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Writers push for laws to maintain Internet freedom

WASHINGTON (AP) — During the recent writers strike that virtually paralyzed television production for three months, Patric Verrone learned the true value of the Internet.

It was his job as president of the Writers Guild of America, West, to keep his members unified during the highly public 100-day strike, and the Internet proved invaluable.

When your employers are the same companies that control the media, it’s hard to get your message out, he said in an interview.

To maintain contact with one another, guild members used blog postings, e-mail and videos. It was the success of that campaign that prompted Verrone to come to Washington and push for legislation that he hopes will guarantee the Internet’s status as an open forum for communication.

Verrone was appearing Tuesday before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee at a hearing on the future of the Internet.

At the hearing, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin testified that his agency’s policy gives it sufficient authority to prevent discrimination by Internet providers.

I do not believe any additional regulations are needed at this time, he said, noting the commission’s recent enforcement actions.

The issue of network neutrality — the principle that people should be able to go where they choose on the Internet without interference from network owners — has heated up again recently.

The FCC has conducted two hearings on network management following admissions by Comcast Corp. that it sometimes delayed file-sharing traffic for subscribers as a way to keep Web traffic flowing.

The network neutrality debate has divided Congress, with Democrats largely in favor and Republicans mostly opposed, a point that was clear at Tuesday’s committee meeting.

It is a political division now and it’s getting more so, said Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska. It is unfortunate.

Stevens said a return to intense regulation of the Internet is entirely unwarranted.

A notable exception to the partisan divide is Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, who is co-sponsoring network neutrality legislation with Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.

Verrone, a television writer and producer for over 20 years, supports the legislation.

The writers strike, in addition to depending on the Internet for communication, was also largely prompted by the Internet. The writers guild fought successfully to be paid for content they create for use online as well as the reuse of previously created programs that appear on new platforms.

Large network owners like cable and telecommunications companies are opposed to network neutrality legislation, saying it would add a layer of regulation that will hurt consumers. They say it is unnecessary and amounts to a solution in search of a problem.

Verrone wants Washington to ensure that the owners of the information pipelines in the U.S. do not interfere with the free exchange of ideas.

The only thing bigger than corporations in this country is the government, he said. So we think we have to make clear to legislators that we need somebody making sure that that pipe is neutral.
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Avalanche buries street in Austria ski area

(CNN) — An avalanche fell on a street in an Alpine town in Austria, close to many ski resorts, covering the roadway in 3-4 meters of snow, but no one was hurt, Austrian police said Tuesday.

The avalanche happened at 10:30 a.m. (3:30 a.m. ET) in the town of Imst, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of Innsbruck, said a spokesman for the Austrian Federal Police in Innsbruck, who declined to be named.

The snow fell on a 100-meter-long stretch of road, the spokesman said, adding that search teams found no one buried underneath.

Imst is in the western Austrian province of Tirol, popular with skiiers in winter months. E-mail to a friend

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Bush makes case for free trade deal at summit

WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush used a meeting with Mexican and Canadian leaders Monday to hammer Democrats who oppose a free trade deal between the U.S. and Colombia, saying that blocking the deal is bad for American workers and bad for our security.

Bush met with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the fourth North American Leaders Summit, a two-day meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, that started Monday.

Mexico and Canada are not directly affected by the Colombia trade agreement, which Bush sent to Congress this month. But Calderon and Harper are expected to argue that free trade throughout the hemisphere is good for all three North American countries.

Democrats in the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have moved to change rules so they would not be forced to vote on the deal with Colombia.

Unfortunately, we had a setback in a very important free trade agreement with Colombia, Bush told a New Orleans civic group after meeting with Calderon and Harper. The deal is dead unless she changes her mind — and that’s bad for American workers and it’s bad for our security.

Bush said the current trade program with Colombia is unfair because virtually all Colombian products enter the United States duty free, but American exports face steep tariffs upon entering the South American nation. The agreement, if passed, would eliminate those tariffs and other barriers to trade.

By approving this deal, it will level the playing field, Bush said. Colombia is one of the strongest allies in our neighborhood, it’s important to support our friends. Watch Bush make a case for expanding trade in the Americas

The president, along with Calderon and Harper, also used the meeting as an opportunity to defend the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have criticized on the campaign trail. Both senators said they will work to amend the deal if elected president.

Bush said that since NAFTA was established 14 years ago, trade among the three nations has tripled and their economies have grown.

As far as I’m concerned, trade is an issue that benefits both sides greatly, Calderon said. It is something that generates jobs, both on the U.S. side and on the side of Mexico.

Added Harper: We discussed a lot of things to do with the border, to do with environment, energy, trade and commercial relations. … We’ve made some considerable progress on some of these things.

Former U.S. Ambassador Jim Jones, who was Washington’s envoy to Mexico when NAFTA was launched in 1994, told CNN Radio on Monday that he hopes Bush and his counterparts can help educate all the people of our countries that NAFTA has been a success, that jobs on a net basis have been created, [and that] those jobs pay more money than non-NAFTA-related jobs.

The United States, Canada and Mexico make up the world’s largest trading bloc. A report by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative estimates three-nation commerce totaled about $930 billion last year.

NAFTA’s critics say the deal has failed to increase investment and trade; has cost U.S. jobs; has suppressed U.S. and Mexican wages; has damaged U.S. agricultural and manufacturing output; and has done nothing to help the environment.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative says that the complaints are off base and that NAFTA benefits farmers, workers, manufacturers and consumers.

With the political scene in flux, and issues such as immigration, border security and a precarious U.S. economy in play, Jones doesn’t expect the leaders to emerge from the two-day summit with any headlines. Administration officials did little to suggest otherwise.

The leaders will meet Tuesday with representatives from the three countries’ private sectors and hold a joint press conference, officials said.

Pamela Wallin, who was Canada’s general consul to the United States from 2002 to 2006, said there is value to regular contact among the three leaders, even in the absence of major announcements.

You’ve got to be able to pick up the phone and say, ‘look, we’ve got a problem here,’ she said. Because sometimes, those two guys or three guys can fix it in 30 seconds before it becomes a major issue that needs a political or a negotiated settlement.
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