Sponsor's Message

Hot on the tail of yesterday's revelations, the Telecommunications Commissioner has given up waiting for Telecom and Vodafone to see sense over the issue of call termination charges.

He has now recommended to government that the fees being charged for the termination of calls to mobiles be regulated by law.

Yes, just more examples of telcos abusing their monopoly or oligopoly on the market.

Surely this has to be the nail in the coffin for any remote belief that Telecom et al can be relied on to act in good faith when it comes to fair pricing and ethical behaviour.

I see absolutely no justification now for not unbundling the local loop, since any "assurances" given by Telecom as to fair play and balance must be given very little credibility in the wake of recent events.

Now have your say Got something to say about today's column, or want to see what others think?  Visit The Forums While you're here, why not visit the Aardvark Hall of Shame and perhaps make your own nomination.

Of course unbundling is an issue that none of our politicians have the guts to actually push -- so don't hold your breath, it's just not going to happen and we'll be left footing the bill for the lack of backbone within our MPs.

On a totally different subject, we all know that email is blitzing snail mail as the preferred method of communication in the 21st century.

However, the importance of dead trees as a medium can't be underestimated, and as a result the Post Office still enjoys a brisk trade in stamps. However, a reader recently sent me a scan of the new $2.00 commemorative stamp that is just a little funny.

How about that -- a $2 stamp that is actually a picture of a $1.50 stamp -- eh? Go figure.

Meanwhile, New Scientist has an interesting article (headlines below) that tells us how baby-faced politicians have less chance of scoring votes than those who have more "lived in" faces.

Although this does perhaps explain why the current PM consistently scores so highly in the Preferred Prime Minister polls.

Alas, I fear that poor old Rodney Hyde may not fare so well since, according to the article, the very traits that deter voters are "a round face, large eyes, small nose, high forehead and small chin".

Finally, should we be worried about the way that democracies around the world appear to be further clamping down on the rights of their citizens?

The USA plans further extensions to the Patriot Act which could massively reduce the rights of individuals, increase the power of the state and the potential for abuse.

Meanwhile, over in Europe, a number of countries are pushing ahead with laws that would require ISPs to create and keep far more comprehensive and long-lived records of their customers online activities -- despite the fact that similar laws were rejected by the European Parliament.

Let's be very careful about who we elect into government -- or we too could see our privacy and rights eroded to a similar extent.

Lighten Up
Come on readers -- where are all your suggestions for this weekly bit of fun?

Here's a local offering that clearly involves someone getting a weight off their chest.

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