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June 28, 2012 ? Historians and archaeologists have studied the ruins of the Roman Forum for centuries, employing the tools on hand to add to the knowledge of this center of Roman public life that hosted elections, triumphal processions, speeches, trials, shops and gladiatorial spectacles.
The latest research suggests these structures, which we know as white marble, may have been brightly painted.
Bernard Frischer, a classics and art history professor in the University of Virginia's College of Arts & Sciences, led a team of experts who used cutting-edge technology to find traces of yellow pigment on a bas-relief of a menorah on the forum's Arch of Titus. In its heyday, the yellow pigment would have appeared gold from a distance.
Frischer said the menorah has historical significance. "The menorah on the relief is extremely important to Jews, since it shows the menorah from the Second Temple in Jerusalem, which Titus captured and sacked in A.D. 70."
Exposed to the elements for centuries, today no traces of pigment are visible to the naked eye. The arch was cleaned and restored in the 1820s. "For all we knew, any surviving pigment had been scraped off the marble, as has happened all too often in the past with other monuments and statues," Frischer said. A 1999 study "found plenty of discoloration owing to pollution, but no traces of ancient pigment."
Frischer, co-director for technology of the "Arch of Titus Restoration Project," headed by Steven Fine at Yeshiva University in New York, brought together experts for a pilot project ??to use 21st-century technology to seek any remaining traces of pigment.
"This entailed the use of two different technologies with which I am very familiar from earlier projects," Frischer said.
The consultants used non-invasive, 3-D optical data capture and ultra-violet visual spectrometry to determine the chemistry of the pigment deposits. Frischer called on the expertise of Unocad of Vincenza, Italy for the 3-D capture using the Breuckmann smartSCAN for its precise optical measurements, and Heinrich Piening, a conservator with the State of Bavaria Department for the Conservation of Castles, Gardens and Lakes in Germany and a pioneer in ultra-violet visual spectrometry, for analysis.
"UV-VIS spectrometry is still a relatively new technique in Roman archaeology," Frischer said.
Frischer has applied cutting-edge technologies in creating 3-D digital models for polychromy restoration of Roman figures, such as the Virginia Museum of Art's statue of Caligula, on behalf of the Virtual World Heritage Laboratory, [link: http://vwhl.clas.virginia.edu/] which he founded in July 2009. The laboratory is administered by the classics department and hosted by the art department.
The Arch of Titus project findings will also add another dimension to his lab's virtual "Rome Reborn" [link: http://www.romereborn.virginia.edu/] project, a digital recreation of Rome as it appeared in A.D. 320. Frischer directs that ongoing effort, which was created by an international team of experts and launched in 2007.
Following final studies of the arch, Frischer will use the data to oversee two 3-D digital recreations for the Arch of Titus Restoration Project.
"In the first, or 'state model,' we will add just the color that is attested by Dr. Piening's studies," he said. "In the second, or 'restoration model,' we will go beyond the spotty evidence that survives to restore color all over the arch, inspired both by the actual traces and by analogous examples of painted Roman imperial monuments.
"What has been learned thus far can encourage even 'minimalists' like myself to dare to restore color even to monuments that have not yet been studied. After all, the ancient color palette was limited, and we are starting to see conventions emerge in the use of color. And one thing we do know is that white marble ? whether on a public building or on a statue ? was rarely, if ever, left unpainted."
From Ancient Greece until the 21st century, the arts and sciences have moved in tandem in an implicit and unconscious way, Frischer said.
"Today, the unity of art, science and technology is rapidly becoming a conscious theme as we embrace interdisciplinarity and unity of knowledge derived from concurring conclusions from a variety of disciplines in which the knowledge and expertise of different, seemingly unrelated fields such as archaeology, history, chemistry and physics can converge to give a better understanding of both the human and natural worlds. I see the Arch of Titus project as a good case in point."
? by Jane Ford
?
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uvatogo/~3/e1u2rUxwihc/newsRelease.php
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Public release date: 28-Jun-2012
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BGI Shenzhen
The 7th International Conference on Genomics & Bio-IT APAC 2012 (ICG-7 & Bio-IT APAC 2012), organized by BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, will be held on November 28-December 1, 2012 in Hong Kong, China. The conference will attract a truly international audience of the leading scientists in a variety of genomics-related fields.
