11/27. Former Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-GA) gave a speech [excerpt] about terrorists at the Loeb School of Communications in Manchester, New Hampshire. He predicted that "we will adopt rules of engagement that use every technology we can find to break up their capacity to use the internet, to break up their capacity to use free speech". See also, full speech audio and excerpt audio.

Gingrich (at right) published a partial transcript in his web site. He stated that "my prediction to you is that ether before we lose a city, or if we are truly stupid, after we lose a city, we will adopt rules of engagement that use every technology we can find to break up their capacity to use the internet, to break up their capacity to use free speech, and to go after people who want to kill us to stop them from recruiting people before they get to reach out and convince young people to destroy their lives while destroying us."

He continued, "This is a serious problem that will lead to a serious debate about the first amendment, but I think that the national security threat of losing an American city to a nuclear weapon, or losing several million Americans to a biological attack is so real that we need to proactively, now, develop the appropriate rules of engagement."

"And, I further think that we should propose a Genève convention for fighting terrorism which makes very clear that those who would fight outside the rules of law, those who would use weapons of mass destruction, and those who would target civilians are in fact subject to a totally different set of rules that allow us to protect civilization by defeating barbarism before it gains so much strength that it is truly horrendous."

Gingrich concluded that "This is a sober topic, but I think it is a topic we need a national dialogue about, and we need to get ahead of the curve rather than wait until actually we literary lose a city which could literally happen within the next decade if we are unfortunate."

Gingrich delivered this speech in the state of New Hampshire. This state will hold a Presidential primary election in early 2008 that will be important for any candidate. Prospective candidates often make early trips to states with early primaries or caucuses.

Ed Black, head of the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), stated in a release that "An open and free Internet offers the greatest potential for the advancement of human freedom, dignity, and the core principles that are the very soul of our nation."

Black continued that "Precisely because of its freedom and openness, the Internet has developed into an invaluable tool that has facilitated collaboration, enlivened debate, sped discourse, and allowed for the maturation of ideas faster than previously possible at any point in human history. Much like the American Revolution before it, freedom of speech is one of the bedrock principals on which the Information Revolution has been conditioned and has thrived. Destroying this freedom and openness will cause more harm than terrorists could ever hope to achieve on their own."

He added that "Malicious actors will always exist and seek to take advantage of all means that will help them further their ends. Specifically targeting bad actors and crafting smart, precise countermeasures to combat them is the way to stop them before we 'lose a city.' Overbroad regulations curtailing free speech will harm everyday Americans, while doing little to combat the true source of the problem. As many great Americans before us have pointed out, the way to counter hateful speech is with more, better articulated speech."

11/28. Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Karan Bhatia gave a speech in New Dehli, India. He spoke about US technology companies in India, the need for India to continue to decrease trade and investment barriers and government regulation, Doha negotiations, intellectual property rights (IPR), satellite communications, and agriculture.

Doha Negotiations. Bhatia (at right) said that "The United States continues to seek a big Doha outcome". He said that "few countries would stand to gain more than India" from successful Doha negotiations, "so it has been puzzling to us that India has not been more aggressive and more creative in seeking an outcome from Doha that works for India."

US Tech Companies in India. Bhatia said that "India has also become a more attractive destination for international corporations." He elaborated that "India plays a critical role across the spectrum of General Electric's long term plans. IBM is India’s largest foreign employer -- with over 40 thousand employees -- and recently announced $6 billion in new investment." He added that "many software and IT companies, such as Microsoft, Texas Instruments and Dell, have located facilities in India for R&D, manufacturing and customer support."

But, he said that "For India to sustain or increase economic growth, it must continue to liberalize services, manufacturing and agriculture sectors by eliminating non-tariff barriers and lowering tariffs -- both bound and applied rates."

He argued that this is in the interest of both the US and India, and that other Asian nations are already liberalizing their economies. He also commented on "the backdrop of a intensely competitive Asian economy -- where you see country after country reforming, moving them away from state control and protection, exposing domestic producers to competition, knowing that it is only through such competition that their economies will truly become globally competitive."

IPR. He also touched briefly on IPR. He said that "India’s investment environment has also benefited from new protections for intellectual property, although more work remains to be done in this area."

