell-phone market.
Saturday, June 9, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT

Paging U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab: Please call us on your cell phone. And better do it fast because cell phones may soon be harder to come by thanks to one of the dumber rulings ever by the U.S. International Trade Commission.

By a 4-2 vote on Thursday, the ITC decided to ban the import of any new cell phone model produced with certain microchips made by Qualcomm. ITC Chairman David Pearson dissented on grounds that the ban was antithetical to the public good, which is certainly true. But the import ban is effective immediately, and this means that President Bush, through Ms. Schwab, has just 60 days to set the ruling aside before it becomes permanent. There's an overwhelming case for doing so.

The ITC's power to ban foreign-made, patent-infringing products goes back to the infamous Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930--which ought to be a hint that this is a bad idea. The fear was that American intellectual property would be stolen by foreign firms, which would use U.S. patents to produce goods overseas without paying royalties and then ship those products to the U.S. The law was never intended to substitute for domestic patent-infringement suits in federal courts between two American companies, which is the story here.

The patent holder in this instance is California-based Broadcom, which has sued Qualcomm for infringement. Broadcom owns several patents relevant to the production of certain cell phones sold by Sprint, Verizon, Alltel, as well as T-Mobile and AT&T. In other words, pretty much every large cell phone operator in the country sells at least some phones that contain the allegedly infringing chips.

The ITC tried to soften the blow of its ruling by grandfathering existing models and applying the ban only to future models. This was presumably a nod to the extraordinary breadth of the ban: Nobody, including Broadcom, actually makes competing chips in the U.S., so an import ban is tantamount to a total ban. However, anyone who's shopped recently for a cell phone knows that the future arrives fast in that industry, with new models coming all the time.

The ITC ban is in effect a bar to innovation by these U.S. companies--a fact recognized both by Chairman Pearson in his dissent, and by the administrative law judge who originally heard the case and refused to issue a broad ban in October 2006. Moreover, Broadcom is already suing Qualcomm in federal court over these very same patents. There is thus no need for the ITC to muscle in, except to expand its own bureaucratic turf in the patent field. The ITC's separate process was created only as a way to deal with patent infringers who were beyond the reach of U.S. courts.

This case is part of a larger legal patent quagmire that now has Congress entering with its own reform proposals. Uh, oh. So far, the proposals are a jumble of good and bad ideas, and that's before the boys on Capitol Hill start mulching in earnest. Everyone from Big Pharma to federal judges and small inventors is up in arms about something in the House and Senate twin bills. The only people not howling seem to be the lawyers, who no doubt assume that any big reform will require years of litigation and millions of billable hours before anyone is sure what in the name of invention it really means.

Our own sense is that the patent system needs two things above all: better patents and less litigation, and the two are related. The U.S. Patent Office needs to raise its standard of patent quality, so that patent-holders and potential licensees both know that any patent is likely to be valid and upheld by the courts. Better patents also mean less costly litigation, because a patent that is both of high quality and clear purpose is much less likely to go to trial than one that is dubious, or too broad, or of uncertain application.

Better patents depend most of all on a Patent Office that gives its examiners the right incentives--which means rewarding them for issuing quality patents rather than disposing of patent cases. The courts can help too, and recently they have been. Last month's Supreme Court decision in KSR v. Teleflex put down a marker on the "obviousness" of inventions that ought to be relevant to patent examiners who are considering whether to grant an application.

If Congress really wants to help, it could start by refusing to let companies like Broadcom use the ITC as a legal backstop at the same time they're suing in federal court. In the meantime, let's hope Ms. Schwab uses her power to overrule the ITC in this case and save American cell phone companies and consumers from needless harm.

This was found at The Wall Street Journal.

Shd u txt, chat n drive? Young drivers say OK

The majority of young U.S. drivers admit they chat on their cell phones and text message while driving -- and almost a half of them see no reason to stop.

A survey by the Zogby International polling firm released on Wednesday found 66 percent of U.S. drivers aged between 18 and 24 send text messages while driving and 93 percent talk on their cell phone behind the wheel.

This compared to 16 percent of Americans cell phones owners overall texting behind the wheel and 77 percent talking on the phone while on the road.

But while 83 percent of Americans overall were in favor of making it illegal to text while driving, a move being considered by some states, the poll found greater resistance to stopping people from communicating while behind the wheel from younger drivers.

It found 38 percent of young drivers were against laws to ban texting while driving and 42 percent opposed laws to stop them talking on cell phones while on the road.

"The increased resistance from the youngest motorists to laws that ban texting while driving could stem from their heavy reliance on the technology to keep in touch with friends," said a report on the survey in the June issue of Zogby's American Consumer newsletter.

The Zogby Interactive poll of 2,246 adults was conducted across the United States from May 9-10 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.

This was found at Reuters.