Conservative government cuts Internet access program

The Community Access Program(CAP) costing 15 million enabled people to access the Internet at libraries and community centers. The access was either free or very low cost.

A Nova Scotia representative of CAP said:"Basically, Industry Canada has said it has achieved its purpose and the CAP program is being terminated," "I was really shocked." He said that he had been trying to find out the status of the program for months but received no answers. Such a response would be typical for this government. The representative said that he hoped he could have some discussion before a decision was made. That is the last thing that the government wants.

The program paid for web connections, rent in community centers, coordinators and technical support.The representative said many CAP sites will simply close. The sites that remain will not be able to offer help to people or update equipment.

CAP sites also helped people with tax forms. He noted that many cannot afford a computer or high-speed Internet and many also need help filling out government forms on line. Often government departments tell clients to go on line to fill out or download forms.

I personally used a local CAP site when I had a single computer. When I had any troubles I could just access the site. This is a Conservative government and for them the fewer government services the better. It will leave more in taxpayers pockets as the saying goes. Especially the one per cent.! For more see this article.

Internet addicts may damage brains

    Those addicted to the Internet show differences in their brains from those who are not addicted. MRI scans of those classified as addicted show damage to both the white matter and fibers that may damage cognitive functions.
    However the study of 17 adolescents by Chinese researchers with 16 controls is relatively small. The resulting cognitive impairment is similar to that observed in alcoholics and compulsive gamblers.
  Internet addiction is not officially recognized by health care authorities. However there are individuals who appear to feel a compulsion  to be on line. The desire  is compelling enough to interfere with their everyday life. If forced to stay off line such individuals show withdrawal symptoms. Certainly such behavior is very much like that of an addict. We all probably know such people as well. Perhaps even some bloggers suffer from the addiction. For much more see this CBC article