<div>Hi Parminder et al, and well yes, </div>
<div> </div>
<div>but still possibly linking managed-access to potential censorship, in different guise, and a surely attractive one because on its face free of charge - there is still the matter of potentially conditioning people to a subset. I am not saying that is operative here, again, just asking what y'all think.</div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Consider for instance writings on Newspeak (narrower) versus Oldspeak (fuller) and other restricted / restrictive / restricting linguistic domains, as illustrative. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>We may want to consider that <em>Discourse</em> can condition <em>thought</em> as well as the other way around. So in Orwellion visions of limited vocabularies, or "Basic English" e.g. a population can be conditioned under the operation of excluded matter. Subset Educational infusions, etc.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>And "after a while" a more expanded set can become 'unthinkable'. Untaught, unsought, unthoiught about </div>
<div> </div>
<div>And a non-small by-the-way (btw) this is a pretty good forum* for discussing various senses of accessibility, overt paths to "knowledge" and more subtle routes, and whether widely open or blocked one way or t'other. .</div>
<div> </div>
<div>* Thanks for it,</div>
<div> </div>
<div>With best wishes, and *Respectfully Interfacing,* Linda.<br><br></div>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Dec 15, 2008 at 7:40 AM, Parminder <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:parminder@itforchange.net">parminder@itforchange.net</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">
<div class="Ih2E3d">> And PLEASE note that this is a CENSORED internet, which is precisely what<br>some of us fear will be the price of government-provided "internet for all."<br></div>(Milton)<br><br><br><br>
<br><br>There is no necessary connection between publicly provided net and a<br>censored net. The analogy often applied earlier comparing a 'right to the<br>Internet' with the right to education is useful here. Public education has<br>
mostly meant some kind of a public curriculum. States and communities have<br>dealt with the issue of inappropriate kinds of control over 'public<br>curriculum' in a nuanced and dynamic manner. No one has ever proposed<br>
scrapping public education provisions to deal with the problems associated<br>with state's role in determining/ influencing curriculum.<br><br><br><br>The comparison with right to education and state's role in<br>
curriculum/content development however ends here. There perhaps was (is) a<br>structural and also a social requirement for state's involvement in<br>curriculum decisions in terms of public education. Internet however is<br>
entirely different. Any amount of different content, of any number of<br>different types, *can* be accommodated *equally* on the Internet. However,<br>public support is still required to provide 'equalizing' conditions for<br>
production of all, and different, kinds of content. (Canada recently has<br>announced some such provisions to ensure there is sufficient "Canadian"<br>content on the Internet, as the government used to do to ensure enough<br>
Canadian content on TV and Film media.)<br><br><br><br>IT for Change just now concluded an international workshop on 'ICTs for<br>participatory local development' where the combination of - as well as<br>nuances and dynamics of - 'public provisioning' along with 'local community<br>
decision making' was emphasized to deal with equity and social justice<br>aspects of the emerging information society. The two are not exclusive, in<br>fact they need to complement one another, and public provisioning has to be<br>
done in a manner that strengthens rather than weakens 'local community<br>decision making'. The same extends to the issue of expanding individual's<br>freedoms through public action, something which underpins Sen's capability<br>
rights approach and UNDP's Human Development approach to development policy<br>based on Sen's work.<br><br><br><br>As for some members skepticism about public provisioning on the Internet;<br>who proposes what solution depends of where one is placed. Societies where<br>
markets are in a good position to deal with the dynamics of an emerging<br>information (or Internet-based) society would have a different take on this<br>issue than societies where these dynamics are furthering inequalities, both<br>
within the societies and vis a vis the Northern societies. To the extent<br>that we are speaking in terms that are sought to be applied across the<br>world, we need to be sensitive to social and political realities of the<br>
whole world.<br><br><br><br><br><br>Parminder<br><br><br><br> _____<br><br>From: Milton L Mueller [mailto:<a href="mailto:mueller@syr.edu">mueller@syr.edu</a>]<br>Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 3:25 PM<br>To: <a href="mailto:governance@lists.cpsr.org">governance@lists.cpsr.org</a>; Lee W McKnight<br>
Subject: RE: [governance] Free Web Plan Being Pushed by FCC Head<br>
<div>
<div></div>
<div class="Wj3C7c"><br><br><br>And PLEASE note that this is a CENSORED internet, which is precisely what<br>some of us fear will be the price of government-provided "internet for all."<br><br><br><br><br><br>Outgoing Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is<br>
pushing for action in December on a plan to offer free, pornography-free<br>wireless Internet service to all Americans, despite objections from the<br>wireless industry and some consumer groups.<br><br>The proposal to allow a no-smut, free wireless Internet service is part<br>
of a proposal to auction off a chunk of airwaves. The winning bidder<br>would be required to set aside a quarter of the airwaves for a free<br>Internet service. The winner could establish a paid service that would<br>have a fast wireless Internet connection. The free service could be<br>
slower and would be required to filter out pornography and other<br>material not suitable for children. The FCC's proposal mirrors a plan<br>offered by M2Z Networks Inc., a start-up backed by Kleiner Perkins<br>Caufield & Byers partner John Doerr.<br>
<br>Consumer advocates have objected to the FCC's proposed pornography<br>filter, while the wireless industry has objected to the entire free<br>Internet plan. To address concerns about the filter, the FCC is<br>proposing that adults could opt out and access all Internet sites.<br>
<br>T-Mobile USA, in particular, has raised concerns. The Deutsche Telekom<br>AG unit paid about $4 billion a few years ago for nearby airwaves and<br>has complained that the free wireless Internet plan will likely result<br>
in interference for consumers of its new 3G wireless network. The FCC<br>dismissed the company's interference concerns this fall, although<br>T-Mobile disagreed with that finding.<br><br>--<br>Gurumurthy Kasinathan<br>
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