Growing rapidly over the last six years, ICG has become one of the top international scientific gatherings. This year Bio-IT APAC 2012 will be integrated with ICG-7, which will bring scientists in complementary fields together to promote collaboration and share the latest advances in data handling, analyses and global information.
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Public release date: 28-Jun-2012 Share ] Contact: Wen Lv
meeting@service.genomics.cn
BGI Shenzhen
The 7th International Conference on Genomics & Bio-IT APAC 2012 (ICG-7 & Bio-IT APAC 2012), organized by BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, will be held on November 28-December 1, 2012 in Hong Kong, China. The conference will attract a truly international audience of the leading scientists in a variety of genomics-related fields.
Growing rapidly over the last six years, ICG has become one of the top international scientific gatherings. This year Bio-IT APAC 2012 will be integrated with ICG-7, which will bring scientists in complementary fields together to promote collaboration and share the latest advances in data handling, analyses and global information.
###
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-06/bs-ti062812.php
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Elder Services of a Merrimack Valley perceived a concession of 364 Keurig mini coffee makers from Right during Home, In Home Care and Assistance, a internal comparison home caring group owned by Marblehead residents Rosaleen Doherty and Jay Kenney, and a machines have proven to be some-more that only coffeemakers, according to a pair.
Keurig sales during Elder Services have reached roughly $9,000 with deduction benefitting The Elder Care Fund. This account is a financial apparatus accessible to any comparison adult 60-plus who lives in a Merrimack Valley and finds him or herself in possibly an puncture or singular financial conditions with no other resource.
For a final 18 years, a Elder Care Fund has helped hundreds squeeze food, medication medications, fuel, bedding, medical or adaptive equipment, rent, confidence deposits, travel and remit care. The need is tailored to any particular ask to assistance support an elder?s choice to live exclusively and safely during home.
Keurig approached Doherty about how to use a mini coffee makers to lift income for Massachusetts elders. A new indication was replacing a machines. Using her connectors in a community, Doherty worked with Elder Services to fundraise for this critical cause.
Over a final dual years, Elder Services has seen a 100-percent boost in use of Elder Care Funds, from $40,000 to $80,000. This collaborative bid between Right during Home and Elder Services insures dual things: Proceeds will feed a Elder Care Fund and that any ask such as a float to a doctor, food in a refrigerator, feverishness in a winter or a elementary correct of a span of damaged eyeglasses can be met.
Elder Services Development Manager Bonnie Sisson said, ?Sometimes we get an impossibly astonishing opportunity, and we need to seize it. Our goal is to assistance comparison folks, and it only doesn?t get any improved that improved than assisting those who need it many ? when they need it most!?
There are still some of a Keurig machines accessible for purchase. They are being sole for $50 with all deduction benefitting a Elder Fund. The machines were being sole for roughly $100 during internal retailers. Local residents can squeeze a appurtenance by Right during Home by job 781-631-1131.
Right during Home offers in-home caring giving and medical services for seniors. Visit Right during Home during marbleheadhomecare.com for some-more information.
?
About Right during Home
With locations during Nichols Village and Colonial Gardens (Boston North), Right during Home is an award-winning, family owned and operated private home health agency. It was started by Kenney and Doherty on a North Shore and is in the 10th year of operation. It has stretched to 4 offices portion roughly 500 families per week with comparison home-care services.
Right during Home offers in-home companionship, personal caring and nursing caring to seniors and infirm adults who wish to continue to live independently. They directly occupy and manipulate all care-giving staff, any of that is entirely screened, trained, connected and insured before to entering a client?s home.
Right during Home serves all of Essex County and cities and towns north of Boston in Middlesex and Suffolk counties. For some-more information on Right during Home, revisit rightathomemass.net, where we can also review Doherty?s care-giving blog by clicking ?Blog.?
Source: http://financial.ahipcup.com/marblehead-home-care-owners-perk-up-fund-with-coffeemakers/
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Remember that Android SDK Recon Instruments finally unveiled for its heads-up display goggles? Well the company was showing off the fruits of its labor here at Google I/O 2012 with two demos -- specifically two-way Facebook integration and augmented reality using a Contour camera. In the first demo, the goggles are paired over Bluetooth with an app running on an Android phone. Each time you jump while snowboarding or skying, the accelerometer data from the goggles is sent to the handset which posts a graphic to Facebook showing the distance, height and duration of your flight. Any comments made to the post are then immediately relayed back to the heads-up display. The second demo uses a Contour camera attached to the goggles and paired via Bluetooth. As you look around, the output from the camera appears on the heads-up display augmented with labels showing the location and distance of the nearby train stations based on the compass and GPS data from the goggles. Pretty cool, eh? Check out the gallery below and hit the break for our two hands-on videos.
