RF Engines: down converter digitale a 1 GHz di banda

La società britannica RF Engines ha rilasciato nuovi moduli di down conversion digitale basati su economiche FPGA. Il concetto del DDC è lo stesso del ricevitore Perseus: campionare una porzione molto ampia dello spettro (con il nuovo componente si arriva a frequenze di campionamento dell'ADC da 2 Gsps, pari a una banda da 1 GHz) e si estrae da questa torta solo la fettina che interessa per una successiva demodulazione DSP. Applicazioni a iosa in campo SDR-militare e civile, radaristica e quant'altro. Ormai il software la fa da padrone nel campo della radiofrequenza.

Wideband DDC IP Cores

15-Jul-2010

Newport, Isle of Wight, UK - RF Engines Limited (RFEL) has extended the range of its Digital Down Converter (DDC) technology so that it can now process up to 1 GHz of bandwidth (2Gsps ADC rate) input and provide a narrower band output. This technology can operate with fixed frequencies and bandwidths or be fully flexible as required.

One of the main application areas is for Electronic Surveillance in military digital receivers, where this approach enables a desired signal band to be extracted from a wide slice of the spectrum in order that further analysis of the signal content can be carried out. For example a radar warning receiver can rapidly spot the signal 'signature' of an incoming missile or other threat, and the downconverter will extract the specific signal and measure its parameters. In scientific applications, for example in the latest radio telescopes, this approach allows very wide sections of the spectrum to be monitored at one time, in order to acquire weak or hidden signals.

The RFEL Wideband DDC core is highly optimised for size and speed, on a range of Xilinx or Altera FPGA devices. Many customers have already seen the benefits of a proven core that can be rapidly tuned for most efficient use of the available resources, whilst still offering best in class performance. With unique options like fractional re-sampling for arbitrary output bandwidth selection and the ability to implement the design in either logic-rich or DSP-rich FPGA architectures, the RFEL Wideband DDC will meet the needs of a wide variety of applications in the shortest time possible. Furthermore, RFEL is committed to offering a world-class portfolio of DSP IP cores and as such is currently engaged to research DDC designs in the +10Ghz range. Such research programmes are made possible by the high quality architectural design underlying the Wideband DDC core.

"Our world class expertise in DDC design means that we optimise the solution to deliver exactly what is required using the minimum amount of silicon to keep costs down and well below that of a conventional solution," added Simon Underhay, RFEL's Technical Sales Director. "As it draws on our library of IP cores that we have developed and perfected over the years, there is a very low technical risk and customers can be up and running very quickly."

RF Engines Limited (RFEL) is a UK-based electronic systems designer, providing high specification signal processing solutions for FPGAs, as well as supplying digital receiver and complete product solutions for the homeland security, defence, communications and instrumentation markets. Applications include communications base stations, satellite communications systems, test and measurement instrumentation, and bespoke wideband receivers/transceivers.

Le microonde "del dolore" arrivano in Afghanistan

E' il "raggio del dolore" più che della morte, ma il fatto che ora l'arma non convenzionale realizzata da Raytheon venga ufficialemtente dispiegato in Afghanistan non mancherà di suscitare polemiche. Anche per la scelta di un nome fin troppo evocativo. Il nome per così dire commerciale è Active Denial System, "sistema di interdizione attiva" e funziona in pratica come un invisibile manganello a distanza di qualche centinaio di metri. Montato a bordo di un veicolo, l'ADS è una antenna per microonde capace di focalizzare un raggio molto inteso sulle zone dell'epidermide. Penetrandola, la radiazione del pain ray raggiunge le terminazioni nervose del bersaglio e... Sono letteralmente dolori. Tanto intensi da frustrare ogni tentativo di ribellione e voglia di combattere. Secondo Global Security nell'arco di 10 anni i militari americani avrebbero speso 40 milioni di dollari per perfezionare quella che viene accuratamente definita - come se quelle letali si vergognassero a usarle - arma "non letale" (ma in giro si legge che potrebbe anche funzionare per bloccare a distanza gli automezzi nemici). Per attenuarne gli effetti - sempre secondo Global Security - basta una modesta schermatura, forse anche un tessuto un po' pesante.

