On Tuesday February 12, 2008 the Senate approved telco amnesty, legalized and then expanded President Bush’s Secret Spy Program. When the bill is enacted, your email, website, phone calls and any other digital communication will be unprotected.

Senators Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut have argued that the plan effectively rewarded phone companies by providing them with legal insulation for actions that violated longstanding law and their own privacy obligations to their customers. “This is a dramatic restructuring” of surveillance law, said Michael Sussmann, a former Justice Department intelligence lawyer who represents several telecommunication companies. “And the thing that’s so dramatic about this is that you’ve removed the court review. There may be some checks after the fact, but the administration is picking the targets.” LICHBLAU, Eric (2008), Bush Presses House to Approve Bill on Surveillance, The New York Times, [13 Feb 2008]

Considering the severity of this news and its impact on our civil liberties, I took the time to review how this story of critical importance has been reported on by some of the major news organizations. What I found was surprising. Only two news sources had mention of this article on their homepage using a headline that accurately reflects the event. Five sources had misleading headlines, Reuters even titled their article “Bush opposes temporary extension of spy program” and then proceeded report how the bill passed the Senate. Eight news sources had no mention whatsoever of the story. List below.

New York Times – “Senate Vows to Expand Spy Powers”
Wired – “Senate Approves Telecom Amnesty, Widens Spying”

Reuters – “Bush opposes temporary extension of spy program”
BBC News – “Bush warns Congress on wiretaps”
USA Today – “Bush prods House on surveillance”
AOL News – “Bush Presses House on Surveillance Bill”
Yahoo News – “Bush presses House on surveillance Bill”

Washington Post – No Mention
Fox News – No Mention
CBS News – No Mention
Chicago Tribune – No Mention
CNN – No Mention
MSNBC – No Mention
New York Post – No Mention
Bloomberg – No Mention

Meanwhile, on nearly every news source mentioned above the lead story was…

Clemens and McNamee battle over steroid use.

Tags: Christopher J. Dodd, civil liberties, critical importance, digital communication, fact, Image, law, major news, misleading headlines, Net Neutrality & Stats, plan, Press, restructuring, Roger Clemens Vs, russ feingold, ScherrTech.com, Secret, spy program, surveillance, surveillance bill, telecommunication companies, Website, wiretaps, Yahoo

New York, USA (February 8, 2008) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Scherr Technology today announces the launch of JeffStyles.com the website for Jeff Styles. Scherr Technology built the original Jeff Styles website back in 2004 and since then, Jeff’s business has grown. The new website features five integrated applications: gallery, blog, random quotes, calendar and CGI form engine. The website showcases his extensive clientele, creativity and work experience. RSS feeds are available for both the blog and gallery plus a blended feed. The gallery launched with 312 portfolio images. Moving forward, Jeff has the ability to add, remove and modify everything on his own . The blog provides an environment to establish himself as an authority.

About Jeff Styles

Jeff Styles is a New York-based freelance stylist, designer and art director whose talent is accented with a flair for balancing the delicate nuances of culture and style. The best aspect of his job, he says, is “working with great creative minds in a conceptual, collaborative way to get the best results, and having a blast doing it.” Jeff’s clients include Hallmark, Toys ‘R’ Us, Bed Bath & Beyond, Kenneth Cole, Lexus and Wedgwood to name a few.

About Scherr Technology

Founded in 1994 by Brian C. Scherr and located in New York, Scherr Technology is a full service media company specializing in video enabled website design and development, existing site redesigns, corporate identity, ecommerce and marketing. Scherr Technology provides unique solutions to a diverse range of clientele across the United States and throughout the world with an emphasis on emerging technologies.

© 2008 Scherr Technology. All rights reserved. Scherr Technology is a registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries JeffStyles is a registered trademark in the U.S. All other brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Download the PDF

Tags: client, clients, ecommerce, Image, Launch, Press Releases, Redesign, ScherrTech.com, Website

Testimonial quote from Jorge Fiffe of merce.org. When Scherr Technology was asked to “Please confirm that this is possible to be up by the end of the month because this has to go to print in the next day or two”, we responded by making the required edits on the same day. “Brian, you rock!” was the response of Jorge, Dir. of Individual Giving & Special Events.

View the site here merce.org

Tags: Client Testimonials, Individual, merce, quote, response, you rock

The following is an excellent explanation of Net Neutrality and why it is important from savetheinternet.com.

Support Net Neutrality!

What is this about?
When we log onto the Internet, we take a lot for granted. We assume we’ll be able to access any Web site we want, whenever we want, at the fastest speed, whether it’s a corporate or mom-and-pop site. We assume that we can use any service we like watching online video, listening to podcasts, sending instant messages anytime we choose. What makes all these assumptions possible is Network Neutrality.

What is Network Neutrality?
Network Neutrality or “Net Neutrality” for short is the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet.

Put simply, Net Neutrality means no discrimination. Net Neutrality prevents Internet providers from speeding up or slowing down Web content based on its source, ownership or destination.

Net Neutrality is the reason why the Internet has driven economic innovation, democratic participation, and free speech online. It protects the consumer’s right to use any equipment, content, application or service on a non-discriminatory basis without interference from the network provider. With Net Neutrality, the network’s only job is to move data not choose which data to privilege with higher quality service.

Who wants to get rid of Net Neutrality?
The nation’s largest telephone and cable companies including AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner want to be Internet gatekeepers, deciding which Web sites go fast or slow and which won’t load at all.

They want to tax content providers to guarantee speedy delivery of their data. They want to discriminate in favor of their own search engines, Internet phone services, and streaming video while slowing down or blocking their competitors.

These companies have a new vision for the Internet. Instead of an even playing field, they want to reserve express lanes for their own content and services or those from big corporations that can afford the steep tolls and leave the rest of us on a winding dirt road.

The big phone and cable companies are spending hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying Congress and the Federal Communications Commission to gut Net Neutrality, putting the future of the Internet at risk.

The End of the Internet?
Make no mistake: The freewheeling Internet as we know it could very well become history.

What does that mean? It means we could be heading toward a pay-per-view Internet where Web sites have fees. It means we may have to pay a network tax to run voice-over-the-Internet phones, use an advanced search engine, or chat via Instant Messenger. The next generation of magical new inventions will be shut out of the top-tier service level. Meanwhile the network owners will rake in even greater profits.

Read more about Net Neutrality at the any of the following websites:

savetheinternet.com | openinternetcoalition.com | eff.org

Tags: cable companies, comcast, content, content providers, democratic participation, discriminatory basis, free speech, guiding principle, innovation, Net Neutrality & Stats, Net Neutrality & Stats, network neutrality, Neutrality, new vision, open internet, ownership, privilege, savetheinternet, speed, tolls