As the Internet matures, governments, corporations, universities and service providers are erecting fences, some by design, others often unintentionally.

Stop signs, detours, road closings and guarded gateways to exclusive communities went up in 2002 as never before.

As more and more filtering continues, there won’t be much fuss, because we are often unaware it is taking place according to this article in The Toronto Star.

Of greater concern to some are fences erected to impose social values.

The Internet worked well when intermediary computers did no more than their assigned roles: Pass along data packets to the next computer closer to the destination, says Danny Weitzner of the standards-setting World Wide Web Consortium.

Now those computers, in the control of a multitude of parties, are being increasingly called upon to make social judgments: Is that packet advertising, pornography or terrorist communication?

It has become a damned if you do, and damned if you don’t scenario.

Totalitarian regimes like China impose national filters, but even the United States employs such controls. U.S. public schools are required by law to block pornography to receive federal Internet funding, while many public libraries and companies do it on their own.

The battle is focusing on how innovative the net will wind up being.

BC Premier in storm of controversy
The latest is, Gordon Campbell won’t be resigning. That could change in 10 minutes. Sides have been taken. We’ll see.

Lupus
There is some promising research in the treatment of lupus, a devestating disease where the bodies’ immune system turns on itself, damaging major organs. Researchers have been working with higher doses of a specific anti-cancer drug cyclophosphamide.

Playing to death
Another internet game player has been found dead in an internet cafe in Hong Kong after playing Diablo II non-stop.

The 28-year-old was found slumped at his screen early on Saturday after he apparently had played the online game Diablo II since early Friday evening.

A policeman found him in the game centre shortly after 1am, five hours after he began playing the popular game, according to reports.

His death at a game centre in Hong Kong’s Yuen Long district came eight months after a 17-year-old game centre employee was found dead after playing Diablo II through the night.

Anti-Americanism
Matt Welsh offers a simple solution to the image problem the US faces outside it’s borders in this National Post article.

Victor David Hanson also tackles the topic of anti-American invective.