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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Zoltan! who wrote (188628)	10/3/2001 1:22:27 PM
From: JDN	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

Dear Zoltan and all: Since you mention the Democrats, what about GARY CONDIT?? Can you BELIEVE they put him on this new homeland defense committee and that he apparently is going to run for reelection? What a shame. Disgrace to the committee, shows they are not really SERIOUS about it. Feel sorry for that poor girl who lost her life and so soon they forget. JDN

To: Zoltan! who wrote (188628)	10/3/2001 1:52:29 PM
From: goldworldnet	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

S.F. bans Net filters on library computers Move defies federal threat to cut funds Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, October 2, 2001 Despite the threatened loss of federal funds, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors sided with free speech advocates yesterday and banned Internet filters on most public-access computers at the city's libraries. The decision affects computers primarily used by teenagers and adults. The board left up to the discretion of the Library Commission whether to install filtering software on computers in the children's areas at the Main Library in Civic Center and in neighborhood branches. "I believe this clearly to be a free speech issue," said Supervisor Mark Leno, who sponsored the ban. While Leno doesn't want to promote access to pornography on taxpayer- financed computers, he said, filters would block people from finding important information on AIDS, sexuality, breast cancer and other potentially controversial topics. Originally, he wanted to ban filtering on any library computers used by the public. But after Supervisor Tony Hall raised objections that children could gain access to pornography and other adult-oriented content, Leno softened his proposal to allow library officials to decide the policy for computers primarily used by children under the age of 13. Internet filtering is intended to weed out specific Web sites and Internet content. For example, it can block access to information with the words "sex" and "porn" and has been championed by those who don't want children to come across such terms while surfing the Web. At the same time, however, filters can have the unintended consequences of blocking information on such innocuous subjects as Super Bowl XXX, because the use of the Roman numeral "X" can be read to mean X-rated. A federal statute, the Children's Internet Protection Act, requires public schools and libraries to use software filters if federal funds were used to help pay for the computers, Internet access and related functions. Those jurisdictions that don't comply could lose federal funding, which in San Francisco's case could amount to $20,000 or more a year. The federal law was enacted in April, but public officials won't have to install the filters until 2003. Meanwhile, the American Library Association and the American Civil Liberties Union have sued to overturn the law, saying it violates the First Amendment. It has been the policy of the San Francisco Public Library since 1999 to allow its computers to operate without filters. The board's action codifies that position. Other Bay Area communities already have addressed the issue. Hayward, Berkeley and Oakland, for example, don't block Web content at all. Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties have installed filters on computers in children's areas. The San Francisco Unified School District allows each school to set its own policy. sfgate.com * * *