Satellite Communications. Bhatia spoke a length about satellite communications in India. He argued that India needs to introduce competition.

He stated that "The current regulations, which essentially provide a monopoly on the sale of satellite capacity for domestic use to one company, deny key Indian industries the access to competitive services that are critical to India’s transformation as an information-based economy."

He continued that "These restrictions are out of step with practices in almost every major economy of the world. Most countries with domestic satellites systems (such as the U.S., EU, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Indonesia, to name a few) either have Open Skies policies or have regulations which permit the sale of foreign satellite services without the need to sell through the domestic satellite operator. Indeed, India is almost alone in restricting entry in this market." (Parentheses in original.)

He added that "Allowing direct access to foreign satellite capacity would enable Indian service suppliers to obtain the satellite capacity they need provide solutions to meet the growing domestic communications needs of Indian industry. Increased bandwidth capabilities will enable the telecom operators to expand their current offerings of key services such as broadband Internet access, virtual private networks, file transfer and distance learning capabilities, to name a few."

11/27. The Supreme Court issued an order [PDF] in New York Times v. Gonzales, denying the NYT's request for a stay pending Supreme Court review. The NYT seeks review of the U.S. Court of Appeals' (2ndCir) decision regarding government access to confidential phone records of NYT reporters held by phone companies.

The order states, in full, that "The application for stay of mandate of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit pending the filing and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, presented to Justice Ginsburg and by her referred to the Court, is denied."

See, February 24, 2005, opinion [121 pages in PDF] of the U.S. District Court (SDNY). See also, the August 1, 2006, majority opinion [33 pages in PDF] of the Court of Appeals written by Judge Ralph Winter, and the dissenting opinion [38 pages in PDF] written by Judge Sack.

This case is New York Times Company v. Alberto Gonzales, et al., U.S. Supreme Court, Sup. Ct. No. 06A525, a petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, App. Ct. No. 05-2639. The Court of Appeals heard an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, D.C. No. 04 Civ. 7677 (RWS), Judge Sweet presiding.

11/30. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its report [82 pages in PDF] titled "Telecommunications: FCC Needs to Improve Its Ability to Monitor and Determine the Extent of Competition in Dedicated Access Services".

These services include large volumes of long distance services, secure point to point data transmissions, and reliable internet access. The report states that this market generates $16 Billion per year in revenues.

The GAO report found that "In the 16 major metropolitan areas we examined, facilities-based competition for dedicated access services exists in a relatively small subset of buildings. Our analysis of data on the presence of competitors in commercial buildings suggests that competitors are serving, on average, less than 6 percent of the buildings with at least a DS-1 level of demand. Competition is more widespread where buildings have a higher level of demand. For the subset of buildings identified as likely having companies with a DS-3 level of demand, competitors have a fiber-based presence in about 15 percent of buildings on average. For buildings identified in our model with 2 DS-3s of demand, competitors have a fiber-based presence in 24 percent of buildings on average."

The report adds that there are "entry barriers, including zoning restrictions, or difficulties in obtaining access to buildings from building owners that discourage competitors from extending their networks."

The report reviews the history of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) price regulation in this market, post 2001 price flexibility, and FCC efforts to study this market. The report finds that the "FCC must balance the additional costs of gathering more data with the potential benefit that might result from additional data. Yet without more complete and reliable measures of competition, FCC is unable to determine whether its deregulatory policies are achieving their goals."

Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), the Chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, stated in a release that this report "raises interesting issues that should be part of the ongoing discussion regarding the telecommunications marketplace." Government agencies are a major purchaser of dedicated access services.

11/28. Scott Taub, the Deputy Chief Accountant in the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Office of the Chief Accountant, will leave the SEC later this year. He has worked on SEC implementation of the Sarbanes Oxley Act. See, SEC release.

11/29. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released the text [47 pages in PDF] of its Report and Order (R&O) in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of Revision of Procedures Governing Amendments To FM Table of Allotments and Changes of Community of License in the Radio Broadcast Services". This R&O is FCC 06-163 in MB Docket No. 05-210. The FCC adopted, but did not release, this item at its November 3, 2006, meeting.

11/29. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein gave a speech [PDF] on satellite communications in New York, New York, at an event titled "ISCe Satellite Investment Symposium (ISIS) NYC '06".

