DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ISSUES NOTICE ABOUT OPEN MEETING VIA CONFERENCE CALL

WASHINGTON, July 29 -- Department of Education has issued a notice called: Advisory Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials in Postsecondary Education for Students with Disabilities.

The notice published in the Federal Register on July 28 by Alexa Posny, Assistant Secretary, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, states:"The notice sets forth the schedule and agenda of the meeting of the Advisory Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials in Postsecondary Education for Students with Disabilities. The notice also describes the functions of the Commission. Notice of the meeting is required by section 10 (a) (2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act and is intended to notify the public of its opportunity to attend."

For more information, contact Elizabeth Shook, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, United States Department of Education, 550 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20202, 202/245-7642 or Fax: 202/245-7638.

DATES: August 12, 2011.

TIME: 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.

ADDRESSES: The Commission will meet via conference call on August 12, 2011. Members of the public have the option of participating in the open meeting remotely. Remote access will be provided via an internet webinar service utilizing VoiP (Voice Over Internet Protocol). The login address for members of the public is https://aimpsc.ilinc.com/join/bbxmffc. This login information is also provided via the Commission's public listserv at pscpublic@lists.cast.org and posted at the following site: http://www2.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/aim/index.html.

The full text of the notice can be found at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-07-28/html/2011-19133.htm

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USPTO ISSUES TRADEMARK: UFL

ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 2 -- The trademark UFL (Reg. No. 3923382) was issued on Feb. 22 by the USPTO.

Owner: United Football League, LLC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY DELAWARE 420 Lexington Avenue New York NEW YORK 10170.

The trademark application serial number 77143060 was filed on March 28, 2007 and was registered on Feb. 22.

Goods and Services: Computer aided transmission of information and images; Electronic exchange of data stored in databases accessible via telecommunication networks; Mobile media and entertainment services in the nature of electronic transmission of entertainment media content; Podcasting services; Providing internet chatrooms; Providing on-line chat rooms and electronic bulletin boards for transmission of messages among users in the field of general interest; Providing on-line chat rooms for transmission of messages among computer users concerning sports; Providing on-line communications links which transfer the website user to other local and global web pages; Providing on-line electronic bulletin boards for transmission of messages among computer users concerning sports; Radio program broadcasting; Satellite television broadcasting; Satellite transmission of messages and data for navigation by air; Streaming of audio material on the Internet; Streaming of video material on the Internet. FIRST USE: 20100918. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20100918

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Debt is a threat to future of America

America's financial future is threatened by federal budget deficits and by a national debt of staggering proportions. That was the point of Sen. Jim Risch's recent oppiece in the Idaho State Journal (April 11). The senator wanted to make it clear that he is concerned about this excessive spending.

Well, here's news: So are most of the rest of us--really concerned, regardless of whether our political sentiments lean left or right. Just about all of us know that

private debt may be justified on occasion, but debt dependency can easily turn into a devouring monster. We are smart enough to see how that also applies to government spending.

In fact, denouncing the debt and federal spending habits is easy, about as easy as being in favor of motherhood, apple pie, and the American flag. Politicians on both sides of the aisle--some more than others--love to posture about these matters. The trouble is, ideological posturing is easier than cooperative action. The trouble is, very few of our elected representatives have the political courage to do the unpopular thing and advocate realistic solutions.

The facts are clear enough. We can't begin to get the deficit under control, let alone pay down the debt, simply by waging war on earmarks or eliminating the odd domestic program here and there. What about foreign aid? It's a pittance. Etcetera. Targets such as these constitute only a small fraction of the budget pie.

If we want to get beyond posturing and make a serious dent in budget deficits and debt, we must acknowledge where most of the budget is spent: Social Security and other pensions, 21 percent; Medicare , Medicaid and health, 23 percent; defense, 24 percent; other welfare, 12 percent. That adds up to 80 percent. Tack on another 7 percent interest for servicing the national debt, and you have only 13 percent for everything else (source: usgovernmentspending.com). So the spending freeze on that 13 percent that President Obama has proposed, while laudable, won't get us very far.