Recon goggles gain Facebook integration and augmented reality at Google I/O (hands-on video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 16:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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By Basil Katz and Jonathan Stempel, Reuters
Peter Madoff, the brother of Bernard Madoff and former chief compliance officer of the imprisoned swindler's firm, is expected to plead guilty to criminal charges of conspiracy and falsifying records, U.S. prosecutors said on Wednesday.
In a letter filed in Manhattan federal court, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Madoff is expected to enter his plea on Friday and agreed not to seek a sentence other than 10 years in prison.
Madoff also agreed to a criminal forfeiture of about $143.1 billion, including all real and personal property, the letter said.
John Wing, a lawyer for Madoff, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Peter Madoff would become the first member of Bernard Madoff's family to admit to criminal charges in connection with wrongdoing at the former Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, a case prosecutors unveiled in December 2008.
Prosecutors have not said whether criminal cases are also being prepared against Bernard Madoff's son Andrew, who was co-director of trading, or his niece Shana, who was a compliance officer at the firm.
Both are being sued by Irving Picard, the trustee seeking money for the Ponzi scheme's victims. He has filed a $255 million lawsuit against them and other Madoff family members.
Martin Flumenbaum, a lawyer for Andrew Madoff, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A lawyer for Shana Madoff could not immediately be identified.
Peter Madoff is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and mail fraud as well as making false statements about the firm's compliance program and investment advisory business.
A second charge accuses him of falsifying records of an investment adviser.
About one dozen people have now been implicated in criminal wrongdoing related to Bernard Madoff's former firm.
Five have pleaded not guilty: Annette Bongiorno, Daniel Bonventre, Joann Crupi, Jerome O'Hara and George Perez.
Frank DiPascali, the firm's former chief financial officer and often called Bernard Madoff's right-hand man, pleaded guilty in August 2009 and has been praised by prosecutors for his subsequent cooperation.
DiPascali has yet to be sentenced. His lawyer Marc Mukasey declined comment.
Picard has estimated that customers of the Madoff firm lost about $20 billion. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling on the trustee's methods for calculating losses. That decision could help Picard repay customers faster.
A spokeswoman for Picard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bernard Madoff, 74, is serving a 150-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in March 2009. He was ordered to forfeit $170.8 billion, more than twice the size of his estimated fraud.
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This artist's rendering provided by Ball Aerospace/B612 Foundation Sentinel Mission shows the Sentinel Space Telescope which the nonprofit B612 Foundation wants to launch. The group of ex-NASA astronauts and scientists on Thursday, June 28, 2012 announced they plan to launch a privately-funded space telescope to search for small asteroids that may pose a danger to Earth. (AP Photo/Ball Aerospace/B612 Foundation Sentinel Mission)
This artist's rendering provided by Ball Aerospace/B612 Foundation Sentinel Mission shows the Sentinel Space Telescope which the nonprofit B612 Foundation wants to launch. The group of ex-NASA astronauts and scientists on Thursday, June 28, 2012 announced they plan to launch a privately-funded space telescope to search for small asteroids that may pose a danger to Earth. (AP Photo/Ball Aerospace/B612 Foundation Sentinel Mission)
This radar image provided by NASA shows a large asteroid named 2005 YU55 that harmlessly passed by Earth in November 2011. A group of ex-NASA astronauts and scientists on Thursday, June 28, 2012 announced they plan to launch a privately-funded space telescope to search for small asteroids that may pose a danger to Earth. (AP Photo/NASA)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Who will protect us from a killer asteroid? A team of ex-NASA astronauts and scientists thinks it's up to them.
In a bold plan unveiled Thursday, the group wants to launch its own space telescope to spot and track small and mid-sized space rocks capable of wiping out a city or continent. With that information, they could sound early warnings if a rogue asteroid appeared headed toward our planet.
So far, the idea from the B612 Foundation is on paper only.