Ecco la corrispondenza di Wired che racconta dell'adozione dell'ADS sul teatro afghano.

U.S. Testing Pain Ray in Afghanistan

By Noah Shachtman June 19, 2010

The U.S. mission in Afghanistan centers around swaying locals to its side. And there’s no better persuasion tool than an invisible pain ray that makes people feel like they’re on fire.

OK, OK. Maybe that isn’t precisely the logic being employed by those segments of the American military who would like to deploy the Active Denial System to Afghanistan. I’m sure they’re telling themselves that the generally non-lethal microwave weapon is a better, safer crowd control alternative than an M-16. But those ray-gun advocates better think long and hard about the Taliban’s propaganda bonanza when news leaks of the Americans zapping Afghans until they feel roasted alive.

Because, apparently, the Active Denial System is “in Afghanistan for testing.”

An Air Force military officer and a civilian employee at the Air Force Research Laboratory are just two of the people telling Danger Room co-founder and AOL News ace Sharon Weinberger that the vehicle-mounted “block 2″ version of the pain ray is in the warzone, but hasn’t been used in combat.

[Update: "We are currently not testing the Active Denial System in Afghanistan," Kelley Hughes, spokesperson for the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate, tells Danger Room.

So I ask her: Has it been tested previously? She hems and haws. "I'm not gonna get into operational," Hughes answers.

Hughes also disputes the assertion that Active Denial creates a burning feeling. "It's an intolerable heating sensation," she says. "Like opening up an oven door."]

For years, the military insisted that the Active Denial System — known as the “Holy Grail” of crowd control — was oh-so-close to battlefield deployment. But a host of technical issues hampered the ray gun: everything from overheating to poor performance in the rain. Safety concerns lingered; a test subject had to be airlifted to a burn center after being zapped by the weapon. (He eventually made a full recovery.) And then there were concerns about “the atmospherics” — how the locals might react — when they learned that the United States had turned a people-roaster on ‘em. “Not politically tenable,” the Defense Science Board concluded.

I pinged Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s staff about the use of Active Denial in Afghanistan. I’ll let you know if I hear anything back. But a few months ago, a source told me that a representative from the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate was in Afghanistan. Did that mean Active Denial was about to be put into action? Nope, the source said. “She’s just out getting some atmospherics on the use of non-lethals.”

Update 2: “The active denial system is in the country,” e-mails Lt. Col. John Dorrian, a spokesman for Gen. McChrystal. “However, it has not been used operationally and no decision has been made at this time to deploy it.”

(Read More)

Onde radio al posto di batterie, RF Power harvesting

La tecnologia si chiama RF Energy harvesting e consiste nel costruire dispositivi elettronici (tipicamente sensori, magari con microtrasmettitori integrati per applicazioni di remote sensing) che non hanno bisogno di batterie o le cui batterie vengono ricaricate dai campi elettrici captati in una ampia finestra di spettro. Ormai il nostro etere è talmente saturo di questi campi che questa tecnologia comincia ad avere vita facile. Anche pochi milliVolt di campo bastano per arrivare ad alimentare i sensori più parchi di energia. Secondo Economist e New York Times (grazie a Francesco D. per la segnalazione) che hanno dedicato alla questione due interessanti reportage, i ricercatori stanno lavorando alla confluenza dell'elettronica a bassissimo assorbimento e l'Energy harvesting, per realizzare dispositivi che non hanno bisogno di sorgenti di alimentazione esterne. Tra le aziende citate c'è la società PowerCast, che ha sviluppato diversi moduli e ha un blog specializzato RFWirelessSensors sull'argomento.

