Positions vacated at the Media Access Project this year that haven’t all been filled keep the group challenged to stay active on a wide array of communications policy issues, current and former staffers said. They agreed it’s a bad time for MAP to be missing a CEO and an associate director. It has a new public relations and fund raising staffer, as of this month, replacing one who left to work for House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. Senior Vice President Andrew Schwartzman said he hopes to fill the other vacancies in 2011.
Positions vacated at the Media Access Project this year that haven’t all been filled keep the group challenged to stay active on a wide array of communications policy issues, current and former staffers said. They agreed it’s a bad time for MAP to be missing a CEO and an associate director. It has a new public relations and fund raising staffer, as of this month, replacing one who left to work for House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. Senior Vice President Andrew Schwartzman said he hopes to fill the other vacancies in 2011.
REDMOND, Wash. -- The narrowing of the mobile ecosystem from hundreds of phone and carrier combinations to a few smartphone platforms has simplified game development in that space, but it has also left developers with less say in the process, game executives told the Washington Technology Industry Association Tuesday night. Apple’s plan to phase out access to the 40-digit Universal Device ID -- which lets applications identify and track each iOS user -- is drawing particular concern. Business decisions aren’t solely to blame, though: Executives pointed to natural hurdles between making games truly cross-platform, such as bandwidth constraints in mobile play.
REDMOND, Wash. -- The narrowing of the mobile ecosystem from hundreds of phone and carrier combinations to a few smartphone platforms has simplified game development in that space, but it has also left developers with less say in the process, game executives told the Washington Technology Industry Association Tuesday night. Apple’s plan to phase out access to the 40-digit Universal Device ID -- which lets applications identify and track each iOS user -- is drawing particular concern. Business decisions aren’t solely to blame, though: Executives pointed to natural hurdles between making games truly cross-platform, such as bandwidth constraints in mobile play.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is publishing the names of four newly-designated entities whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to Executive Order 13405 of June 16, 2006, “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Belarus.” On August 11, 2011, OFAC designated (1) the Belshina tire factory; (2) Grodno Azot, which manufactures fertilizer; (3) Grodno Khimvolokno, a fiber manufacturer; and (4) Naftan, a major oil refinery. These four entities have been determined to be owned or controlled by the Belneftekhim conglomerate, an entity already designated under Executive Order 13405.
On August 15, 2011, the World Bank released its quarterly Food Price Watch report, which stated that global food prices in July 2011 remain significantly higher than a year ago. Prices overall remained 33% higher with commodities such as maize (up 84%), sugar (up 62%), wheat (up 55%), and soybean oil (up 47%) contributing to the increase. Crude oil prices are 45% higher from July 2010 levels, affecting production costs and the price of fertilizers (up 67%). The report warns that vigilance is needed as global food stocks remain low and expected volatility in the prices of sugar, rice, and petroleum products could have unexpected effects on food prices in the months ahead.
LightSquared’s revised proposal to open operations in the lower 10 MHz channel of its band, 1525-1535 MHz, is expected to have the biggest effect on a class of high-precision, highly accurate devices that use receivers that make use of LightSquared’s entire band. The number of these devices is relatively small, perhaps 400,000 nationwide, LightSquared officials tell us. Not surprisingly, agricultural and other interests heavily invested in these high-precision devices have been among the most active in protesting LightSquared’s proposed network in recent filings at the FCC.
On August 11, 2011, the State Department announced additional, new economic sanctions against four major Belarusian state-owned enterprises: (1) the Belshina tire factory; (2) Grodno Azot, which manufactures fertilizer; (3) Grodno Khimvolokno, a fiber manufacturer; and (4) Naftan, a major oil refinery. These four entities have been determined to be owned or controlled by the Belneftekhim conglomerate, an entity already designated under Executive Order 13405. The intent to levy additional sanctions was announced by President Obama on May 27 to respond to the continued incarceration of political prisoners and crackdown on political activists, journalists and civil society representatives.
The International Trade Administration is publishing notices in the August 10, 2011 Federal Register on the following AD/CV proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, the scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has received a petition submitted by Yara North America, Inc. requesting the reconciliation of inconsistent tariff classification decisions by CBP officials at the ports of Long Beach and Baltimore for CN-9 Solution, pursuant to 19 CFR 177.13. CBP invites written comments on this petition by August 24, 2011.