Such an effort would cost upward of several hundred million dollars, and the group plans to start fundraising. Behind the nonprofit are a space shuttle astronaut, Apollo 9 astronaut, former Mars czar, deep space mission manager along with other non-NASA types.
Asteroids are leftovers from the formation of the solar system some 4.5 billion years ago. Most reside in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter but some get nudged into Earth's neighborhood.
NASA and a network of astronomers routinely scan the skies for these near-Earth objects. And they've found 90 percent of the biggest threats ? asteroids at least two-thirds of a mile across that are considered major killers. Scientists believe it was a 6-mile-wide asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs.
But the group thinks more attention should be paid to the estimated half a million smaller asteroids ? similar in size to the one that exploded over Siberia in 1908 and leveled more than 800 square miles of forest.
"We know these objects are out there and we can do something to prevent them" from hitting Earth, said former Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart, who helped establish the foundation a decade ago.
Asteroids are getting attention lately. NASA nixed a return to the moon in favor of a manned landing on an asteroid. Last month, Planetary Resources Inc., a company founded by space entrepreneurs, announced plans to extract precious metals from asteroids within a decade.
Since its birth, the Mountain View, Calif.-based B612 Foundation ? named after the home asteroid of the Earth-visiting prince in Antoine de Saint-Exupery's "The Little Prince" ? has focused on finding ways to deflect an incoming asteroid. Ideas studied include sending an intercepting spacecraft to aiming a nuclear bomb, but none have been tested.
Last year, the group shifted focus to seek out asteroids with a telescope.
It is working with Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., which has drawn up a preliminary telescope design. The contractor developed NASA's Kepler telescope that hunts for exoplanets and built the instruments aboard the Hubble Space Telescope.
Under the proposal, the asteroid-hunting Sentinel Space Telescope will operate for at least 5 1/2 years. It will orbit around the sun, near the orbit of Venus, or between 30 million to 170 million miles away from Earth. Data will be beamed back through NASA's antenna network under a deal with the space agency.
Launch is targeted for 2017 or 2018. The group is angling to fly aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which made history last month by lifting a cargo capsule to the International Space Station.
Experts said the telescope's vantage point would allow it to spy asteroids faster than ground-based telescopes and accelerate new discoveries. NASA explored doing such a mission in the past but never moved forward because of the expense.
"It's always best to find these things quickly and track them. There might be one with our name on it," said Don Yeomans, who heads the Near-Earth Object Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which monitors potentially dangerous space rocks.
Aside from the technological challenges, the big question is whether philanthropists will open up their wallets to support the project.
Nine years ago, the cost was estimated at $500 million, said Tim Spahr, director of the Minor Planet Center at Harvard University who was part of the team that came up with the figure for NASA.
Spahr questions whether enough can be raised given the economy. "This is a hard time," he said.
The group has received seed money ? several hundreds of thousands of dollars ? from venture capitalists and Silicon Valley outfits to create a team of experts. Foundation chairman Ed Lu said he was confident donors will step up and noted that some of the world's most powerful telescopes including the Lick and Palomar observatories in California were built with private money.
"We're not all about doom and gloom," said the former shuttle astronaut. "We're about opening up the solar system. We're talking about preserving life on this planet."
___
Online:
NASA's Near-Earth Object Program: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov
___
Alicia Chang can be followed at http://www.twitter.com/SciWriAlicia
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Doing business in Second Life, book presentation
Image by Olando7
(picture by Elisabeth Leysen)
The presentation of the book The Unofficial Guide to Building your Business in the Second Life Virtual World by the authors, Sue Martin Mahar and Jay Mahar, at the Borders bookshop at Powell Street in San Francisco.
