Looming Death Of The Internet
A year or two ago I found it hard to believe our son, psychic and remote viewer Aaron C. Donahue,
when he said he foresaw the death of the Internet.
Perhaps it was more an unwillingness to want to accept his conclusions since the web was a instrument
that unexpectedly opened unbridled channels of communication. As a communicator, I appreciated the fact that this wonderful
tool makes it possible for all writers to be read, all opinions to be heard, and all causes to be presented. For the first
time in the history of the printed word, it was impossible for the big publishing houses, the big newspaper chains and the
electronic media to screen the thoughts of all.
The possibilities of the Internet seem incredible. It is a link between people of all nations, all
races, and all beliefs that slips below the mantle of controlled communications. Because most other nations include English
in their schooling, even the language barrier is not a problem. Over the years I recall chatting and e-mailing people all
over the world including Hong Kong, Germany, Yugoslavia, Mexico and even a scientist stationed at Antarctica. I found that
people everywhere are the same.
As a writer and seeker of information, I find even today that the Internet is an invaluable tool
for daily use. I find stories, reports and data at my fingertips. Full dictionaries and encyclopaedias covering every topic
imaginable, from medical to the occult are to be found.
So why would anyone want to destroy the Internet? I think I just revealed the reason. It is
a communication device that is out of control. There are certain factions that feel very uncomfortable about letting the masses
open their minds to new thoughts and new concepts through global communication. Information is glue that links everybody together.
It is the key to universal understanding. It is the stuff of the gods.
There have been unsuccessful attempts by big newspaper chains to buy and control the popular news
sites on the Internet. But this age-old system of controlling the media has not worked. As soon as one site is seized and
the news content gotten under control, three more pop-up to take its place. For reasonable fees ranging sometimes less
than $20 a month, anybody can buy a domain name and open their own web site. Thus a single person or small group of like-minded
writers become their own publishing company almost overnight.
I have read various conspiracy theories about how the Internet is going to be brought under control.
After all, a lot of money has been lost because enterprising solicitors have found ways to sell goods and services "on line"
at very competitive prices and without the trouble of charging local sales taxes.
Controls are being considered by governments. Only in totalitarian regimes, like Communist China,
have people been successfully blocked from access, however.
I do not believe the Internet will be brought down in the way most people fear. I think it is collapsing
because of an inner ugliness on the part of the human race. People can't stop trying to exploit each other. The web has been
found to be a great new tool for doing just this. The mass delivery of new and sophisticated viruses, worms and pop-ups and
dialers will attest to this. Free information exchange is under daily assault from within and I believe these ingenious devices
have put the open web in jeopardy.
A free and unbridled exchange of information like the web also can be expected to be the tool of
unscrupulous scam artists who manipulate the system to make a quick dollar. The pop-up ads, in themselves, are a form of scam.
But the products they offer, for those who take the time to look, are even bigger cheats. Anyone that falls for a bigger penis,
low interest home mortgages, low cost drugs and the variety of other incredible offers flashed in our faces is buying snake
oil.
Because drug prices are so high in the United States, Internet mail-order drug stores are appearing.
While some may be legitimate, many of these operations are scams. Laws have been passed by some states in an attempt to curb
these sales.
Internet police have been organized under the guise of seeking out child porn rings, although I
suspect they also are looking for "illegal" trafficking of goods and scams. Stories about stolen credit card numbers and undelivered
goods are common. In fact, it is said that stolen identity has become a major crime and this may largely be due to the existence
of the Internet.
Yet another threat to the Internet has been the invention of electronic devices that can flood e-mail
addresses with unsolicited ads. I don't know how many times I have had to abandon old e-mail addresses and start new ones
because the junk mailings (spam) get so thick I can't find good communications squeezed among the hundreds of unwanted mailings.
It seems you can't click on a new web site without having ads of all shapes and colors flashed in
your face. I have installed various pop-up killers but the advertisers have found ways to confound them, causing the software
to throw you right off line if you include their ad among the sites to erase.
As aggravating as these pop-ups are, I find it strange that a legitimate advertiser would pay to
have his company or product's name flashed in your face in this manner. While it may only register in the subconscious during
that brief second it takes to click the right keys and erase it, the image is so negative that I am sure I am never influence
to try the product.
The advent of the pop-up ad seems to have been the ultimate assault on the Internet. The problem
is getting so serious that I fear it is the weapon of choice by either those who want the Internet to fail, or by hackers
that enjoy finding ways to overpower a seemingly insurmountable electronic force.
Whatever the reason, they are succeeding. It is no longer fun to surf the web. When I find a pop-up
in my face after clicking to visit my own site, it makes me very sad.
