PLEASE EVERYONE DO NOT FORWARD THESE THINGS WITHOUT CHECKING ON THEM!!!!!!!
Excuse me for "shouting" BUT---I will AGAIN remind everyone that there are
several websites where you can try to VERIFY messages like this before
sending them on!
Sharon wrote (snipped)
>-Get a load of this.
>>>>
>>>>>Please read the following carefully if you intend to stay online and
>>>>>continue using email: The last few months have revealed an alarming
>>>>>trend in the Government of the United States attempting to quietly push
>>>>>through legislation that will affect your use of the Internet. Under
>>>>>proposed legislation the U.S. Postal Service will be attempting to bilk
>>>>>email users out of "alternate postage fees".
>>>>>
The following us from one of the websites, (
http://netsquirrel.com/combatkit/ )and explains that this is an OLD
hoax--interestingly about CANADA not the USA,. I was suspicious because
there is no such name for US legislation as "Bill602P"--- Please read:
----------------------------------------------------------
Urban Legend Update: Postage Surcharge Story -- 1 June 1999
-----------------------------------------------------------
About a month ago, a story circulated around the Net warning Canadians
that
... Bill 602P will permit the Federal Govt to charge a 5 cent
surcharge on every email delivered, by billing Internet Service
Providers at source. The consumer would then be billed in turn by
the ISP. Toronto lawyer Richard Stepp QC is working to prevent
this legislation from becoming law.
The Canada Post Corporation is claiming that lost revenue due to
the proliferation of email is costing nearly $23,000,000 in
revenue per year ...
The letter goes on to warn that
... One back-bencher, Liberal Tony Schnell (NB) has even
suggested a "twenty to forty dollar per month surcharge on all
Internet service" above and beyond the government's proposed
email charges ...
Unfortunately, the letter is yet another Internet hoax. According to
a recent column in the Toronto Sun,
Don't rush to the keyboards and phones. The lawyer does not
exist. The law firm whose name appears on the alert does not
exist. There is no MP named Schnell. Forget Bill 602P; that's
not even the way bills are numbered.
[quote shamelessly stolen from David Emery's "Email Tax for
Canada" column, which we will talk about in a moment ... maybe.]
Proving the old saying "everything old is new again," here is a recent
story that has been floating around the Net. See if you notice any
similarities. The story says that
Bill 602P will permit the [US] Federal Govt to charge a 5 cent
surcharge on every email delivered, by billing Internet Service
Providers at source. The consumer would then be billed in turn
by the ISP. Washington D.C. lawyer Richard Stepp is working
without pay to prevent this legislation from becoming law.
The U.S. Postal Service is claiming that lost revenue due to the
proliferation of email is costing nearly $230,000,000 in revenue
per year.
The letter goes on to warn that
One congressman, Tony Schnell (r) has even suggested a "twenty to
forty dollar per month surcharge on all Internet service" above
and beyond the government's proposed email charges
Deja vu? Yep. The message floating around the Net right now is
almost word for word the same message that floated around Canada in
May. [I particularly enjoyed the fact that Mr. Schnell was able to
switch from being a Canadian Liberal to being an American Republican
in less than a month -- ain't technology wonderful?!]
For the record, both stories are hoaxes. Neither Canada nor the US is
considering an email surcharge. Neither Canada nor the US has a
lawmaker named "Tony Schnell" [that's what happens when you jump
parties!]. Neither Canada nor the US has a bill 602P (in Canada,
bills from the Senate begin with the letter S and bills from the
Commons begin with the letter C; in the US, bills from the Senate
begin with the letter S and bills from the House begin with the letter
H). Finally, neither Toronto nor Washington has a lawyer named
Richard Stepp.
... and, no, Australia isn't considering an email surcharge either. :P
For more information about this story, visit David Emery's new site at
http://urbanlegends.about.com/
[MiningCo changed their name to "About." That's fine. What isn't
fine, however, is the new pop-up ad that appears when you access any
about.com directory. Be prepared to play "whack-a-mole" with the pop-
ups.]
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Oxford, Ohio
http://www.newcountry.nu/pd/members/camilla/one.htm
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