Si è parlato in questi giorni di raggi della morte ed energia dal nulla, l'energy harvesting rientra nella categoria "sogni di Tesla", insieme ai sistemi a induzione che oggi ci consento di ricaricare spazzolini elettrici e anche telefoni cellulari e computer portatili. Per ora non si può fare molto più di così, a meno di non trovarsi ai piedi delle antenne del Vaticano, ma nella futura prospettiva della Internet degli oggetti la possibilità di usare dispositivi completamente autonomi, in grado di alimentarsi con la radiofrequenza ricevuta apre le strade a infinite opportunità. Solo nelle nostre case ci possono essere decine di apparecchi che potrebbero un giorno fare a meno di prese di corrente e inquinanti cilindretti non ricaricabili.

July 16, 2010

Bye-Bye Batteries: Radio Waves as a Low-Power Source

By ANNE EISENBERG

MATT REYNOLDS, an assistant professor in the electrical and computer engineering department at Duke University, wears other hats, too — including that of co-founder of two companies. These days, his interest is in a real hat now in prototype: a hard hat with a tiny microprocessor and beeper that sound a warning when dangerous equipment is nearby on a construction site.

What’s unusual, however, is that the hat’s beeper and microprocessor work without batteries. They use so little power that they can harvest all they need from radio waves in the air.

The waves come from wireless network transmitters on backhoes and bulldozers, installed to keep track of their locations. The microprocessor monitors the strength and direction of the radio signal from the construction equipment to determine if the hat’s wearer is too close.

Dr. Reynolds designed this low-power hat, called the SmartHat, with Jochen Teizer, an assistant professor in the school of civil and environmental engineering at Georgia Tech. They are among several people devising devices and systems that consume so little power that it can be drawn from ambient radio waves, reducing or even eliminating the need for batteries. Their work has been funded in part by the National Science Foundation.

Powercast, based in Pittsburgh, sells radio wave transmitters and receivers that use those waves to power wireless sensors and other devices. The sensors, for example, monitor room temperature in automatic systems that control heating and air-conditioning in office buildings, said Harry Ostaffe, director of marketing and business development.

The company recently introduced a receiver for charging battery-free wireless sensors, the P2110 Powerharvester Receiver, and demonstrated it in modules that sense temperature, light level and humidity data, he said. The modules include microcontrollers from Microchip Technology, in Chandler, Ariz.

Until recently, the use of radio waves to power wireless electronic devices was largely untapped because the waves dilute quickly as they spread, said Joshua R. Smith, a principal engineer at Intel’s research center in Seattle and an affiliate professor at the University of Washington.

“That’s changing,” said Dr. Smith, who explores the use of electromagnetic radiation. “Silicon technology has advanced to the point where even tiny amounts of energy can do useful work.”

Two types of research groups are extending the boundaries of low-power wireless devices, said Brian Otis, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at the University of Washington. Some researchers are working to reduce the power required by the devices; others are learning how to harvest power from the environment. “One day,” Professor Otis said, “those two camps will meet, and then we will have devices that can run indefinitely.”

Professor Otis, who designs and deploys integrated circuits for wireless sensing, is in the first group. Dr. Smith of Intel is one of the harvesters, gathering radio power that is now going to waste. And there are plenty of radio waves in the air to provide fodder for him as they spread from Wi-Fi transmitters, cellphone antennas, TV towers and radio stations.

Some of the waves travel to living-room televisions, for example. But others, which would otherwise be wasted as they rise through the atmosphere into space or are absorbed in the ground, can be exploited, he said. “Ambient radio waves,” he said, “can already provide enough energy to substitute for AAA batteries in some calculators, temperature and humidity sensors, and clocks.”

At Intel, Dr. Smith, working with the researcher Alanson Sample of the University of Washington, created an electronic “harvester” of ambient radio waves. It collects enough energy from a TV station broadcasting about 2.5 miles from the lab to run a temperature and humidity sensor.

The device collects enough power to produce about 50 microwatts of DC power, Dr. Smith said. That is enough for many sensing and computing jobs, said Professor Otis. The power consumption of a typical solar-powered calculator, for example, is only about 5 microwatts, he said, and that of a typical digital thermometer with a liquid crystal display is one microwatt.

DR. SMITH and his colleagues have built a second device, powered by radio waves, that collects signals from an outdoor weather station and transmits them to an indoor display. The unit can accumulate enough energy to send an updated temperature every five seconds.

