June, 15 2010, 12:48pm EDT
Key Senators Urge Appropriations Committee to Support FCC
Kerry Letter Calls Inquiry on FCC Proposal “Reasonable and Responsible”
WASHINGTON
Today, four key senators, including Sen. John
Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on
Communications, Technology, and the Internet; Sen. Maria
Cantwell (D-Wash.); Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.);
and Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) urged the Chairman and
Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee to support the
Federal Communications Commission's efforts to protect consumers and
connect more Americans to broadband service.
In their letter to Chairman Daniel Inouye
(D-Hawaii) and Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.),
the senators wrote, "it is the agency's responsibility to ensure it has
the proper regulatory structure in place to execute its responsibilities
under existing law. Preempting that process through an appropriations
rider would be inappropriate."
The senators "oppose any effort to use the appropriations
process to block the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from using
its existing legal authority to preserve an open Internet, protect
consumers, and provide rural residents and Americans with disabilities
with access to today's broadband Internet services." The senators
further express support for the FCC's "third way" proposal to modernize
its broadband policy framework, and they recommend seeking public
comment on the proposal as "a reasonable and responsible way to move
forward."
Free Press Policy Counsel Aparna Sridhar said:
"We greatly appreciate Senators Kerry, Cantwell, Wyden and
Udall's efforts to help all Americans get connected to broadband.
Americans will not be able to realize the full potential of the Internet
if our broadband policy stands on shaky legal footing, and this letter
provides critical support for the FCC's efforts to re-establish its
oversight over broadband networks. We couldn't agree more with the
letter's message: Congress should not prevent the FCC from merely asking
basic questions about how best to achieve America's broadband goals in a
manner that is structurally sound and legally sustainable. We
appreciate the senators' efforts on behalf of American consumers."
Free Press was created to give people a voice in the crucial decisions that shape our media. We believe that positive social change, racial justice and meaningful engagement in public life require equitable access to technology, diverse and independent ownership of media platforms, and journalism that holds leaders accountable and tells people what's actually happening in their communities.
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UN Chief Warns of Israel's Syria Invasion and Land Seizures
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stressed the "urgent need" for Israel to "de-escalate violence on all fronts."
Dec 12, 2024
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Thursday that he is "deeply concerned" by Israel's "recent and extensive violations of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity," including a ground invasion and airstrikes carried out by the Israel Defense Forces in the war-torn Mideastern nation.
Guterres "is particularly concerned over the hundreds of Israeli airstrikes on several locations in Syria" and has stressed the "urgent need to de-escalate violence on all fronts throughout the country," said U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
Israel claims its invasion and bombardment of Syria—which come as the United States and Turkey have also violated Syrian sovereignty with air and ground attacks—are meant to create a security buffer along the countries' shared border in the wake of last week's fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and amid the IDF's ongoing assault on Gaza, which has killed or wounded more than 162,000 Palestinians and is the subject of an International Court of Justice genocide case.
While Israel argues that its invasion of Syria does not violate a 1974 armistice agreement between the two countries because the Assad dynasty no longer rules the neighboring nation, Dujarric said Guterres maintains that Israel must uphold its obligations under the deal, "including by ending all unauthorized presence in the area of separation and refraining from any action that would undermine the cease-fire and stability in Golan."
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"The Syrian army abandoned its positions in the area... which potentially creates a vacuum that could have been filled by terrorist organizations," U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a press briefing earlier this week. "Israel has said that these actions are temporary to defend its borders. These are not permanent actions... We support all sides upholding the 1974 disengagement agreement."
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Addressing the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and conversations it has sparked about the country's for-profit system, longtime Medicare for All advocate Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday condemned the murder and stressed that getting to universal coverage will require a movement challenging corporate money in politics.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)—a co-sponsor of Sanders' Medicare for All Act—similarly toldHuffPost in a Tuesday interview, "The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the healthcare system."
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Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) 2024 roundup, which was published Thursday, found that at least 54 journalists were killed on the job or in connection with their work this year, and 18 of them were killed by Israeli armed forces (16 in Palestine, and two in Lebanon).
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Multiple journalists were also killed in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Sudan, Myanmar, Colombia, and Ukraine, according to the report, and hundreds more were detained and are now behind bars in countries including Israel, China, and Russia.
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