LET THAT SINK IN. Most of the budget goes for entitlements and defense. And that budget isn't even balanced against income. Our senators and congressmen have got to muster the courage to finger those sacred cows, so fiercely defended by those who milk them, and then say to us self-interested voters, their constituents: "Let's get real. Re-elect me or not, but we can't afford everything we've gotten used to having the government do for us unless we're willing to pay more for it. Sacrifices are going to be necessary. Take less, or pay more, or both. Get used to it. That's what putting our financial house in order means."

REALITY concerning health care entitlements: The recently passed reform bill promises some very desirable improvements, but it doesn't attack the elephant in the room, i.e. costs of health care provision. What desperately remains to be done is for legislators of BOTH parties to rein in excessive health care costs--obscenely inflated hospital charges, unwarranted expensive tests, inequities and some excesses in compensation for providers, and out-of-control drug prices. Do something about tort reform. Wealthier Medicare recipients should pay more for benefits. The system is still brokenand it's not because the recent health reform bill (a first step merely) passed.

REALITY concerning Social Security entitlements: People are living longer, and demographics have too many drawing benefits, too few paying in. The eligibility age must be gradually raised; wealthier retirees (those who can afford it) should receive lower benefits.

REALITY concerning defense spending: We have taken leave of our senses here. Military budgets are so inflated , with insufficient surveillance , that no one can wrap his mind around them, let alone rein in their excesses. The military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned us to beware of is firmly in the saddle. We spend as much on our military as the next 15 first-world countries combined (source: Internet, passim).

Is that really necessary for our defense? Why aren't the next 15 terrified?

We have more than 700 military installations around the world. What's that all about? It's about imperial domination and manipulation to secure our interests as some ideological bureaucrats see it, including access to the oil that we use prodigally (see Chalmers Johnson, "Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic ," 2006).

Our congressmen need to stand up and say, "Enough already! This military budget is killing us and it's prime for cutting. Or would you like us to raise your taxes to support this egomaniacal profligacy?"

So, here's a request to Sen. Risch.

The next time he feels inclined to write an op-ed piece about budgets and debt, how about going beyond the "duh" generalizations and courageously advancing some concrete proposals for reining in entitlement and defense spending?

How about asking Idahoans and all Americans to make some specific personal sacrifices for the sake of our future and that of our posterity?

How about showing some leadership in the Senate in breaking down the ridiculous ideological party-line gridlock that prevents real solutions, painful and unpopular though they may be?

Commentary: Legal Currents: The Internet Revolution -- Part 1

Over the next month, I plan to discuss the technologies and thehistorical context that led to the mass adoption of cloud computing.This week, our exploration begins in 1995.

"The Internet has been the most fundamental change during mylifetime and for hundreds of years. Someone the other day said,'It's the biggest thing since Gutenberg,' and then someone else said'No, it's the biggest thing since the invention of writing.'"

-- Rupert Murdoch (2005)

On Feb. 27, 1995, Newsweek magazine published an article writtenby Clifford Stoll entitled "The Internet? Bah! Hype Alert: Whycyberspace isn't, and will never be, nirvana" (www.newsweek.com/1995/02/26/the-internet-bah.html). In the article, Stoll, anastronomer and well-known author of the book "Silicon Snake Oil --Second Thoughts on the Information Highway," infamously predictedthat many of the things made possible by the Internet that we nowtake for granted would never become a reality.

In the article -- which has been repeatedly passed around theInternet and mocked incessantly -- Stoll proclaims that "Internethucksters," "computer pundits" and "visionaries" are devoid of "allcommon sense." Stoll goes on to decry their vision of the future,calling it "baloney." He mocks their claims that the Internet willmake possible a world in which, among other things, peopletelecommute, purchase and read books online, book airline ticketsand restaurant reservations via the Internet, interact in virtualworlds and engage in online commerce.

Stoll decries the hype and lambastes those who claim that theInternet will drastically change the world in which we live:

"Visionaries see a future of telecommuting workers, interactivelibraries and multimedia classrooms. They speak of electronic townmeetings and virtual communities. Commerce and business will shiftfrom offices and malls to networks and modems. ... Baloney. Do ourcomputer pundits lack all common sense? The truth is no onlinedatabase will replace your daily newspaper ... Nicholas Negroponte,director of the MIT Media Lab, predicts that we'll soon buy booksand newspapers straight over the Internet. Uh, sure. ... Thenthere's cyberbusiness. We're promised instant catalog shopping --just point and click for great deals. We'll order airline ticketsover the network, make restaurant reservations and negotiate salescontracts. ... Even if there were a trustworthy way to send moneyover the Internet -- which there isn't -- the network is missing amost essential ingredient of capitalism: salespeople. ..."

