I checked out this E-Mail. What I found was that Bill 602P is a Canadian
Hoax!
Please check your sources before trying to alarm the Web World.
My findings are as follows:
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 20 APR, 1999 (NB) - The good folks at Canada Post
Corporation were taken somewhat aback by an Internet rumor that the
Canadian government and its privatized postal service were about to
introduce an
e-mail tax to recoup revenues lost through the declining popularity of
snail-mail.
Recently, many hundreds of e-mails have been circulated stating that
Canada Post hopes to institute a 5-cent tax on e-mail.
The hoax message, complete with what appears to be the address of a
Toronto
law firm, states that Canada Post hopes to earn $23 million (CDN) annually
through the tax. The message claimed that Canada Post and the federal
government were conspiring to quietly push the bill through procedures and
into law.
But sharp-eyed recipients soon detected that the mailing was a sham. The
law firm that claims to have sent the missive does not exist, nor does the
proposed Bill 602P, nor does its supposed sponsor, Liberal Member of
Parliament Tony Schnell.
Canada Post has reacted by threatening legal action against the
originators. "If
people believe it, that is very damaging to Canada Post and the federal
government," said Canada Post spokeswoman Ida Irwin. "We had to correct
it, and our legal people will follow up immediately."
Postal sleuths tracked the e-mail to its source, reportedly a discussion
group based in Arizona. The corporate demanded an apology, retraction, and
the removal of the offending material from the site.
Irwin told Newsbytes today that the made-up message first surfaced in the
Canadian Maritime provinces about a week ago and quickly spread
nationwide. She said that one French-language Montreal newspaper reported
it as fact.
The incident is the latest in a wave of false rumors and phony urban
legends that have circulated recently on the World Wide Web.
-___________________________
I was suspicious when the Bill was listed just as Bill 602P. U.S.
legislation takes the identity of the body into which the bill is
introduced, i.e., House Bill ___ or Senate Bill ______.
Mareg Milner
___________________________
Donna Muehlbauer wrote:
Please post this as it effects us all. Thanks
> > Subject: Bill 602P (5 cent surcharge on email)
> >
> > (I just received this email & thought you would be interested in
>it)
> >
> > 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."
> >
> > Bill 602P will permit the Federal Government 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. You may have noticed
>their
> > recent ad campaign,
> > "There is nothing like a letter." Since the average citizen
>received
> > about 10 pieces of email per day in 1998, the cost to the typical
> > individual would be an additional 50 cents per day, or over $180
>dollars
> > per year, above and beyond their regular Internet costs. Note
>that this
> > would be money paid directly to the U.S. Postal Service for a
>service
> > they do not even provide. The whole point of the Internet is
>democracy
> > and non-interference. If the federal government is permitted to
>tamper
> > with our liberties by adding a surcharge to email, who knows where
>it
> > will end. You are already paying an exorbitant price for snail
>mail
> > because of bureaucratic efficiency.
> >
> > It currently takes up to 6 days for a letter to be delivered from
>New
> > York to Buffalo.
> >
> > If the U.S. Postal Service is allowed to tinker with email, it
>will mark
> > the end of the "free"
> > Internet in the United States. One congressman, Tony Schnell ®
>has
> > even suggested a
> > "twenty to forty dollar per month surcharge on all Internet
>service"
> > above and beyond the
> > government's proposed email charges. Note that most of the major
> > newspapers have ignored
> > the story, the only exception being the Washingtonian which called
>the
> > idea of email surcharge
> > "a useful concept who's time has come" (March 6th 1999
Editorial).
> > Don't sit by and watch
> > your freedoms erode away!
> >
> > Send this e-mail to EVERYONE on your list, and tell all your
>friends and
> > relatives to write to
> > their congressman and say "No!" to Bill 602P. It will only
>take a
> > few moments of your time
> > and could very well be instrumental in killing a bill we don't
>want.
> >
> > Kate Turner
> > Assistant to Richard Stepp,
> > Berger, Stepp and Gorman,
> > Attorneys at Law
> > 216 Concorde Street, Vienna, VA
> >
> >
__________________________________________________
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