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This image released by ABC shows Rielle Hunter during an interview on the morning show "Good Morning America," Tuesday, June 26, 2012 in New York. Hunter says she and former presidential candidate John Edwards have ended their relationship. Hunter told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday that she and Edwards were still a couple until late last week, as details from Hunter's memoir "What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter and Me," became public. The breakup was painful, but Hunter said Edwards will still be involved with their daughter, Quinn, who is 4 years old and lives with Hunter. (AP Photo/ABC, Ida Mae Astute)
This image released by ABC shows Rielle Hunter during an interview on the morning show "Good Morning America," Tuesday, June 26, 2012 in New York. Hunter says she and former presidential candidate John Edwards have ended their relationship. Hunter told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday that she and Edwards were still a couple until late last week, as details from Hunter's memoir "What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter and Me," became public. The breakup was painful, but Hunter said Edwards will still be involved with their daughter, Quinn, who is 4 years old and lives with Hunter. (AP Photo/ABC, Ida Mae Astute)
This image released by ABC shows co-host George Stephanopolous, left, speaking with Rielle Hunter during an interview on the morning show "Good Morning America," Tuesday, June 26, 2012 in New York. Hunter says she and former presidential candidate John Edwards have ended their relationship. Hunter told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday that she and Edwards were still a couple until late last week, as details from Hunter's memoir "What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter and Me," became public. The breakup was painful, but Hunter said Edwards will still be involved with their daughter, Quinn, who is 4 years old and lives with Hunter. (AP Photo/ABC, Ida Mae Astute)
FILE - In this Aug. 6, 2009 file photo, Rielle Hunter leaves the Terry Sanford Federal Building and Courthouse in Raleigh, N.C. Hunter told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday, June 26, 2012, that she and former presidential candidate John Edwards are no longer a couple. She says the breakup was painful but that Edwards will still be involved with their daughter, Quinn. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds, File)
This image released by ABC shows co-host George Stephanopolous, left, speaking with Rielle Hunter during an interview on the morning show "Good Morning America," Tuesday, June 26, 2012 in New York. Hunter says she and former presidential candidate John Edwards have ended their relationship. Hunter told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday that she and Edwards were still a couple until late last week, as details from Hunter's memoir "What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter and Me," became public. The breakup was painful, but Hunter said Edwards will still be involved with their daughter, Quinn, who is 4 years old and lives with Hunter. (AP Photo/ABC, Ida Mae Astute)
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) ? Rielle Hunter says she and former presidential candidate John Edwards have ended their relationship.
Hunter told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday that she and Edwards were still a couple until late last week, as details from Hunter's memoir became public. The breakup was painful, but Hunter said Edwards will still be involved with their daughter, Quinn, who is 4 years old and lives with Hunter.
"We are a family, but as of the end of last week, John Edwards and I are no longer a couple," Hunter said on Tuesday's show. "We decided together to end it."
Asked why the relationship ended, Hunter responded, "I think that's private." She referenced "media scrutiny" the couple had endured but gave no specifics, only saying, "It's hard, and it wears you down after a while."
The book, "What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter and Me," is being released Tuesday through a Dallas-based boutique publisher, BenBella Books. The Associated Press reported on the book last week.
In the book, Hunter describes intimate details about her affair with Edwards, whose campaign hired her as a videographer, and sheds light on his thoughts as federal prosecutors mounted a case against him on illegal campaign contribution charges.
An attorney for Edwards said she would forward to him a message seeking comment.
Prosecutors had accused the Democratic politician of masterminding a scheme to use about $1 million in secret payments from two wealthy political donors to hide his pregnant mistress as he sought the White House in 2008.
According to Hunter, Edwards told her he would probably wind up in a low-security prison in Virginia if he was convicted, and Hunter said she planned to move nearby with their daughter if that happened. A judge declared a mistrial last month, and federal prosecutors have opted not to retry Edwards.
Hunter's memoir also includes intimate details about her affair with Edwards as his wife, Elizabeth, was dying of cancer. On Tuesday, Hunter said she felt it was necessary to tell the truth about her relationship, even if doing so was painful for her, Edwards or his other children.
Saying that she still loves Edwards, and that she believes he still loves her, Hunter said Tuesday that she was unsure of the future.
"We'll see what happens," she said. "I have no plans."
___
Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP .
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Stealth Campaign
SB 1161 has moved forward with the transparency of a stealth bomber. Subtitled, ?Communications: Voice over Internet Protocol and Internet Protocol enabled communications service? one must cut through the complex legalistic and technical wording to get to the core thrust of the legislation. Section 1 opens with statements that it is both a job creator and a staunch protector of the ?Open Internet?. These false and misleading claims reveal much about its sponsors and their objectives.
