Internet gatekeepers are already discriminating against Web sites and services they don't like:

* In 2004, North Carolina ISP Madison River blocked their DSL customers from using any rival Web-based phone service.

* In 2005, Canada's telephone giant Telus blocked customers from visiting a Web site sympathetic to the Telecommunications Workers Union during a contentious labor dispute.

* Shaw, a major Canadian cable, internet, and telephone service company, intentionally downgrades the "quality and reliability" of competing Internet-phone services that their customers might choose -- driving customers to their own phone services not through better services, but by rigging the marketplace.

* In April, Time Warner's AOL blocked all emails that mentioned www.dearaol.com -- an advocacy campaign opposing the company's pay-to-send e-mail scheme.

http://savetheinternet.com/=act">h...theinternet.com

BCCLA Press Release
July 27, 2005
News Category: Press_page

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is calling on Telus to remove a block on subscribers’ access to a website operated by members of the Telecommunications Workers Union. The union is currently on strike and Telus has blocked access to the Voices for Change website, alleging privacy concerns and that the website encourages the jamming of phone lines to Telus call centres.

According to BCCLA President, Jason Gratl, “We reviewed the website from a proxy server because we were blocked on our Telus server. We didn’t see anything that would support the justifications given for blocking access to the site. Telus is leveraging its power as a telecommunications service provider to censor a specific group, shut down debate and limit the messages conveyed about the current labour dispute.”

The BCCLA takes no position on the collective bargaining dispute. Jason Gratl: “The merits of the labour dispute are not our issue. We are concerned about freedom of expression. The media report that there is acrimony on both sides of the fence on this issue. But as always, we advocate fighting speech with speech.”

Zues, if your computer is running slow, perhaps it is not conspiracy but your computer.

Run a virus & spyware scan, clear your history/ cache/ temp files. Defrag your computer. Check what is running at startup/ in the background.


Now I have to tell you that just because you read it on the internet does not mean that it is true.

Canadian cable companies like Shaw & Rogers, have their own independent networks. That means that Shaw cannot interfere with Rogers. They do not share a network. It is that simple.

Also important to note, the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ) regulates all aspects of Canadian TV, radio and telecommunications. The CRTC watchdogs would be all over any company who tried anything like that, their competitors would insure that.

As for Telus, this is what I found.



I have no clear cut position on this, because while I understand the rationale to block a website that is advocating an attack on your company and to a telecomm company jamming the phonelines is a definate attack, I also know that the employees at Telus were locked out and it was a long a bitter labour dispute, on both sides.