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Good call, Kapoo. Snopes currently just says "Research in progress" but
knowing them they'll have some helpful clarifications soon:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/neutrality.asp
[postscript: in the time I wrote this email, snopes sanctioned it as
True]
Honestly, I don't pay much attention to MoveOn anymore. Just too biased.
(And kudos again to the improvetheworld list for always
digging out the truth above any other agenda!)
I found the following short editorial helpful:
http://www.newyorker.com/printables/talk/060320ta_talk_surowiecki
But if you're concerned about congress ruining the internet, what we
really need to get up in arms about is fighting the Intellectual Property
Protection Act. Eroding Fair Use, 10 year prison terms for copyright
violation, illegal to make a player that can skip commercials, ... it's
disgusting and dangerous. And, by the way, is anyone else as annoyed as I
am by the "public service" ads from RIAA? ("you wouldn't steal a purse,
so don't steal music!" Such utter shit. A more apt analogy: "you
wouldn't copy a recipe from a friend, so don't copy their music")
Check out the whiteboard for things we can do about this:
http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/dreeves/improvetheworld/
Danny
--- \/ FROM Christine Kapusky AT 06.04.25 14:52 (Today) \/ ---
> Someone check it on www.snopes.com
> I can't access that website, because my school district has banned that site
> as inappropriate...
>
>
> On 4/25/06, Joshua J Estelle wrote:
>>
>> I believe this is a fairly serious issue and I'm glad MoveOn is letting
>> people know about it.
>>
>> Vint Cerf (of Google) spoke out on the issue back in November when
>> there was a hearing with congress on the topic, check Google's blog
>> post about it here:
>> http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/11/vint-cerf-speaks-out-on-net-
>> neutrality.html
>>
>> There's lots more about this out in the world and I encourage you to
>> read more if you're interested.
>>
>> Josh
>>
>>
>> On Apr 25, 2006, at 2:23 PM, Dave Morris wrote:
>>
>>> Has anyone heard about this? Anyone know if it's serious or not?
>>>
>>> Dave
>>>
>>> Begin forwarded message:
>>>
>>>> From: "Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org Civic Action"
>>>>
>>>> Date: April 20, 2006 5:57:58 PM EDT
>>>> To: "Dave Morris"
>>>> Subject: Congress is selling out the Internet
>>>>
>>>> Google, Amazon, MoveOn.All these entities are fighting back as
>>>> Congress tries to pass a lawgiving a few corporationsthe power
>>>> toend the free and openInternet as we know it.
>>>>
>>>> Tell Congress topreserve the free and open Internet today.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Click Here
>>>>
>>>> Dear MoveOn member,
>>>>
>>>> Do you buy books online,use Google, or download to an Ipod?These
>>>> activities, plus MoveOn's online organizing ability, will behurt if
>>>> Congresspasses a radical law thatgives giant corporations more
>>>> control over the Internet.
>>>>
>>>> Internet providers like AT&T and Verizon are lobbying Congress hard
>>>> togut Network Neutrality, theInternet's First Amendment.Net
>>>> Neutrality prevents AT&T fromchoosing which websites open most
>>>> easily for you based on which site pays AT&T more. Amazon doesn't
>>>> have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to work more properly on
>>>> your computer.
>>>>
>>>> If Net Neutrality is gutted,MoveOn either pays protection money to
>>>> dominant Internet providersor risks that online activism tools don't
>>>> work for members. Amazon and Google either payprotection
>>>> moneyorrisk that their websites process slowly on your computer.
>>>> That why thesehigh-tech pioneersare joining the fight to protect
>>>> Network Neutrality1 and you can do your part today.
>>>>
>>>> The free and open Internet isunder seige can you sign this petition
>>>> letting your member of Congress know you support preserving Network
>>>> Neutrality? Click here:
>>>>
>>>> http://www.civic.moveon.org/save_the_internet/?id=3D7356-347076-
>>>> an8SbRs70xz4702MtS41Ug&t=3D4
>>>>
>>>> Then, please forward this to3 friends. Protecting the free and open
>>>> Internetis fundamental it affects everything. When you sign this
>>>> petition, you'll be kept informed ofthe next stepswe can take
>>>> tokeep the heat on Congress. Votes begin in a House committee next
>>>> week.
