Television
FCC Is Praised For Digital-Analog Cable Mandate
     The FCC elicited praise from the cable and broadcast industries for new rules mandating the availability of television signals via cable in multiple formats beginning in early 2009. The goal is to ensure that the estimated 40 million households with analog-based cable service can view broadcast stations after TV outlets switch to digital signals. The item was approved unanimously. Without the action, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said in written remarks, "some broadcast stations would have become unwatchable" on 120 million cable TV sets. Under the approach, cable operators would carry each broadcaster's primary signal in analog and digital for three years following the Feb. 17, 2009, digital transition. The American Cable Association, which represents smaller systems, complained that the requirements would force its members to spend up to $150,000 each in additional equipment and labor costs.

Intellectual Property
Senate Is The Next Obstacle To Patent Overhaul
     Getting the Senate's patent overhaul bill to the floor "seems unlikely ... but it's possible" in the next few weeks, a spokesman for Majority Leader Harry Reid said. The House passed its version 220-175 last week, and earlier this month, Reid, D-Nev., outlined an ambitious five-week agenda that included the patent bill. "We do not know whether the patent bill will come up before Columbus Day or when it will afterward," the spokesman said. A Democratic Senate staffer whose boss has been involved in the patent reform push said her office and others were "very happy" with the momentum generated by the House vote and said the Senate bill is "moving ahead." A Senate Republican aide, however, said the measure is dead for the year. "Reid would probably rather just hang it over the tech community's head for the next election," he said.

Intellectual Property
Firm That Beat BlackBerry Maker Targets Telecoms
     The patent-holding firm NTP, best known for its landmark lawsuit against the BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, has filed complaints against top wireless carriers. NTP sued AT&T, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile and Verizon Communications for alleged patent infringement in the same federal court that heard the BlackBerry case. RIM settled that dispute for about $612.5 million last year. NTP is now accusing the wireless firms of violating eight patents for e-mail services. It asked the court for royalties based on sales of telephones, personal digital assistants and other devices capable of sending and receiving e-mail. An AT&T spokesman declined to comment. Rory Radding, a partner at Morrison & Foerster, simply said, "It looks like round two is beginning." And Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney said NTP's latest complaints are a good argument for pending patent overhaul.

Executive Branch
Technology Agency's Leader Resigns, Agency To Close
     Commerce Department Undersecretary Robert Cresanti has resigned after nearly two years of leading the Technology Administration. In a letter to colleagues, Cresanti said he was grateful for the opportunity to serve "while pursuing some of my life's great passions -- including nanotechnology, intellectual property, [radio-frequency identification] and my chief privacy officer's duties." A government aide who asked not to be identified also said TA, which dates to 1980, is closing Sept. 30. There have been efforts in recent years to eliminate the agency, the only office whose sole job is to advocate for innovation-friendly policies. The move comes despite some efforts by former TA head Phil Bond, now CEO of the Information Technology Association of America, and others to save the agency. Bond was among seven former officials who had the job before Cresanti. Earlier this year, they asked Congress to keep funding the agency.

Security
Leaders Of Anti-Terrorism Panel Sketch Future Goals
     The former leaders of a commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks said progress has been made in deterring terrorism but more political leadership and follow-through is needed. The passage of time has made the United States "distracted and complacent," said former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., who served as vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission. Former New Jersey Republican Gov. Tom Kean, who chaired the commission, said progress on security has been "difficult" and "very slow." Kean said Congress needs to provide funding for states to implement the so-called REAL ID Act, which requires them to begin issuing secure, standardized driver's licenses. Both Kean and Hamilton also called for technology that would detect a nuclear bomb. But on the intelligence front, he emphasized the need for more spies. "We're still hung up on technology," Hamilton said.

Politics
MoveOn Ad Against Gen. Petraeus Triggers Outcry
     As Army Gen. David Petraeus testified about the Iraq war before Congress, the Internet group MoveOn.org led a side skirmish on the issue via an advertisement in The New York Times. The group ran a full-page ad under the headline "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" It accused Petraeus of being "constantly at war with the facts" and of misreporting war statistics to show progress. Republican leaders pressured Democrats to denounce the ad. "Democratic leaders must make a choice today: Either embrace the character-assassination tactics Moveon.org has leveled against the four-star general leading our troops in the fight against al Qaeda or denounce it as disgraceful," House Minority Leader John Boehner said. MoveOn spokeswoman Nita Chaudhary scolded Republicans for "concentrating on the headlines instead of the facts in the ad" and challenged any politician "to refute those facts."

E-Government
E-Voting Bill Delayed Further As Wrangling Continues
     An election bill that Democratic leaders have been trying to push to the House floor has hit more roadblocks. A spokesman for the House Rules Committee said the panel did not have time to continue consideration of a "rule" for the measure this week. The committee met one day last week but canceled a second session. The bill, which would require the nationwide adoption of e-voting paper trails, previously had stalled over concerns about accessibility by the disabled to new voting machines, cost, and timetables for implementation. Bill author Rush Holt, D-N.J., struck a compromise to settle those issues, but concerns resurfaced in Rules. Alysoun McLaughlin of the National Association of Counties said the bill's supporters are paying the price for not giving enough early attention to the concerns of states and localities.

Crime
Activists: Technology Aids Sex-Trafficking, Tourism
     Technology is the greatest facilitator for the sex-trafficking and sex tourism business and is the engine behind the growth of the illegal, global industry, according to Shared Hope International. The prevalence of pornography and services like escorts continues to grow and offers anonymity to participants, the group said. The Craigslist online classifieds service and many other sites have helped fuel the business, Shared Hope founder Linda Smith added, noting that there are 400 listings for "young sex" in Washington, D.C., alone. She said the trafficking trade operates like "a shopping mall where buyers can choose from a variety of products," and "as long as buyers continue to purchase this human product ... the shopping mall operates and flourishes." Craigslist founder Craig Newmark said a colleague is working on the issue but was out of the office and unable to respond by deadline.