Is Canada the Test Case for Replacing the Free Internet with a Cable System?

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: Synthesis:Law and Technology Law and Technology [synthesis.law.and.technology () gmail com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 10:30 AM
To: David Farber
Cc: cj () satyacenter com
Subject: Re: [IP] DO READ -- Is Canada the Test Case for Replacing the Free Internet with a Cable System?

Dave,

As a Canadian I would find this news to be shocking!.....that is if I could find any evidence it were actually true.
I found nothing.  Nothing at the CRTC.  Nothing on the net...except for...this article.  How the author jumped from the 
silliness of the text message charge (which everyone knew would be rolled back as soon as the kids told their parents 
about it) to this speculation is beyond me.  I for one will not be looking for an article in Time magazine in the 
upcoming weeks because I am certain there is none.

I expect to see this story on Snopes.com within the hour. I think it is great that curtis brought the post to our 
attention because whether this is story is wild speculation or a clumsy corporate attempt at viral marketing or a new 
take on the classic 'pass it on' e-mail warnings it sure deserves to be thoroughly stopped in its tracks.


Dan Steinberg

SYNTHESIS:Law & Technology
35, du Ravin phone: (613) 794-5356
Chelsea, Quebec
J9B 1N1




On 7/22/08, David Farber <dave () farber net<mailto:dave () farber net>> wrote:

________________________________________
From: Curtis Lang [cj () satyacenter com<mailto:cj () satyacenter com>]
Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 8:24 AM
To: David Farber
Subject: Is Canada the Test Case for Replacing the Free Internet with a Cable System?

Dave — As a longtime journalist and Netizen who now operates a small but very successful web portal and retail store, I 
am curious what your mailing list thinks of the following article. If you think it's right to discuss, please send it 
along.

Cheers,
Curtis
........................................
Curtis Lang
Partner
SatyaCenter.com
http://www.satyacenter.com


Information clearing house
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20330.htm
Death of Free Internet is Imminent
Canada Will Become Test Case
By Kevin Parkinson

21/07/08 "Global Research" -- - In the last 15 years or so, as a society we have had access to more information than 
ever before in modern history because of the Internet. There are approximately 1 billion Internet users in the world B 
and any one of these users can theoretically communicate in real time with any other on the planet. The Internet has 
been the greatest technological achievement of the 20th century by far, and has been recognized as such by the global 
community.

The free transfer of information, uncensored, unlimited and untainted, still seems to be a dream when you think about 
it.  Whatever field that is mentioned- education, commerce, government, news, entertainment, politics and countless 
other areas-  have been radically affected by the introduction of the Internet. And mostly, it's good news, except when 
poor judgements are made and people are taken advantage of. Scrutiny and oversight are needed, especially where 
children are involved.

However, when there are potential profits open to a corporation, the needs of society don't count. Take the recent case 
in Canada with the behemoths, Telus and Rogers rolling out a charge for text messaging without any warning to the 
public. It was an arrogant and risky move for the telecommunications giants because it backfired. People actually used 
Internet technology to deliver a loud and clear message to these companies and that was to scrap the extra charge. The 
people used the power of the Internet against the big boys and the little guys won.



However, the issue of text messaging is just a tiny blip on the radar screens of Telus and another company, Bell 
Canada, the two largest Internet Service Providers (ISP'S) in Canada. Our country is being used as a test case to 
drastically change the delivery of Internet service forever. The change will be so radical that it has the potential to 
send us back to the horse and buggy days of information sharing and access.



In the upcoming weeks watch for a report in Time Magazine that will attempt to smooth over the rough edges of a 
diabolical plot by Bell Canada and Telus, to begin charging per site fees on most Internet sites.  The plan is to 
convert the Internet into a cable-like system, where customers sign up for specific web sites, and then pay to visit 
sites beyond a cutoff point.



> From my browsing (on the currently free Internet) I have discovered that the 'demise' of the free Internet is slated 
> for 2010 in Canada, and two years later around the world.  Canada is seen a good choice to implement such shameful and 
> sinister changes, since Canadians are viewed as being laissez fair, politically uninformed and an easy target. The 
> corporate marauders will iron out the wrinkles in Canada and then spring the new, castrated version of the Internet on 
> the rest of the world, probably with little fanfare, except for some dire warnings about the 'evil' of the Internet 
> (free) and the CEO's spouting about 'safety and security'. These buzzwords usually work pretty well.



What will the Internet look like in Canada in 2010? I suspect that the ISP's will provide a "package" program as 
companies like Cogeco currently do. Customers will pay for a series of websites as they do now for their television 
stations.  Television stations will be available on-line as part of these packages, which will make the networks happy 
since they have lost much of the younger market which are surfing and chatting on their computers in the evening. 
However, as is the case with cable television now, if you choose something that is not part of the package, you know 
what happens. You pay extra.



And this is where the Internet (free) as we know it will suffer almost immediate, economic strangulation. Thousands and 
thousands of Internet sites will not be part of the package so users will have to pay extra to visit those sites!  In 
just an hour or two it is possible to easily visit 20-30 sites or more while looking for information.  Just imagine how 
high these costs will be.



At present, the world condemns China because that country restricts certain websites. "They are undemocratic; they are 
removing people's freedom; they don't respect individual rights; they are censoring information," are some of the 
comments we hear. But what Bell Canada and Telus have planned for Canadians is much worse than that.  They are planning 
the death of the Internet (free) as we know it, and I expect they'll be hardly a whimper from Canadians. It's all part 
of the corporate plan for a New World Order and virtually a masterstroke that will lead to the creation of billions and 
billions of dollars of corporate profit at the expense of the working and middle classes.



There are so many other implications as a result of these changes, far too many to elaborate on here. Be aware that we 
will all lose our privacy because all websites will be tracked as part of the billing procedure, and we will be 
literally cut off from 90% of the information that we can access today. The little guys on the Net will fall likes 
flies; Bloggers and small website operators will die a quick death because people will not pay to go to their sites and 
read their pages.



Ironically, the only medium that can save us is the one we are trying to save- the Internet (free). This article will 
be posted on my Blog, www.realitycheck.typepad.com<http://www.realitycheck.typepad.com> and I encourage people and 
groups to learn more about this issue. Canadians can keep the Internet free just as they kept text messaging free.  
Don't wait for the federal politicians. They will do nothing to help us.



I would welcome a letter to the editor of the Standard Freeholder from a spokesperson from Bell Canada or Telus telling 
me that I am absolutely wrong in what I have written, and that no such changes to the Internet are being planned, and 
that access to Internet sites will remain FREE in the years to come.  In the meantime, I encourage all of you to write 
to the media, ask questions, phone the radio station, phone a friend, or think of something else to prevent what 
appears to me to be inevitable.



Maintaining Internet (free) access is the only way we have a chance at combatting the global corporate takeover, the 
North American Union, and a long list of other deadly deeds that the elite in society have planned for us. Yesterday 
was too late in trying to protect our rights and freedoms. We must now redouble our efforts in order to give our 
children and grandchildren a fighting chance in the future.


Author's website: http://realitycheck.typepad.com/



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Dan Steinberg

SYNTHESIS:Law & Technology
35, du Ravin phone: (613) 794-5356
Chelsea, Quebec
J9B 1N1


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