Dr. Reynolds of Duke has long been interested in electronics and wireless equipment. One company he helped found, Zensi, developed a system to sense the amount of electricity used by home appliances; Zensi was bought by Belkin, an electronics concern.

Many electronic devices are limited by batteries that fade away or can’t survive temperature extremes, he said. But, he added, “we are on the cusp of an explosion in small wireless devices” than can run on alternatives to battery power. “Devices like this can live on and on,” he said.

Anecoica Apple, le prove EMC sull'antenna di iPhone 4

Se non avete mai visitato una camera anecoica, il sito Apple ha un bel filmato relativo alle prove di compatibilità elettromagnetica effettuate dopo il famoso caso dell'antenna dell'iPhone 4, l'antennagate come l'ha definito lo stesso Steve Jobs. Nelle camere anecoiche lunghi coni di materiale assorbente evitano ogni rimbalzo di segnale, consentendo così di misura l'effettivo grado di efficienza delle antenne in ricezione. Io ho avuto modo di vedere la camera in funzione a Torino presso i Telecom Italia Lab (qui un pdf descrittivo), un'esperienza molto interessante. Apple, che di camere anecoiche dichiara di averne 17, ha reso pubblico anche il filmato della conferenza stampa del 16 luglio, dove Steve Jobs presenta alcuni dati relativi ai problemi di schermatura di altri smartphone.

Number stations su National Public Radio

Sulla scia del clamore esploso intorno all'arresto di diverse persone negli Usa, con l'accusa di coinvolgimento in attività spionistiche per conto della Russia, l'americana NPR intervista lo storico dell'International Spy Museum di Washington, Mark Stout (ex funzionario della CIA), a proposito di number stations citate nelle cronache come uno dei canali utilizzati per il collegamento tra agenti e centrale. Ecco il clip audio. Sul sito trovate altri rimandi a passate trasmissioni sull'argomento.

Termosfera e minimo solare: una contrazione di troppo

La termosfera, il livello superiore della nostra atmosfera, oltre i 90 km di quota, all'interfaccia tra terra e spazio e primo punto di contatto con la radiazione solare del nostro sistema planetario, è sempre stata sensibile alle variazioni del ciclo solare. La sua densità aumenta e diminuisce in funzione della radiazione ultravioletta del sole e durante i minimi la termosfera si contrae per tornare a espandersi man mano che la attività solare ritorna a essere intensa. Secondo uno studio di John Emmert del Naval Research Lab, nel corso del minimo solare raggiunto nel 2010, la contrazione della termosfera è stata inspiegabilmente superiore al normale. Gli scienziati hanno proposto un modello di interazione in cui hanno un ruolo anche le molecole di CO2, il gas serra per eccellenza. Ma anche l'aumento della presenza di questo gas non spiegherebbe del tutto l'anomalo comportamento della termosfera (un comportamento che Emmert e colleghi misurano con precisione andando a verificare il "drag" l'attrito che la densità di questo strato esercita sui satelliti a orbita bassa). Secondo lo studio pubblicato sulle Geophysical Research Letters, l'effetto combinato del minimo solare+aumento di CO2 sarebbe sufficiente a spiegare solo il 40% del volume di contrazione effettivamente riscontrato (qui la CO2, diversamente da quanto accade negli strati più bassi dell'atmosfera, esercita un effetto refrigerante, raffreddando la termosfera che in condizioni di massimo solare può raggiungere temperature di 1400K a causa della radiazione assorbita dalle sue molecole).

C'è un fattore che sfugge e gli scienziati pensano a una possibile conseguenza delle variazioni climatiche recenti. Gli sforzi di misurazione proseguono alla ricerca di questo fattore misterioso. Lo stato di salute della termosfera è molto importante proprio per proteggerci da un eccesso di radiazione solare incidente.

A Puzzling Collapse of Earth's Upper Atmosphere

July 15, 2010: NASA-funded researchers are monitoring a big event in our planet's atmosphere. High above Earth's surface where the atmosphere meets space, a rarefied layer of gas called "the thermosphere" recently collapsed and now is rebounding again.