>>>>
>>>> MoveOn hasalready seenwhat happens whenthe Internet's gatekeepers
>>>> get too much control.Just last week, AOL blocked any email
>>>> mentioninga coalition that MoveOn is a part of,which opposes AOL's
>>>> proposed "email tax."2And last year,Canada's version of
>>>> AT&T Telus blocked their Internet customers from visitinga website
>>>> sympathetic toworkers with whom Telus was negotiating.3
>>>>
>>>> Politiciansdon't think we are paying attention to this issue. Many
>>>> of them take campaign checks from big telecom companies and are on
>>>> the verge of selling out to people likeAT&T's CEO, whoopenly says,
>>>> "The internet can't be free."4
>>>>
>>>> Together, we can let Congress know we are paying attention. We can
>>>> make sure theylisten to our voices and the voices of people like
>>>> Vint Cerf, a father of the Internet andGoogle's "Chief Internet
>>>> Evangelist," who recently wrote this to Congress in support of
>>>> preserving Network Neutrality:
>>>>>> My fear is that, as written, this bill would do great damage to the
>>>>>> Internet as we know it. Enshrining a rule that broadly permits
>>>>>> network operators to discriminate in favor of certain kinds of
>>>>>> services and to potentially interfere with others would place
>>>>>> broadband operators in control of online activity...Telephone
>>>>>> companies cannot tell consumers who they can call; network
>>>>>> operators should not dictate what people can do online.4
>>>> The essence of the Internet is at risk can you sign this petition
>>>> letting your member of Congress know you support preserving Network
>>>> Neutrality? Click here:
>>>>
>>>> http://www.civic.moveon.org/save_the_internet/?id=3D7356-347076-
>>>> an8SbRs70xz4702MtS41Ug&t=3D5
>>>>
>>>> Please forward to 3 others who care about thisissue. Thanks for all
>>>> you do.
>>>>
>>>> Eli Pariser, Adam Green, Noah T. Winer,and the MoveOn.org Civic
>>>> Action team
>>>> Thursday, April 20th, 2006
>>>> P.S. If Congress abandons Network Neutrality,who will be affected?
>>>> Advocacy groupslike MoveOn Political organizing could be
>> slowed
>>>> by a handful of dominant Internet providers who ask advocacy groups
>>>> to pay "protection money"for their websites and online features to
>>>> work correctly.
>>>> Nonprofits A charity's website could open at snail-speed ,
>> and
>>>> online contributions could grind to a halt, ifnonprofitscan't pay
>>>> dominant Internet providers for access to "the fast lane" of Internet
>>>> service.
>>>> Google users Another search engine could pay dominant
>> Internet
>>>> providers like AT&T to guarantee the competing search engine opens
>>>> faster than Google on your computer.
>>>> Innovatorswith the "next big idea" Startups and
>> entrepreneurs
>>>> will be muscled out of the marketplace by big corporations that pay
>>>> Internet providers fordominant placingon the Web. The little guy
>>>> will be left in the "slow lane" with inferior Internet service,
>>>> unable to compete.
>>>> Ipod listeners A company like Comcast could slow access to
>>>> iTunes, steering you to a higher-priced music service that it owned.
>>>> Online purchasers Companies could pay Internet providers
>> to
>>>> guaranteetheir online salesprocessfaster than competitors
>>>> withlower prices distorting your choice as a consumer.
>>>> Small businesses and tele-commuters When Internet
>> companies like
>>>> AT&T favor their own services, you won't be able to choose more
>>>> affordable providers for online video, teleconferencing,Internet
>>>> phone calls, and software that connects your home computer to your
>>>> office.
>>>> Parents and retirees Your choices as a consumer could be
>>>> controlled by your Internetprovider, steering you to theirpreferred
>>>> services for online banking, health care information, sending photos,
>>>> planning vacations, etc.
>>>> Bloggers Costs will skyrocket to post and share video and
>> audio
>>>> clips silencing citizen journalists and putting more power in the
>>>> hands of a few corporate-owned media outlets.To signthe petition to
>>>> Congress supporting "network neutrality," click here:
>>>>> http://www.civic.moveon.org/save_the_internet/?id=3D7356-347076-
>>>>> an8SbRs70xz4702MtS41Ug&t=3D6
>>>> P.P.S. This excerpt fromthe New Yorker really sums up this issue
>>>> well.