Claim: Section 1. (a)(3) finds and declares, ?California?s innovation economy is leading the state?s economic recovery. Silicon Valley alone added 42,000 jobs in 2011, an increase of 3.8 percent versus a national job growth rate of 1.1 percent. The newly designated ?app,? for application, economy has resulted in 466,000 new jobs nationwide, with 25 percent of that total created in California.?
Fact: Silicon Valley and IT based industries are extremely volatile and unsafe bets:
? In 2011, San Jose based Cisco Systems announced the layoffs of 6500 employees.
? In March of 2012, Sunnyvale-based Yahoo announced layoffs of 1000 or more employees.
? In May of 2012, Palo Alto based HP announced they would lay off 27,000 workers. This follows layoffs in previous years totaling over 20,000 workers.
? In a more recent development that received much attention and undeserved glory, Facebook had a public offering that started with a stock price of $38 dollars and within days dropped to $32. Not only is this a ?black eye? for Silicon Valley; it will have ripple effects throughout the industry, including underwriters in the banking sector, led by Morgan Stanley. To make matters worse, budget projections for the State of California were based on more than a billion dollars in tax revenues, which have disappeared in the devalued stock price.
?Creative Destruction?
In Silicon Valley it is known as ?creative destruction?, a long term pattern of ups and downs. Startups and their CEO?s run the gamut of ?quick launch?, stellar short-term profits, and bust, as a new ?product? hits the market. That phenomenon has been present in California?s past cycles of economic crisis when certain industries, including IT and housing were overvalued and propped up by a market of false expectations, speculation and greed. They gambled with California?s future by placing our hopes and economic prosperity on unsustainable, volatile market schemes. Californians would benefit far more from a stable approach based on solar and other sustainable energy sources, optical fiber broadband, public transportation, infrastructure improvement and other creative and traditional, incremental, value added industries.
Referring again to SB1161?s sponsors and their objectives, these became even more apparent in the key meeting of the Senate Appropriations Committee held on 5/14/2012. The members were addressed by an army of ?suits? representing all the usual suspects. They were executives, lawyers and lobbyists from ATT, Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, E-Bay, Qualcomm, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Microsoft (Skype) and Cisco Systems, to name a few.
In his presentation to Appropriations, Alex Padilla had the audacity to state, ?This week?s Facebook IPO, most estimate a $900 billion dollar IPO, would result in a $500 million dollar benefit this year and an additional $500 million next year.? He was referring to the revenue that would accrue to the California state budget; almost $1 billion dollars that disappeared overnight in ?creative destruction?.
Claim: Section 1(b)(2) finds and declares it will ?Ensure a vibrant and competitive open Internet that allows California?s technology businesses to continue to flourish and contribute to economic development throughout the state.?
Fact: Beyond Section 1, there is nothing in this bill that even mentions the ?Internet? open or closed, regulated or not. In fact, the only language that has anything to do with the ?Internet? is ?Voice over Internet Protocol? (VoIP) and ?Internet Protocol? (IP) based platforms for telecommunications services.
Claim: In Section 2 (a)(2), the bill purports to preserve the traditional copper based Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS), by excluding any ?service that uses ordinary customer premises equipment with no enhanced functionality that originates and terminates on the public switched telephone network, undergoes no net protocol conversion, and provides no enhanced functionality to end users due to the provider?s use of Internet Protocol technology??
Fact: In the same section, it describes VoIP and IP enabled service as any service that: ?Permits a user generally to receive a call that originates on the public switched telephone network and to terminate a call to the public switched telephone network? and ?any service, capability, functionality, or application using existing Internet Protocol, or any successor Internet Protocol, that enables an end user to send or receive a communication in existing Internet Protocol format, or any successor Internet Protocol format through a broadband connection, regardless of whether the communication is voice, data, or video.?
The legalistic play in the wording makes it difficult for the non-expert reader to see that SB1161 could potentially apply to any call that travels for any portion of its trip over an IP based platform, whether originating, terminating or ?IP in the Middle?. At this time, VoIP phone service makes up over one quarter of California?s 10.4 million residential telephone subscriptions, although the volume of calls is much higher. The goal of the industry is to switch all phone service to this network. Long before that is achieved; no call made in California will fall under regulatory oversight.
.
Claim: In regards to the California Public Utilities Commission the bill, ?...does not affect any existing regulation of or existing commission authority over, non-VoIP and other non-IP enabled wireline or wireless service, including regulations governing universal service and the offering of basic service and lifeline service.?
