The Future is Friendly?

July 24, 2005 Miguel One comment

Telus has decided that censorship is in the best interests of its customers. It appears that they are blocking access to www.voices-for-change.com and www.telusscabs.ca. These are union-related websites, and Telus would prefer that, in light of their current labour dispute, its customers not be able to access these sites.

Who knows? Perhaps people who visited this site could see that the workers have been without a contract for 5 years, or maybe Telus’s customers would be able to see both sides of the labour dispute.

The question I have, though, is why are we not able to view these sites in Prince Rupert? Is Telus censoring Citytel’s internet access?

Links to more information on the “Voices for change” site (which you won’t be able to view if you’re using Citytel or Telus):

http://www.voices-for-change.com/news/news_comments.asp?NewsID=53

Story on Boing Boing: http://www.boingboing.net/2005/07/24/phone_company_blocks.html

This is what a traceroute from outside of Citytel/Telus to www.voices-for-change.com looks like:

Pretty normal. Works fine. In this case, it was from within PLnet, which is part of the BC Government network.

Here’s another traceroute from Sympatico Internet Service (in Vancouver):

Again, pretty normal, it works fine.

But here’s the same traceroute from my home computer, which is connected to a Citytel ADSL line:

Notice where the connection breaks?

What’s going on here?

Here’s what Citytel’s Prince Rupert customers would see if they weren’t censored:

Update: Discussion forum on HTMF — local Prince Rupert web forum.

blog, Links
  • Censored

    The reason the twu website was removed was due tot he fact that it contained pictures taken of people who had made the decision to cross the picket line.

    Telus made a judgement call to remove access to this website to try and limit the the amount of people that would see those pictures before their legal dept could act and have them removed.

    If you take a read through the forums you will find threatening posts and comments pushing people towards violence.

    The intresting part of this whole situation is Telus’s customer service has jumped as well as customer satisfaction. It may just go to show that the majority of the people striking and in the BU are not really as capabale to performing their jobs as they would like everyone to believe.

    On top of this you have alot of “children” posting derogitory information onto a public website, the majority of these people have been identified at this point and I am quite comfortable in knowing that I will not have to see them when the BU employees return.

    The reason managment is not part of the union is so they do not get involved in the mob mentality that surrounds the union.

    I for one would like to thank the union for my recent promotion and raise, please know that I could not have pulled it off so quickly without people like you.

    My name and email is censored due to the fact that you are children. and if any of you children manage to do find me, please be aware I know my rights and am not afraid to protect them and my family. Any way I can.