>>>>>> In the first decades of the twentieth century, as a national
>>>>>> telephone network spread across the United States, A.T. & T.
>>>>>> adopted a policy of "tiered access" for businesses. Companies that
>>>>>> paid an extra fee got better service: their customers' calls went
>>>>>> through immediately, were rarely disconnected, and sounded
>>>>>> crystal-clear. Those who didn't pony up had a harder time making
>>>>>> calls out, and people calling them sometimes got an "all circuits
>>>>>> busy" response. Over time, customers gravitated toward the
>>>>>> higher-tier companies and away from the ones that were more
>>>>>> difficult to reach. In effect, A.T. & T.'s policy turned it into a
>>>>>> corporate kingmaker.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> If you've never heard about this bit of business history, there's a
>>>>>> good reason: it never happened. Instead, A.T. & T. had to abide by
>>>>>> a "common carriage" rule: it provided the same quality of service
>>>>>> to all, and could not favor one customer over another. But, while
>>>>>> "tiered access" never influenced the spread of the telephone
>>>>>> network, it is becoming a major issue in the evolution of the
>>>>>> Internet.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Until recently, companies that provided Internet access followed a
>>>>>> de-facto commoncarriage rule, usually called "network neutrality,"
>>>>>> which meant that all Web sites got equal treatment. Network
>>>>>> neutrality was considered so fundamental to the success of the Net
>>>>>> that Michael Powell, when he was chairman of the F.C.C., described
>>>>>> it as one of the basic rules of "Internet freedom." In the past few
>>>>>> months, though, companies like A.T. & T. and BellSouth have been
>>>>>> trying to scuttle it. In the future, Web sites that pay extra to
>>>>>> providers could receive what BellSouth recently called "special
>>>>>> treatment," and those that don't could end up in the slow lane. One
>>>>>> day, BellSouth customers may find that, say, NBC.com loads a lot
>>>>>> faster than YouTube.com, and that the sites BellSouth favors just
>>>>>> seem to run more smoothly. Tiered access will turn the providers
>>>>>> into Internet gatekeepers.4
>>>> Sources:
>>>>
>>>> 1. "Telecommunication Policy Proposed by Congress Must Recognize
>>>> Internet Neutrality," Letter to Senate leaders, March 23, 2006
>>>> http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3D1653
>>>>
>>>> 2. "AOL Blocks Critics' E-Mails," Los Angeles Times, April 14, 2006
>>>> http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3D1649
>>>>
>>>> 3. "B.C. Civil Liberties Association Denounces Blocking of Website by
>>>> Telus," British Columbia Civil Liberties Association Statement, July
>>>> 27, 2005
>>>> http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3D1650
>>>>
>>>> 4. "At SBC, It's All About 'Scale and Scope," BusinessWeek, November
>>>> 7, 2002
>>>> http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3D1648
>>>>
>>>> 5. "Net Losses," New Yorker, March 20, 2006
>>>> http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3D1646
>>>>
>>>> 6. "Don't undercut Internet access," San Francisco Chronicle
>>>> editorial, April 17, 2006
>>>> http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3D1645
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Subscription Management:
>>>> This is a message from MoveOn.org Civic Action. To change your email
>>>> address, update your contact info, or remove yourself (Dave Morris)
>>>> from this list, please visit our subscription management page at:
>>>> http://moveon.org/s?i=3D7356-347076-an8SbRs70xz4702MtS41Ug
>>> David P. Morris, PhD
>>> Senior Engineer, ElectroDynamic Applications, Inc.
>>> morris Æ edapplications.com, (734)786-1434, fax: (734)786-3235
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Fortune cookie gems:
> "Creating is the greatest proof of being alive."
>
> "Sometimes the best choice is to choose all options."
> ~ck~
>
--
http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/dreeves - - search://"Daniel Reeves"
"Ever since prehistoric times, wise men have tried to
understand what, exactly, make people laugh. That's why they
were called 'wise men.' All the other prehistoric people were
out puncturing each other with spears, and the wise men were
back in the cave saying: 'How about: Would you please take my
wife? No. How about: Here is my wife, please take her right
now. No. How about: Would you like to take something? My wife
is available. No. How about ...'"
Dave Barry, "Why Humor is Funny"
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