"This is the biggest contraction of the thermosphere in at least 43 years," says John Emmert of the Naval Research Lab, lead author of a paper announcing the finding in the June 19th issue of the Geophysical Research Letters (GRL). "It's a Space Age record."

The collapse happened during the deep solar minimum of 2008-2009—a fact which comes as little surprise to researchers. The thermosphere always cools and contracts when solar activity is low. In this case, however, the magnitude of the collapse was two to three times greater than low solar activity could explain.

"Something is going on that we do not understand," says Emmert.

The thermosphere ranges in altitude from 90 km to 600+ km. It is a realm of meteors, auroras and satellites, which skim through the thermosphere as they circle Earth. It is also where solar radiation makes first contact with our planet. The thermosphere intercepts extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photons from the sun before they can reach the ground. When solar activity is high, solar EUV warms the thermosphere, causing it to puff up like a marshmallow held over a camp fire. (This heating can raise temperatures as high as 1400 K—hence the name thermosphere.) When solar activity is low, the opposite happens.

Lately, solar activity has been very low. In 2008 and 2009, the sun plunged into a century-class solar minimum. Sunspots were scarce, solar flares almost non-existent, and solar EUV radiation was at a low ebb. Researchers immediately turned their attention to the thermosphere to see what would happen.

How do you know what's happening all the way up in the thermosphere?

Emmert uses a clever technique: Because satellites feel aerodynamic drag when they move through the thermosphere, it is possible to monitor conditions there by watching satellites decay. He analyzed the decay rates of more than 5000 satellites ranging in altitude between 200 and 600 km and ranging in time between 1967 and 2010. This provided a unique space-time sampling of thermospheric density, temperature, and pressure covering almost the entire Space Age. In this way he discovered that the thermospheric collapse of 2008-2009 was not only bigger than any previous collapse, but also bigger than the sun alone could explain.

One possible explanation is carbon dioxide (CO2).

When carbon dioxide gets into the thermosphere, it acts as a coolant, shedding heat via infrared radiation. It is widely-known that CO2 levels have been increasing in Earth's atmosphere. Extra CO2 in the thermosphere could have magnified the cooling action of solar minimum.

"But the numbers don't quite add up," says Emmert. "Even when we take CO2 into account using our best understanding of how it operates as a coolant, we cannot fully explain the thermosphere's collapse."

According to Emmert and colleagues, low solar EUV accounts for about 30% of the collapse. Extra CO2 accounts for at least another 10%. That leaves as much as 60% unaccounted for.

In their GRL paper, the authors acknowledge that the situation is complicated. There's more to it than just solar EUV and terrestrial CO2. For instance, trends in global climate could alter the composition of the thermosphere, changing its thermal properties and the way it responds to external stimuli. The overall sensitivity of the thermosphere to solar radiation could actually be increasing.

"The density anomalies," they wrote, "may signify that an as-yet-unidentified climatological tipping point involving energy balance and chemistry feedbacks has been reached."

Or not.

Important clues may be found in the way the thermosphere rebounds. Solar minimum is now coming to an end, EUV radiation is on the rise, and the thermosphere is puffing up again. Exactly how the recovery proceeds could unravel the contributions of solar vs. terrestrial sources.

"We will continue to monitor the situation," says Emmert.

For more information see Emmert, J. T., J. L. Lean, and J. M. Picone (2010), Record-low thermospheric density during the 2008 solar minimum, Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L12102.

Radio Hilario Halubras legge Jacopone da Todi

Mi tiene regolarmente informato sulle sue attività l'attore torinese Marco Gobetti, interprete di una moderna rivisitazione moderna delle antiche, oserei dire ancestrali figure degli artisti e teatranti di strada. Da qualche tempo Marco trasferisce i suoi spettacoli dai luoghi "istituzionali" - i nostri sempre più bistrattati teatri - alle piazze, magari periferiche, dei non-luoghi per eccellenza che le nostre città stanno diventando. Mi piace l'idea di dargli un pizzico di visibilità in più attraverso la mia modesta presenza Web.

