[Nottingham] Is it time to save the Internet in Europe?

[Godfrey Nix]

Hello Bob,

I believe the tide IS turning.

It was Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi who said that the only thing needed for
evil to triumph was for good men to do nothing.

Through the internet, such organisations as SumOfUs, Avaaz, 38Degrees
and others are mobilising the 'common people' and holding mega
corporations to account. See recent actions on the Climate Conferences,
Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller (called 'probably' carcinogenic), TTIP
negotiations, and so on.

Even the latest referendum, which ever side you voted, shows a
disconnect between politicians and the public - which they are now
trying to deal with. It will be interesting to see how it all goes - and
very much having an impact on all our lives for years to come.

What we need above everything else is a well informed population, up to
date on what is happening in the world - not blinkered and complacent,
leaving everything to somebody else. We do not want and must not let
ourselves be manipulated by the press. This is where the internet comes
in - a means of contacting others, finding out (Google AND others - do
not be led to assume Google is unbiassed). Also meet and chat with other
people (in a bar or cafe, club (our Linux group, etc.) and on the phone
to family and friends.

Isolated we are easily manipulated and led. Working together, learning,
helping and sharing with each other we can and we will build a better
future for ourselves and our children. Do not be downhearted. The
immediate future may look bleak and uncertain, but I am convinced that
the human spirit will win over these temporary troubles.

Godfrey


On Thu, 2016-07-14 at 18:10 +0200, Bob Marshall via Nottingham wrote:
> Hello, Godfrey, and thank you for an interesting and in parts
> passionate post. I agree with what you say about the intention of
> 'laning' the internet, and I too think it is a dredful idea. The
> internet is something 'they' would never had allowed us to have in the
> first place had they known what it was capable of doing, and it is
> quite likely, short of holocaust scenarios, impossible to actually
> shut the thing down.
>  
> What they are trying -- and to my mind succeeding to do is to take
> over the internet entirely -- you only need to watch some of the
> political channels on YouTube to discover just how far control has
> been wrest away from us and into the hands of mega-corporations.
>  
> We all know this isn't what we want, but it is happening and it is
> going to get worse; in some ways it reminds me of an old 'Steptoe and
> Son' episode in which the two, after yet another of their fights, had
> divided their house into two, with rules as to TV access. As old man
> Steptoe so rightly said, when Harold told him that the law of contract
> was on his side, 'Well, the knobs are on my side!'
>  
> Like it or not -- and I really don't, believe me -- appeals, calls for
> the protection of freedoms and so on will all have no effect on what
> 'they' want. In short, we are b*gg*r*d, but thanks for caring and
> wanting to do the decent thing. You are one of the good guys; sadly,
> for every one of you, there are ten of them -- and the knobs are on
> their side.
>  
> Peace.
>  
> Bob
>  
> Foolproof systems don't take into account the ingenuity of fools.
> 
> - Gene Brown
>   
>   
> Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2016 at 4:07 PM
> From: "Godfrey Nix via Nottingham" <nottingham at mailman.lug.org.uk>
> To: "Jason Irwin" <jasonirwin73 at gmail.com>, "Notts GNU/Linux Users
> Group" <nottingham at mailman.lug.org.uk>
> Subject: Re: [Nottingham] Is it time to save the Internet in Europe?
> Not in the news, but it has appeared on campaigning sites like AVAAZ,
> see this extract from email I received.
> 
> Regards,
> Godfrey
> ---------
> 
> Last week a gang of multinationals including Deutsche Telekom, Nokia,
> and Vodafone launched a desperate effort to kill the free and open
> Internet we all rely on.
> 
> If they succeed, they will create ‘fast lanes’ for the big Internet
> companies who can pay, while condemning independent media, start-ups,
> and citizen movements like Avaaz to a 'slow lane'. But if an
> unprecedented number of us act in the next few days, we can meet this
> new attack and help secure strong Internet protections in Europe.
> 
> A public comment period is running right now -- let's flood it with
> hundreds of thousands of messages calling on EU regulators to close
> all
> loopholes that threaten to ruin the promise of a democratic, free
> Internet. Send a message now and tell everyone -- we have just days
> left:
> 
> https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet_eu_loc_2016/?tSdaccb
> 
> The principle of Net Neutrality is what makes the Internet unique and
> empowering -- the recognition that everyone, from the richest
> corporations to any ordinary citizen, should be free to access all
> content and applications equally. Our tenacious campaigning over the
> last years has helped translate this principle into strong regulations
> in the US, India, and Brazil.
> 
> 
> 
> On Thu, 2016-07-14 at 09:15 +0100, Jason Irwin via Nottingham wrote:
> > I have not seen or heard a thing about this in the news.
> >
> > https://savetheinternet.eu/en/
> >
> 
> 
> 
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