Fact: In the May meeting of the CPUC in Fresno, the majority of the commissioners were very clear in their opposition to SB 1161 because they understood that it would remove oversight. However in a slick maneuver, Alex Padilla launched a last minute protest of a staff report that placed the cost of implementation at $1 billion dollars. He said the data had not been ?vetted? and caused the CPUC to postpone their vote.
f SB 1161 prevails, it will definitely have a negative impact on the CPUC?s oversight of the landline quality of service and consumer protections. Also, in regards to VoIP/IP communications services, in 2011, the Consumer Protection and Safety Division of the CPUC submitted a motion for modification of the scope of rulemaking to extend consumer protection. According to this motion, VoIP and IP based services fall within the definition of telecommunications and as such, are subject to the Service Quality Measurements and other reporting procedures designed to protect consumers.
It has long been the position of consumer groups that not only telecommunications but access to broadband and other internet-based information services should be regulated to assure equitable treatment of poor, rural and inner-city communities. SB 1161 would be another blow to the regulatory framework for oversight of access to broadband and internet-based information services, potentially increasing the digital divide.
Despite the statement to the contrary, it is the regulatory authority of the CPUC that is the actual target of SB1161 as is revealed in the following paragraph:
?No department, agency, commission, or political subdivision of the state shall enact, adopt, or enforce any law, rule, regulation, ordinance, standard, order, or other provision having the force or effect of law, that regulates VoIP or other IP enabled service, unless required or expressly delegated by federal law or expressly authorized by statute or pursuant to subdivision??
Note: In order to cut through the misleading language, one must understand the difference between ?Internet? and VoIP/IP. They both require broadband access and use a unique set of numbers and sub-nets i.e. ?75.23.145.75? that comprise the IP ?address? of the end user. However, ?nomadic? services such as Skype, route calls over the Internet, while VoIP/IP calls travel a separate path. VoIP/IP calls begin and/or end at a phone set with a fixed location and use the provider?s network as the bridge to the Public Switched Telephone Network and the world. ?Nomadic? services connect the user via the Internet, wherever they are. Recently, Skype can connect to the Public Switched Telephone Network at a cost per minute or month, but with spotty results and quality. This is not to be confused with cell phone service.
Who are Alex Padilla and Steven Bradford?
Alex Padilla is the State Senator for the 20th Senate District, Los Angeles area and Chair of the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee. He wrote SB 1161 on the behalf of ATT, Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner and other companies that as and industry have contributed over $57,000 to his re-election campaigns.* Unfortunately he has also received huge sums of money from the labor movement in California. He was known as a friend to Labor, and particularly CWA, but now should be considered ?the Senator from ATT?.
Steven Bradford is the California Assembly Representative from the 51st Assembly District, Gardena, and the Chair of the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee which has to clear the bill before it goes to the full Assembly. He is also the principal co-author of the bill. In this case he could be considered the ?Assembly Representative from ATT? who has received ample support both from the industry and from labor.
*MapLight?s Money & Politics
The American Legislative Exchange Commission (ALEC) and Deregulation
One important discovery in the investigation of deregulation across the United States is the deep collaboration between ALEC and ATT. ALEC is the largest membership association of state legislators in the United States, with over 98% of its revenue coming from corporations and corporate foundations. In the 2010 congressional elections, ALEC boasted 3 of 4 new Senators were ALEC alumni, and 27 of 42 newly elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 2010 ATT gave $3.7 million to federal candidate Political Action Committees; of that, $1,612,582 to Democrats and $2,035,949 to Republicans. The ties between ALEC and ATT go beyond campaign donations. ATT is on the corporate Private Enterprise Board and Pete Hernandez, California Executive Director of Legislative Affairs for ATT is the Private Sector Chair.
Model telecommunications bills have been an important part of ALEC operations in several states including efforts to block utilities from placing optical fiber to a ?hands-off approach? to telecom regulation. Legislation to block VoIP regulation was first launched as far back as 2008. Could it be the California legislators leading this effort are trying to curry favor with ALEC in anticipation of future runs for federal office?
What is the Labor Movement?s position?