As we now know, from our comfortable vantage point 16 yearslater, Stoll couldn't have been more wrong. The vast majority of thepredictions that he scoffed at have now come true. In little morethan a decade, the Internet has literally transformed our lives,from how we conduct business to the ways in which we interact andconnect with family and friends.

The Internet has made it possible for us to shop online forvirtually anything we can imagine. Workers telecommute. We use VoiceOver Internet Protocol (VOIP) to make free international phone callsand conference calls. We hold online video meetings and attendonline classes.

The Internet has become a repository for all types ofinformation. Indeed, for many, the Internet is our primary source ofinformation, from news, current events, encyclopedic knowledge andscholarly articles. Through the Internet, we connect to our socialnetworks, communicate with our friends and family, and network withbusiness associates. Virtual communities are now a reality, as aremultimedia classrooms and interactive libraries.

The Internet is entrenched in our day-to-day activities and is anintegral part of our lives on so many levels. The bottom line: Stollwas an outspoken -- and very mistaken -- critic of those who daredto dream of the possibilities of the Internet. He was the originalInternet curmudgeon and bastion of old school ways, just like manylawyers today.

Like Stoll, rather than accepting and embracing change, a goodportion of the legal profession remains firmly entrenched in theways of decades past, staunchly resisting the inevitable changesushered in by technology. Stoll, however, unlike lawyers of the 21stcentury, had an arguable excuse for his lack of vision: thetechnology hadn't yet evolved.

Next week, in part 2 of this series, we'll learn about how thetechnology changed, making the Internet revolution, and life as wenow know it, possible.

Nicole Black is of counsel to Fiandach & Fiandach in Rochester.She co-authors the ABA book Social Media for Lawyers: the NextFrontier, and co-authors Criminal Law in New York, a West-Thomsontreatise, She is the founder of lawtechTalk.com and speaks regularlyat conferences regarding the intersection of law and technology. Shepublishes four legal blogs and can be reached atnblack@nicoleblackesq.com.

Young politicians go online for election [Edition 3]

BUDDING politicians from Billericay have taken to the internet tospread their political messages.

Students from Mayflower High School and The Billericay School arepart of a group of more than 100 pupils from across the boroughtaking part in the Young People's Parliament Project.

The project aims to create an interactive young persons' electionfor the borough to engage them in democracy.

The students were divided into 15 parties, with each writing anelection manifesto on which to campaign. Their respective politicalbroadcasts have now been uploaded to the videohosting site YouTube.

Broadcast Each broadcast includes an outline of their ideas forthe borough. Their colleagues are then encouraged to view each ofthe broadcasts and vote for their chosen party.

Elections are taking place next week at polling stations inschools and the winning party will have access to Pounds 5,000 tospend on making their ideas a reality.

Councillor Andrew Baggott, Basildon Borough Council's cabinetmember for community, said: "The young people have worked hard inscripting and producing their own party broadcasts. I would like towish them all the best of luck."

Voting closes at 5pm on Friday.

Internet firm extends web to Irish health

MARGARET Ford, the high profile businesswoman who runs theEdinburgh-based internet firm Good Practice, has sold her onlinetraining solution to the Irish Health Board for a six-figure sum.

Ford has also confirmed she has just signed a deal withAstraZeneca, the pharmaceuticals firm, which will now have a one-year licence to access online learning materials.

"The AstraZeneca deal is fantastic for us. We now supply ourservices to over 20 per cent of the FTSE top 100 companies. We'veonly been trading for 18 months and already we've had repeat businessfrom all of our existing clients," said Ford.

"The deal in Ireland puts us on the map and we've already hadinterest from Australia."

Ford, the chief executive, set up the online publishing company in1999. She owns 70 per cent of the firm with the additional equityraised through private business angels.

She hopes to increase the client list of Good Practice worldwidewith partnerships in both the public and private sectors.

"The last few months have been a difficult trading environment foreveryone yet we are still achieving quality sales. We're building thebusiness up gradually but keeping our feet on the ground," said Ford.