Il suo ultimo progetto, "La vera storia di Hilario Halubras" ha anche una appendice radiofonica attraverso un canale su Talkshoe che ripropone le letture itineranti di questo 43enne attore, meno famoso ma inserito nella vena civile di un altro Marco, Paolini o di Ascanio Celestini. Il canale di Radio Hilario Halubras contiene già in archivio le letture da Gustavo Modena e da Giulio Cesare Croce, cantastorie bolognese della seconda metà del Cinquecento (con una strepitosa ode alle ghiottonerie del maiale). Tra pochi giorni andrà invece in onda la lettura delle Laudi di Jacopone. Se andate su Radiopassioni, il forum trovate altri dettagli.

Parolacce alla radio: incostituzionale il bavaglio FCC

Bono Vox direbbe "fucking brilliant"!!! Lo stand-up comedian George Carlin, l'iniziatore di tutto questo, ci ha purtroppo lasciati nel 2008. Ma come scrive Frank James sul blog di National Public Radio, George è sicuramente lì che se la ride da qualche parte. Tre giudici della corte d'Appello federale di New York hanno preso oggi una decisione a dir poco storica, decretando la non costituzionalità della normativa della FCC che punisce severamente - con pesanti multe e persino la revoca della licenza - le stazioni radio e tv che durante le dirette trasmettono una parolaccia "fuori copione" o che non coprono con appositi beep gli "expletives", le parolacce di una trasmissione registrata. L'incostituzionalità deriverebbe dal "chill effect", dal vincolo di inconscia autocensura che prenderebbe chiunque debba rispettare questa regola. Come dire: se hai paura di dirla grossa e di essere multato per questo, sarai limitato nella tua libertà di espressione. In piena violazione del sacro Primo Emendamento della Costituzione degli Stati Uniti. Non è affatto una decisione campata in aria: le cronache di questa straordinaria sentenza ricordano infatti che diversi anni fa una stazione televisiva evitò di mandare in onda un documentario sull'11 settembre a causa delle numerose riprese in cui i soccorritori, in preda allo shock, imprecavano senza ritegno (e vorrei vedere).

Questa lunga storia di libertà vigilata comincia nel 1973, in una stazione radio. Una stazione molto particolare, molto libertaria, gelosamente sovvenzionata dai suoi ascoltatori, WBAI-FM di New York. All'epoca il comico George Carlin aveva registrato un monologo in cui con molto umorismo snocciolava le sette parole che la FCC considerava troppo oscene per essere pronunciate al microfono. Ma WBAI le trasmette lo stesso. Siete curiosi, eh? Siccome sono certo che questo blog non verrà mai letto da qualcuno con meno di 4… vabbé diciamo 35 anni, devo supporre che tutti siano perfettamente in grado di affrontare il trauma di questa prova. Dopotutto sto agendo nel supremo interesse della scienza. Le parole, tenetevi forte, sono: Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker e Tits.

La trasmissione di Carlin solleva molte proteste e l'editore di WBAI, Pacifica, finisce in tribunale. Nel 1978, nella causa Pacifica Vs FCC, la corte diede ragione a quest'ultima e nel 2004, sotto l'amministrazione Bush, ci fu un inasprimento delle regole pratiche di applicazione (che per molto tempo erano state piuttosto flessibili). Un inasprimento legato a episodi come quello di Bono Vox, che ricevendo un premio televisivo esclamo in diretta, in pieno stile Britih Islands: this is fucking brilliant! O all'altro celebre fattaccio di una tetta scivolata fuori dal succinto abito di una cantante durante un Super Bowl.

Le vicende legali avviate dal malizioso Carlin non finirono lì. La sentenza di oggi arriva dopo che l'editore Fox aveva fatto ricorso a un altro tribunale, la cui sentenza (favorevole a Fox ma su un ambito più ristretto) era stata cassata dalla Corte Suprema. La Corte Suprema aveva però rinviato il giudizio finale di costituzionalità alla Corte d'Appello Federale che oggi ha finalmente dato torto alla FCC.

