The rights of Canadian broadcasters are at stake as a result of a new ruling by a Quebec court that would allow Canadians to subscribe to U.S. satellite TV signals, said representatives of the Coalition Against Satellite Signal Theft (CASST) in Canada. “We're urging the government to appeal it as quickly as possible,” said CASST Co-Chmn. and Canadian Cable Telecom Assn. (CCTA) Senior Vp Harris Boyd. A spokeswoman for the Satellite Bcstg. & Communications Assn. (SBCA) said the “satellite radio and [TV companies] are thrilled to possibly in the future offer their products to Canadian customers.”

In the October 27, 2004 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 38, No. 44), CBP issued notices: (a) proposing to change the way it classifies certain homeopathic products, which would result in the revocation of two classification rulings, and (b) revoking a classification ruling on an air blow gun kit. CBP states that it is also revoking, or proposing to revoke, any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in these notices.

The President of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) offered ideas in a press conference to "break the jam and get the cargo moving" in the seriously congested ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, including the Pacific Maritime Association's (PMA) hiring of more casual workers, the use of container gangs, moving to 24-hour gates to expedite the flow of containers, etc., adding that union workers were not going to pay the price of increased accidents by working two shifts back-to-back. (ShippersNewsWire@americanshipper.com, dated 10/22/04)

FCC Chmn. Powell said the Commission examines the “totality” of a station’s performance, in evaluating whether the public interest has been served at license renewal time. “Chairman Powell’s response is a warning to broadcasters. It explicitly recognizes that licensees like Sinclair have an obligation to serve the public interest and that if questions are raised about their failure to do so, the FCC is prepared to expeditiously investigate the matter and take action,” said House Commerce Committee ranking Democrat Dingell (Mich.). Powell was responding to a letter from Dingell and House Telecom Subcommittee ranking Democrat Markey (Mass) asking Powell if Sinclair Bcst.’s plan to run an anti-Kerry documentary violated the broadcaster’s public interest obligations (CD Oct 14 p11).

NARUC urged the FCC not to deal with jurisdiction separately from other VoIP issues because “acting in a piecemeal fashion can only undermine resolution of other issues raised in that docket and the related open proceedings on intercarrier compensation and universal service.” In an Oct. 20 ex parte letter, NARUC warned that ruling separately on jurisdiction “could prompt existing carriers to mimic AT&T’s phone-to-Internet-to- phone ‘least cost ruling’ to potentially destabilize intrastate access charge regimes as well as erode the support base for the, at least, $1.9 billion that 24 states disburse from their own universal service programs.” The FCC should act first on intercarrier compensation and then act “on all issues presented in the IP Enabled Service proceeding simultaneously,” NARUC said.

A panel of federal appeals court judges indicated Thurs. that timing concerns might prevent them from issuing a mandamus order involving the FCC’s special- access policy. During oral argument, U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., judges repeatedly noted that a petition seeking an update of the agency’s special-access pricing flexibility order was filed only 2 years ago. Not enough time may have passed to require the court to intervene and force action, the judges said. AT&T, CompTel, the eCommerce & Telecom Users Group and the Information Technology Assn. have asked the court to issue a mandamus order forcing the FCC to act on the petition.

FCC Wireline Bureau Chief Jeffrey Carlisle told reporters Wed. the bureau expects to get an intercarrier compensation item to FCC Chmn. Powell in a month or 2, making it possible to see action by the middle of next year. In a press briefing, he said the bureau is “on track” in developing final TRO rules by the Dec. target and also considers VoIP jurisdiction, e-rate enforcement and the universal service contributions system as top priorities.

House Commerce Committee ranking Democrat Dingell (Mich.) and House Telecom Subcommittee ranking Democrat Markey (Mass.) asked the FCC on Wed. whether Sinclair Bcst.’s plan to run an anti-Kerry documentary on all 62 of its stations violated the broadcaster’s public interest obligations. In a letter to the FCC, Dingell and Markey wrote: “Airing programming such as ‘Stolen Honor’ just days before Election Day is to us, and many of our colleagues in Congress, inconsistent with the public interest that broadcasters are licensed to serve.” The Democratic members asked the FCC for a specific explanation how the FCC determines “whether an action by a licensee serves the public interest.” Dingell and Markey asked: (1) If it served the public interest to air a “one-sided propaganda piece” against a presidential candidate 2 weeks before an election. (2) If the FCC could deny a license renewal to a station that’s acted outside the public interest. The letter also cited the recent flap over CBS News’ broadcast of questionable documents, saying “that incident has reemphasized the need to ensure that broadcasters air accurate and balanced information about candidates seeking elected office.” The letter asked the FCC to answer the questions by Oct. 20. Meanwhile, Public interest groups called Wed. for the return of the FCC’s fairness doctrine and the personal attack rule in response to Sinclair Bcst.’s decision. Common Cause, the Alliance for Better Campaigns, Media Access Project, Media for Democracy and the United Church of Christ’s Office of Communication said nothing in current FCC rules requires Sinclair to give others the air time to provide contrasting views. The fairness doctrine, repealed by the FCC in 1987, had required broadcasters using public airwaves to provide balance in politically oriented programming. The personal attack rule, in force until 2000, gave individuals an opportunity to respond to character attacks over controversial issues. The groups said Sinclair’s using the public airwaves for a partisan purpose demonstrated the dangers of media consolidation. “Any decision by a broadcast station to use the publicly owned airwaves to promote one candidate over another raises questions about its fitness as a public trustee,” Alliance for Better Campaigns Exec. Dir. Meredith McGehee told reporters. Kerry had been invited by Sinclair to a panel discussion after the program, but he reportedly declined. Sinclair continued not to comment on the matter.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has issued an interim final rule (see below for effective dates) in order to add a new Part 60 to 7 CFR to provide for a mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) program for farm-raised and wild fish and shellfish (fish and shellfish covered commodities) at retail.

FCC Chmn. Powell said Wed. the Commission acted properly in ordering the Universal Service Administrative Corp. (USAC) to change how it accounts for money in the federal E-rate program fund, the subject of a Senate Commerce Committee hearing yesterday. The issue has gotten considerable national attention in recent days, including coverage in the N.Y. Times and across the country. But the FCC’s 2 Democrats sharply criticized Powell over the way the Commission handled the issue.