11/28. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Chris Cox gave a speech the impending "merger of the oversight functions of the nation's two largest securities regulators, the New York Stock Exchange and the National Association of Securities Dealers". He added that "Whereas today we have two separate and uncoordinated enforcement systems, the NASD and the NYSE are close to creating a single member firm regulator for the nation's securities markets. They haven't yet reached a definitive agreement. Some important details remain to be negotiated, and of course any such transaction will require public comment, and Commission approval."

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The House will next meet on Tuesday, December 5, 2006, at 10:00 AM. See, Republican Whip Notice. See also, HConRes 496.

The Senate will next meet on Monday, December 4, 2006. See also, HConRes 496.

8:00 AM - 2:00 PM. Deloitte Touche will host a conference titled "Building Public Trust: The Role of Public and Private Sectors in Preventing Identity Theft Conference". The speakers will include  Deborah Majoras (FTC Chairman), Lydia Parnes (Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection), and Paul McNulty (Deputy Attorney General). See, notice and agenda. For more information, call 703-251-1383, Location: Four Seasons Hotel, 2800 Pennsylvania Ave.,  NW.

9:00 AM - 10:30 PM. The DC Bar Association's Intellectual Property Law Section will host a seminar titled "Dilution Update". The speakers will include Roberta Horton (Arnold & Porter). The price to attend ranges from $15 to $25. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council (NANC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 8, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 216, at Pages 65520-65521. Location: FCC, Room TW-C305, 445 12th St., SW.

10:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to discuss proposed U.S. contributions to the Committee on Information Services and Policy (CISP) and Working Party on the Information Economy (WPIE) meetings of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). See, notice in the Federal Register, October 31, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 210, at Page 63828. Location: Room 2533A, Harry Truman Building.

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM. The Heritage Foundation will host a panel discussion titled "The Future of the Attorney-Client Relationship in White-Collar Prosecutions". See, notice. Location: Heritage, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Wireless Telecommunications Practice Committee will host a lunch. The topic will be "Analysts' Perspective of the AWS Auction". The speakers will include Rebecca Arbogast (Stifel Nicolaus) and Anna Maria Kovacs (Regulatory Source Associates). The price to attend is $15. See, registration form [PDF]. Registrations and cancellations are due by 12:00 NOON on November 28. Location: Latham & Watkins, 10th floor, 555 11th St., NW.

1:30 PM. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) will give a speech on the National Security Agency's (NSA) warrantless wiretaps at an ABA convention. Location: Marriott Hotel at Metro Center, Main Ballroom, 775 12th Street, NW.

TIME? The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council (NANC) may hold a meeting. Location: ___.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division regarding its Draft Special Publication 800-54 [57 pages in PDF], titled "Border Gateway Protocol Security".

9:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of State's International Telecommunication Advisory Committee will meet to discuss the US position on the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU) budget shortfalls and related matters. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 14, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 219, at Page 66362. Location: undisclosed.

The Senate will return from its Thanksgiving recess. See, HConRes 496.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for International Science and Engineering will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 13, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 218, at Page 66201. Location: 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Room 1235, Arlington, VA.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in E-PASS Tech v. 3Com, App. Ct. No. 2006-1356. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

Extended deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) regarding its proposed changes to its Export Administration Regulations (EAR) pertaining to exports and reexports of dual-use items to the People's Republic of China (PRC). Dual use items include certain encryption products, information security products, fiber optic products, computers, and software. See, original notice in the Federal Register, July 6, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 129, at Pages 38313-38321, and notice of extension in the Federal Register, October 19, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 202, at Page 61692.

The House will return from its Thanksgiving recess at 10:00 AM. See, Republican Whip Notice. See also, HConRes 496.

9:00 AM - 1:30 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host an event titled "Minding Your Business: The Future of Privacy". The speakers will include Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Deborah Majoras. See, notice. The price to attend ranges from free to $249. There will also be a webcast. The Chamber adds that "CREDENTIALED MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA ARE INVITED TO ATTEND. For an Agenda and Full List of Speakers or to Register to Attend Please Call Chamber Media Relations at 202-463-5682 or" press at uschamber dot com. A continental breakfast will be served at 8:30 AM. Location: U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 1615 H Street, NW.