Vi lascio alla lettura del blog NPR e a qualche riferimento. Intanto il testo originale letto da Carlin e la pagina della FCC sul tema "oscenità".

Ma le vere chicche si trovano sul sito di WBAI e sul suo archivio di trasmissioni storiche, From The Vault Radio. In fondo a questa pagina trovate un programma del 2008 in ricordo di un Carlin appena scomparso. From the vault parla diffusamente del Carlin Case e consente di ascoltare ampi estratti (costellati da beep, evidentemente) del suo celeberrimo monologo insieme ad altri programmi e interviste.

E adesso leggetevi il post, dove trovate anche i link ai testi delle sentenze. Non voglio tracciare paralleli eccessivi, ma vi prego di prendere seriamente in considerazione il ragionamento dei giudici americani (comunisti? teratogeni?). La legge dice che se parli rischi di prendere una multa. In questo modo la legge ti mette nella spiacevole situazione di dover modificare o tacere quello che avevi da dire per timore di dover pagare una multa troppo salata. Ergo, la legge viola il tuo diritto costituzionale alla libertà di espressione. E' proprio il caso di dirlo: paese che vai, metastasi giustizialista che trovi...

FCC Indecency Rules Unconstitutional: Court

July 13, 2010

by FRANK JAMES

Somewhere, the late comedian George Carlin must be smiling. A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down the Federal Communications Commission's broadcast indecency policy, saying it violated the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. The decision resulted from a lawsuit filed by Fox Television and other broadcasters — Fox Television vs the FCC.

Broadcasters sued the agency, contending the unconstitutionality of an FCC rule that a fleeting, unscripted utterance of a single expletive during a network show is indecent which make a broadcaster potentially liable for huge monetary fines.

The three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, wrote:

We now hold that the FCC’s policy violates the First Amendment because it is unconstitutionally vague, creating a chilling effect that goes far beyond the fleeting expletives at issue here.

The appeals court decision hearkens back to the granddaddy of all broadcast indecency cases, Pacifica Foundation vs. FCC. In that case, the appeals court for the District of Columbia circuit struck down a 1975 FCC fine against Pacifica for its station playing a 12-minute recording of Carlin's "Filthy Words" monologue.

The Supreme Court, however, sided with the FCC. It didn't rule on Pacifica's claim that the FCC's rule at the time was too broad and violated the First Amendment.

The high court instead restricted its opinion to whether the FCC had the authority to issue the fine and whether the agency could regulate the broadcast of some language that wasn't considered obscene. The Supreme Court ruled for the agency.

But the Supreme Court emphasized that the FCC's authority was limited.

As the appeals court in Tuesday's case recounts, the FCC responded in the following years by saying it would limit its power to police broadcast indecency to Carlin's "seven dirty words."

The FCC later moved away from a strict focus on those seven words, saying it would consider the context in which the dirty words were used. In the 1980s, "fleeting" uses would largely get a pass. For years, the FCC followed that more lenient approach.

But then the agency shifted again in the last decade. In 2004, after U2 lead singer Bono exclaimed "This is f*#@$^% brilliant" after the group received an award during that year's Golden Globe broadcast, the FCC cracked down.

Like the Lord Joseph in Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore who is singularly scandalized by a character's use of a variant of "damn," the FCC said the use of the f-word was so objectionable, that even a fleeting use couldn't be allowed.

The harder line, the fact that the FCC started to treat each broadcast of a show with a particular indecency as a separate instance, and an increase by ten times of the congressionally mandated fines for indecency eventually led broadcasters to say enough was enough. So they sued.

Earlier in the present case, the appeals court struck down the FCC rule on the narrow grounds that it violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

The Supreme Court sided with the FCC on that, however, and sent the case back to the appeals court for a decision on the constitutionality of the law. Tuesday's opinion was the appellate court's answer.

