THE HANDSTAND

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2006

 Here is further confirmation of the three pages in January Issue Handstand on internet issues of political importance,Big Brother moves behind the scenes:

THE END OF THE INTERNET?

By Jeff Chester, The Nation.

Verizon, Comcast, Bell South and other communications giants are developing strategies that would track and store information on our every move in cyberspace in a vast data-collection and marketing system, the scope of which could rival the National Security Agency. According to white papers now being circulated in the cable, telephone and telecommunications industries, those with the deepest pockets--corporations, special-interest groups and major advertisers -- would get preferred treatment. Content from these providers would have first priority on our computer and television screens, while information seen as undesirable, such as peer-to-peer communications, could be relegated to a slow lane or simply shut out.

Under the plans they are considering, all of us--from content providers to individual users -- would pay more to surf online(See Example below), stream videos or even send e-mail. Industry planners are mulling new subscription plans that would further limit the online experience, establishing "platinum," "gold" and
"silver" levels of Internet access that would set limits on the number of downloads, media streams or even e-mail messages that could be sent or received.

To make this pay-to-play vision a reality, phone and cable lobbyists are now engaged in a political campaign to further weaken the nation's communications policy laws. They want the federal government to permit them to operate Internet and other digital communications services as private networks, free of policy safeguards or governmental oversight. Indeed, both the Congress and the Federal Communications Commission are considering proposals that will have far-reaching impact
on the Internet's future. Ten years after passage of the ill-advised Telecommunications Act of 1996, telephone and cable companies are using the same political snake oil to convince compromised or clueless lawmakers to subvert the Internet into a turbo-charged digital retail machine.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060213/chester
* Links to White Papers mentioned above:
http://www.democraticmedia.org/issues/netneutrality.html
* Grand Rapids requires Network Neutrality in municipal wireless network
http://www.wirelesscommunity.info/2006/01/31/grand-rapids-requires-
network-neutrality-in-municipal-wireless-network/
* Just Say No(thing)
http://gigaom.com/2006/02/01/just-say-nothing/
* The Real Bandwidth Hog? The Telcos
http://techdirt.com/articles/20060202/024219_F.shtml

from Frank Scott

EXAMPLE
EUobserver.com (http://euobserver.com/?aid=20797&rk=1
THE NEWS *************************************************************

1. EU leaders seek legitimacy through action at 'elitist' event - 30.01.2006 - 09:54
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A high-profile conference in Salzburg on the future of Europe saw the
interest of leaders and intellectuals shift away from constitutional
designs towards concrete political action - but EU foreign policy chief
Javier Solana warned against sidelining the EU constitution.

Article >> http://euobserver.com/?aid=20797&rk=1
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