Good Practice publishes online resources for training and HRspecialists, and for line managers and executives. Ford says the mainadvantage of the internet is easy access, allowing clients to reviewthe latest thinking in organisational development and access a bankof practical resources for immediate use in their own organisation.

This is the first foray into Ireland. It began when the Office forHealth Management (TOHM) in Dublin said it was seeking to improvemanagement and organisational development in the Irish healthservices.

This coincided with a new health strategy in Ireland: Quality andFairness - a Health System for You, containing three core themes:personal development, leadership and management development andorganisational development.

Once this strategy had been identified, the office chose todeliver the services using web-based resources, and goodpractice.netbecame the supplier.

"We created a bank of learning materials and other resources,called The Knowledge Centre, where information can be accesseddirectly from the TOHM website," said Ford.

"Now the health service staff across Ireland can access theinformation online and the feedback has been great. Through this wenow have strong interest from Australia."

Ford's claim that it is used and appreciated by staff andmanagement in the Irish Republic seems true. She argues that it issomething the Scottish health boards should consider. In her'previous life' she chaired Lothian Health Board from 1997 to 2000.

Ford said: "Our testimonials have been superb. Maeve Martin, asenior clinical psychologist, said: 'Well done on this fantasticwebsite. The wealth of information is very impressive and I lookforward to dipping in and out of it regularly.'"

She said another health worker, Sibeal Carolan of the EasternRegional Health Authority, said she had a further look at the contentand viewed it on screen, saying "It looks excellent and is veryrelevant to our needs here".

Although Ford is confident for the future of her internet basedfirm, she is adamant it is not a dot.com firm. "So many firmsreceived huge amounts of cash and there was no business plan behindit. However, if you do have a good idea, a sound business plan and abackground in delivering results, it doesn't make it any easier," shesaid.

She pointed out her annoyance at the delay in the Fund of Fundsdeal announced last year by the then enterprise minister WendyAlexander. The fund was set up to address the funding gap for smallenterprises seeking 500,000 pounds. At this level of investment thefirms are too small for venture capital funding and too big forbusiness angels.

"I'm wondering when it will be unveiled. It was announced lastyear to fuel the growth of start-ups but we've heard nothing since,"said Ford.

She has spent the past 15 years creating her own businesses, soshe identifies with those who have funding difficulties . "I've beenlucky and my funders have been supportive but that's not the case foreveryone. They've had patience and we've had the backing ofsupportive investors," she said.

"I hope the Fund of Fund scheme will be available soon so othersmight get the chance to grow the same way."

Goodpractice.net was set up following the sale of Eglinton, themanagement company Ford had founded seven years before.

She began her career as a graduate economist and spent her earlyworking life in local government and the Scottish financial sector.She's also a former director of the Scottish Prison Service.

Currently chair of English Partnerships, the economic regenerationpartnership for England, Ford finds herself at the helm of thegovernment development agency charged with delivering disused landinto commercially viable projects.

She said: "We've just agreed the housing programme for the nextfive years in England and I want to make sure we don't make the samemistakes as in the 1950s and 1960s. We need to create mixedcommunities, where people are proud to live, not desperately tryingto get out of."

Last week, statistics released by the National Land Use Databasein England showed huge tranches of brownfield land is available fordevelopment. Ford says the continuing supply of such land isimportant for the provision of affordable housing.

The government's target for 60 per cent of new developments to bebuilt on previously developed land and through conversion of existingbuildings by 2008 could then be met.

Fed: Latham says wait for Senate assessment of FTA worth

AAP General News (Australia)
04-30-2004
Fed: Latham says wait for Senate assessment of FTA worth

Opposition Leader MARK LATHAM says he will wait for a Senate committee's assessment
of the worth of the trade deal with the United States, after an independent report found
no negatives to the deal.

The report released this morning found the free trade agreement struck earlier this
year would be worth $6.1 billion a year within a decade and no sector would be worse off.

It also said the total GDP increase for Australia over 20 years would amount to almost
$60 billion.

But Mr LATHAM says Labor will wait for the outcome of the Senate inquiry before deciding
whether to back the deal.

AAP RTV mfh/dep/wf/rt

KEYWORD: TRADE US LATHAM (MERIMBULA, NSW) WITH AUDIO

2004 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.