The powerful California Labor Federation is unable to take a position due to an archaic protocol triggered when a Local of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers chose to side with the industry. This was communicated in a letter from high power California lobbyist Scott Wetch to Alex Padilla which mimics the misleading claims found in the text of the Bill, including, ?California is a global leader in internet technologies because it has not attempted to place unnecessary and duplicative restrictions on the internet.? It concludes with, ?It is an investment in infrastructure deployment that is creating jobs for our members.?
A staff member in the IBEW Washington D.C. Political Legislative Department responded to an email inquiry regarding this letter and stated in part:
?We supported the bill for several important reasons:
1) The chair and sponsor of the bill asked us to
2) AT&T who was extremely helpful to us on past legislation (and an Employer of IBEW members) asked for our help on it
3) Frontier communications (employer of 1245 in California) asked us to
Having said that it wasn't priority for IBEW we only wrote a letter of support. We never did lobby or do and sort of mobilization effort.?
As a result of this ?favor? to the industry, any intervention on this bill would be considered meddling in a dispute between two affiliates of the Labor Fed, which under those circumstances, must remain neutral. (*Note: 1245 identifies the Local of IBEW; the number of members is unknown.)
Can SB 1161 be stopped?
Wherever deregulation of telecommunications has raised its ugly head, it was soon followed by greater concentration of communication and information network ownership, reduced competition, higher prices and fewer choices for consumers. Labor, particularly the men and women of the Communications Workers of America have suffered the biggest hit in jobs and working conditions.
Where there is oversight by the PUC, Quality Service Measurements pressure the Telcos to perform repairs and restore service within reasonable time frames and mitigate customer abuse. Where there is no oversight, there are no standards for consumer protection, and Telcos can allow outages to last to the point where customers might abandon landlines for wireless. The wireless divisions compete with the wireline side, eventually causing a loss of customers and reductions in the workforce.
Even with those Service Quality Measurements, ATT and Verizon performed miserably. Nonetheless, millions of California households still desire wireline phone service, especially with the glitches in wireless service due to insufficient capacity, or spectrum, and choke points caused by the data-consuming ?apps? boasted by the IT firms.
Several years of regulatory analysis and data from various states where the regulatory framework has been attacked and weakened show a steady, building momentum that will be difficult to stop. But it can be defeated, as was the case in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and several other states. The astonishing phenomenon is that this bill is being lauded as a major piece of bi-partisan cooperation as indicated by the votes at various stages:
? 4/25/12 - Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications: 12-0
? 5/29/12 - Senate Appropriations: 7-0
? 5/30/12 - Senate Floor: 30-6
? 6/18/12 - Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee: 13-1
? To be voted out of the full Assembly by July 1
Conclusion: Stop SB 1161 Deregulation of Telecommunications
Communications Workers of America and the communities served by the multi-billion dollar telecommunications industry in California will be the biggest losers in this fight. Despite this, CWA has only begun to mobilize its membership of over 60,000 in California. This is due in part to the intense contract bargaining which is currently taking place with ATT which has become an existential struggle. CWA District 9 members have been working without a contract for over two months. However, deregulation of telecommunications did not begin overnight; it has been on the march, state by state, for over a dozen years. Informed observers admit that inertia and the lack of pro-active analysis and organizing against deregulation have allowed the Telcos and their minions to gain precious ground.
One positive development has been a coalition that has formed between CWA, the Utility Reform Network, AARP, Division of Ratepayer Advocates and over fifty community and consumer groups. It was this type of coalition that beat back deregulation in other states. However, much energy has been lost trying to tweak the language of a bill that in its essence has no redeeming qualities.
You would think that California would be the last bastion to fall to deregulation. But being the biggest state in the union with over 34 million residents, over one-tenth of the population of the U.S., it is also the biggest prize. As such, no price was too high, no lie too big, and no betrayal too great. The Democratic leadership in the legislature, due to ignorance of the technology or other agendas and trade-offs, have turned their backs on labor and California consumers.
Concerned residents of California should contact their State Assembly Representative and urge them to vote against SB 1161. However, based on its history and ?bipartisan? support, it would appear that the only hope may be a veto by Governor Jerry Brown which can only come as a result of intense pressure from a wide coalition of consumer groups with hobbled support from labor. Would he be willing to do so in the face of huge Republican and Democratic votes? On the other hand, can California afford to gamble with our information infrastructure and economic future?
(For information sources used in this document contact comworkerdvocate [at] gmail.com)
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