Visitatori autorevoli

La Farnesina, il nostro Ministero degli Esteri, arriva su Radiopassioni, che ha appena riportato il comunicato stampa del Referente ONU per la libertà di espressione, Frank La Rue. Ci arriva cercando su Google (in modo piuttosto sgrammaticato, i miei complimenti) informazioni su questo agente comunista, pagato direttamente da... Cavolo, dove lo troviamo oggi un governo abbastanza comunista da pagare costui? Cuba! Dev'essere senz'altro pagato da Cuba, da Fidèl in persona (quello con il barbone incolto, non quello tutto azzimato e gli occhiali d'oro che suona il piano classico mentre dirige sei canali televisivi)! Eh sì, per forza: questo La Rue è anche guatemalteco, ha fondato una centrale di propaganda comunista chiamata CALDH Center for Legal Action on Human Right, si occupa di diritti umani da 25 anni. E ovviamente si mette a perdere tempo con il Popolo delle Libertà, invece di dare la caccia alle dittature vere.

Ehi, Farnesina, almeno capisci lo spagnolo?

Conociendo a Frank La Rue from Alfredo Jop on Vimeo.

Cambogia, Italia

Non ci sono veramente più parole. Ed entro breve, mi sa che anche se ci fossero sarebbe proibito dirle...

Italy: draft wiretapping law should be scrapped or revised, says UN expert on freedom of expression

GENEVA (13 July 2010) – The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, Frank La Rue, urged the Italian Government to “either abolish or revise draft law 1415* on surveillance and eavesdropping for criminal investigations.” He warned that, “if adopted in its current form, it may undermine the enjoyment of the right to freedom of expression in Italy.”

According to the current draft, anyone who is not accredited as a professional journalist can be sentenced to imprisonment for up to four years for recording any communication or conversation without the consent of the person involved, and publicizing such information.

“Such a severe penalty will seriously undermine all individuals’ right to seek and impart information in contravention of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights** to which Italy is a party,” stressed the independent expert designated by the Human Rights Council to monitor the situation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression worldwide.

La Rue also expressed concern regarding the introduction of a penalty for journalists and publishers who publish the content of leaked wiretapped materials before the beginning of a trial. “Such punishment, including up to 30 days in jail and a penalty of up to 10,000 euros for journalists and 450,000 euros for publishers, is disproportionate to the offence.”

“These provisions may hamper the work of journalists to undertake investigative journalism on matters of public interest, such as corruption, given the excessive length of judicial proceedings in Italy, as highlighted repeatedly by the Council of Europe,” the Special Rapporteur noted.

“I am aware that the draft law has been put forward due to perceived concerns regarding implications of publicizing wiretapped information to the judicial process and the right to privacy,” La Rue said. “However, the draft law in its current form does not constitute an appropriate response to such concerns, and poses threats to the right to freedom of expression.”

Noting the nationwide demonstrations by journalists and ordinary citizens against the draft law on 9 July 2010, the expert recommended the Government to “refrain from adopting the draft law in its current form, and to engage in meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders, in particular journalists and media organizations, to ensure that their concerns are taken into account.”

“I stand ready to provide technical assistance to ensure that the draft law is in compliance with international human rights standards on the right to freedom of expression,” La Rue said. “I look forward to engaging with the Government of Italy regarding a possible fact-finding mission in 2011 to examine the situation of press freedom and the right to freedom of expression in Italy.”

Frank La Rue was appointed as Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression in August 2008 by the UN Human Rights Council. As Special Rapporteur, he is independent from any Government or organization and serves in his individual capacity. The UN first decided to appoint a Special Rapporteur to examine questions relevant to the right to freedom of opinion and expression in 1993. The mandate, since reviewed and extended in 2008, involves reporting annually to the Human Rights Council on issues related to freedom of opinion and expression.

(*) Progetto di Legge 1415: Norme in material di intercettazioni telefoniche, telematiche e ambientali. The draft law was passed by the Senate on 10 June 2010 and is pending approval by the Chamber of Deputies and signature by the President before it becomes law.

(**) Article 19 of the ICCPR states: Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.

OHCHR Country Page – Italy: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/ENACARegion/Pages/ITIndex.aspx