9:00 - 10:15 AM. The Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) will host a panel discussion titled "Self-Regulation of Advertising: Promoting Responsibility and Maintaining Commercial Speech". The speakers will be Jodie Bernstein (Bryan Cave), Lynne Omlie (Distilled Spirits Council of the United States), and Diane Bieri (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America). See, notice [PDF]. Breakfast will be served. Location: WLF, 2009 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in IPVenture v. Prostar Computer, App. Ct. No. 2006-1012, a patent infringement case involving thermal management for computers. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Quickview System v. Belo Interactive, App. Ct. No. 2006-1091. This is an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDTex), D.C. No. 3:04-CV-1254-B. The District Court construed the term "computer" in the patent claim not to include a networked systems of two or more computers. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

2:00 - 5:00 PM. The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) will hold its first public meeting. The PCLOB notice states that "Members of the public interested in attending this meeting as audience members should contact the Board at (202) 456-1240. Space is limited. Credentialed representatives of the media wishing to attend should contact Andy Pino, Georgetown University Office of Public Affairs at (202) 687-4328 or" pinoa at georgetown dot edu. Location: Gaston Hall at Healy Hall, Georgetown University.

2:00 PM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Monster Cable Products, Inc. v. The Quest Group d/b/a AudioQuest, App. Ct. No. 2006-1111, a patent case involving audio cables. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Transactional Practice Committee will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Equity Investments and Lending to FCC-Regulated Communications Companies: Legal Issues and Business Considerations". See, notice and registration form [PDF]. Registrations and cancellations are due by 5:00 PM on December 1. The price to attend ranges from $50 to $125. Location: Sidley Austin, 6th floor, 1501 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding Autotel's petition for preemption of the jurisdiction of the Arizona Corporation Commission with respect to its decisions to dismiss Autotel’s request for arbitration of an interconnection agreement with Citizens Utilities Rural Company, Inc. and Autotel’s request for termination of the rural exemption under section 251(f) of the Act. See, FCC Public Notice [PDF] (DA 06-2083). This proceeding is WT Docket No. 06-194.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in New Generation v. Slocum Enterprises, App. Ct. No. 2006-1137. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Identity Theft, Internet Privacy and Cell Phone Privacy -- What are the Rules of the Road?". The speakers will include Marc Groman (Federal Trade Commission), Al Gidari (Perkins Coie), Eric Wenger (DOJ's Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section), and Heidi Salow (Sprint Nextel). The price to attend ranges from $15 to $20. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

2:00 PM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in MyMail v. America Online, App. Ct. No. 2006-1147. Location: Courtroom 203, 717 Madison Place, NW.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to discuss the upcoming meeting of the ITU Radiocommunication Sector's Conference Preparatory Meeting (CPM) for the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference, to be held on February 19 through March 2, 2007 in Geneva, Switzerland. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 10, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 195, at Page 59580. Location: Boeing Company, 1200 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

8:00 - 10:30 AM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Trademark Office Speaks". The speakers will include Lynne Beresford (Commissioner for Trademarks), Sharon Marsh (Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy), and David Sams (Chief Administrative Trademark Judge, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board). The price to attend ranges from $25 to $45. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: Cosmos Club, 2121 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 15, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 220, at Page 66504. Location: George Washington University, Cafritz Conference Center, Rooms 101 and 308, 800 21st Street, NW.

Day one of a two day closed meeting of the Library of Congress's (LOC) Section 108 Study Group. This meeting will address "Review of public roundtables", "Clarifications and conclusions", and "Report drafting". This meeting is closed to the public. See also, 17 U.S.C. § 108. Location: undisclosed.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the Supporters of the Missoula Plan's proposed interim process to address phantom traffic issues. See, FCC Public Notice [PDF] (DA 06-2294).

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 15, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 220, at Page 66504. Location: George Washington University, Cafritz Conference Center, Rooms 101 and 308, 800 21st Street, NW.

Day two of a two day closed meeting of the Library of Congress's (LOC) Section 108 Study Group. This meeting will address "Review of public roundtables", "Clarifications and conclusions", and "Report drafting". This meeting is closed to the public. See also, 17 U.S.C. § 108. Location: undisclosed.