Mediaboss Marketing

President Obama on Monday called on federal regulators to toughen proposed net-neutrality rules for Internet traffic, including taking the controversial step of changing the way the law treats broadband providers so they are subject to stricter utility-like regulation.

In a two-page statement and a two-minute online video, Obama came out in favor of the toughest possible regulation of Internet service providers on an issue that has flooded the Federal Communications Commission with a record of about 4 million public comments.

"Ever since the Internet was created, it's been organized around basic principles of openness, fairness and freedom," Obama said in the video posted on the White House website.

"There are no gatekeepers deciding which sites you get to access. There are no toll roads on the information superhighway," he said. "Abandoning these principals would threaten to end the Internet as we know it."

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Monday that he was "grateful" for Obama's input and called the president's statement "an important welcome addition" to the agency's deliberations.

But Wheeler said the legal issues involved with crafting the rules are complex and the FCC has "more work to do."

"We must take the time to get the job done correctly, once and for all, in order to successfully protect consumers and innovators online," Wheeler said.

In May, the FCC voted to begin a formal rule-making process to consider regulations on Internet traffic after previous net-neutrality rules were largely struck down by a federal court.

The rules proposed by Wheeler, whom Obama appointed last year, could allow preferential treatment for some companies willing to pay broadband providers for faster content delivery.

The FCC asked the public for comments and was inundated with opposition to such a move. Consumer groups and net-neutrality advocates have pushed the FCC not to allow such preferential treatment, which they have likened to Internet toll roads.

See the original post here:
Obama calls on FCC to toughen proposed net-neutrality rules

U.S. President Barack Obama, left, is greeted by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, for the dinner hosted by Xi for APEC leaders at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, Monday, Nov. 10, 2014. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Beijing (CNN) -- Even as President Obama is expected to raise the issues of democratic rights and press freedoms during a trip to China this week, there is a question whether he will hold his own news conference with reporters covering his three-day stop in Beijing.

White House officials accompanying Obama cautioned leaders in Beijing are still balking at the U.S. proposal for a joint news conference with Chinese President Xi. But consultations with Chinese officials continue on the issue, aides said.

"No final word," one senior administration official said.

A separate official stressed the President may go forward with his own news conference, without Xi, a move that may add pressure to already tense U.S.-Chinese relations.

Obama administration officials prepared reporters for the possibility of limited access to Obama during a background briefing with reporters last week. Reservations among Chinese officials were cited as the sole reason for potential press restrictions.

"If you go back to when Chinese leaders have agreed to joint press availabilities, you'll have a very hard time finding one where they have been willing to take questions from the press," said Brookings Institution analyst Ken Lieberthal at a briefing on the President's trip last week.

"So we want it; they don't. They are the host. That's where we end up," Lieberthal added.

Joint news conferences are a norm for U.S. presidents as they travel much of the world. Generally, Obama and foreign leaders will engage in a news conference described as "2+2" with journalists, meaning two questions each from U.S. and foreign reporters. But there are rare exceptions, such as Obama's visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this year.

Read more:
Obama's press conundrum in China

Former RNC chair Steele: Rand Paul is the 2016 Republican frontrunner
Michael Steele on Meet the Press 11/2/14.

By: bxtidre7

Read the original here:
Former RNC chair Steele: Rand Paul is the 2016 Republican frontrunner - Video

Sen. Rand Paul Rejoices In Mitch McConnell #39;s Win
Source: https://www.youtube.com/user/FoxNewsChannel November 04, 2014 - Sen. Rand Paul reacts to Mitch McConnell #39;s win PigmineNews.com: http://www.pigminenew...

By: PigMine 6

Read more:
Sen. Rand Paul Rejoices In Mitch McConnell's Win - Video

Rand Paul: "I haven #39;t joined the neocon cabal"
Sign the petition to arrest Marxist collaborator Marco Rubio at mofopolitics.com.

By: mfprex

The rest is here:
Rand Paul: "I haven't joined the neocon cabal" - Video