Friday, May 14, 2004

Discover: Winning the War on Spam. Steven Johnson. Maybe we just need a new model: Spam as a digital version of pollution. We can fight pollution in two ways: Either invest in technologies that protect individuals from the effects of environmental hazards or try to identify and eliminate the root cause of those hazards. [Tomalak's Realm] 10:24:22 PM    comment []

Brazil's Government Drops Its Threat to Expel a Times Reporter. The Ministry of Justice said it took the action after receiving a letter from Larry Rohter asserting that he had meant no offense to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. By Warren Hoge. [New York Times: Business] 10:23:12 PM    comment []

Four Benton Headlines ONE MAN'S CAMPAIGN TO RID RADIO OF SMUT IS FINALLY PAYING OFF A look at David Smith's crusade against Mancow's Morning Madhouse, a morning drive radio program out of Chicago. Since 1999, Mr. Smith has sent the FCC more than 70 complaints about Mancow's humor which he believes is indecent. They have resulted in $42,000 in fines that Erich "Mancow" Muller's employer insists he pay. And so far, the FCC, behind in its work, has only waded through his complaints up to July 2002. Half of them are still pending. This article tracks how Mr. Smith has changed the Madcow show, but also reveals how indecency enforcement works at the FCC -- and how one particularly aggressive member of the community can have enormous influence. Mancow's Morning Madhouse was the number 1 morning radio show in Chicago. After Mr. Muller toned down his show, it has fallen to #4. And Mr. Muller has sued Mr. Smith for harassment. [SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sarah McBride at sarah.mcbride@wsj.com] http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108441349000710328,00.html (requires subscription) FCC MAY LET WI-FI GO BETWEEN TV SIGNALS The FCC is expected to propose rules today that would allow unlicensed wireless services to use vacant airwaves between TV stations as long as the wireless services do not cause interference. Providers and equipment makers can't wait to start using the TV spectrum, which is in lower-frequency bands that let signals travel farther and better penetrate buildings and foliage. That means more seamless service -- and lower costs, because fewer antennas are needed. ''This (spectrum) is beachfront property,'' says Peter Pitsch, communications policy director for Intel, a Wi-Fi chip maker. ''In rural areas where the nearest broadcaster is 100 miles away, you could crank the power up and provide very low-cost wireless broadband service. The National Association of Broadcasters is warning of interference. But Michael Calabrese of the New American Foundation, which promotes competition, says interference fears are a smokescreen. Broadcasters, he says, are eyeing the vacant spectrum to offer new subscription TV or other services. The NAB denies its members are trying to make money. [SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Paul Davidson] http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040513/6198493s.htm For more on today's FCC meeting, see http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-246980A1.doc H.R. 107, THE DIGITAL MEDIA CONSUMERS' RIGHTS ACT OF 2003 The debate on copyright law vs fair use moved to the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Wednesday. The debate centers on whether regulation should focus on technology or behavior. As an analogy, Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, noted that Congress does not regulate the speed of cars; instead, speed limits are set and law officers enforce those limits. The content industries are arguing that consumers do not have the right to make back-up copies of music and movies -- and that software and hardware that allow people to make copies can be abused to make bootleg copies for sale. H.R. 107, The Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act of 2003, has some support in the House and would permit fair use copies of content, but there's not much support on the House Judiciary Committee which has jurisdiction. [SOURCE: House of Representatives] http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/Hearings/05122004hearing1265/hearing.htm [SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Patrick Ross] (Not available online) WP: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22479-2004May12.html News.com: http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5211674.html MEDIA LITERACY GRANT TO GIRLS INCORPORATED Girls Incorporated, a national non-profit that inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold, announced today that AFTRA has awarded the organization a $25,000 grant to expand the Girls Inc. Media Literacy program. Additions to the program will emphasize media production and community action. Girls in the Girls Inc. Media Literacy program evaluate and critique print, audio, video, and electronic messages, and then create their own messages. Girls become active viewers who are able to assess the effects of media messages, develop news skills, and influence people in their communities. In the updated program, girls aged 14 to 18 will use media and technology skills to share stories about issues affecting them, and design plans to address these problems. Girls will identify, explore, and document social and public policy concerns that are relevant to their lives; collaborate on message development; plan and produce a media campaign to express their views; and engage communities in their work. The Girls Inc. Media Literacy program will reach girls in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Omaha, and Dothan (Alabama). Over the long term, the program has the potential to reach an estimated 200,000 girls in 71 Girls Inc. centers in the U.S. [SOURCE: American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Press elease] http://www.aftra.org/press/pr_20040511_girlsincgrnt.html 11:46:40 AM    comment []

>From the Secunia Weekly Summary, these two interesting advisories: ADVISORIES: Two vulnerabilities have been reported in the Eudora mail client. The first vulnerability was discovered by Paul Szabo and can be triggered by embedding an overly long link in an e-mail. Successful exploitation may allow execution of arbitrary code. The second vulnerability was discovered by Brett Glass and can be exploited to obfuscate the actual link contained in an e-mail. Reference: http://secunia.com/SA11581 http://secunia.com/SA11568 11:46:34 AM    comment []

Lynda Barry: On the take (at Salon.com, of course). 7:30:09 AM    comment []

Skyscrapers in Cyberspace: Maps and History Online. Maps have become a popular method of displaying a museum's collection, as seen on the web sites of the Skyscraper Museum and the Theban Mapping Project. By Matthew Mirapaul. [New York Times: Technology] 7:18:12 AM    comment []

Young Iranians. Young Iranians. [New York Times: Opinion] 7:16:02 AM    comment []

Why Some Prison Guards Have Refused to Join in the Abuse: Psychology Offers Clues. The murky reports of a handful of soldiers who refused to take part in the abuse bring to light a behavior psychologists find puzzling: disobedience. By Anahad O'connor. [New York Times: International] 7:15:33 AM    comment []

Jean-Jacques Laffont, Economist, Dies at 57. Jean-Jacques Laffont was known for developing mathematical models to estimate what something is worth in situations of deep uncertainty. By Douglas Martin. [New York Times: Business] 7:15:31 AM    comment []

Polygraphs Don't Give True Story. Researchers have yet to develop a foolproof technology to determine whether a person is telling the truth. That hasn't stopped interrogators from relying on their old, flawed standby: the polygraph. By Noah Shachtman. [Wired News] 7:14:45 AM    comment []