>
> > It often amazes me that people seem to be blissfully unaware that when
> they
> > are on the Internet, they are given access to a treasure-trove of free
> > information.
>
> What you maybe don't realise is that  many of us in the UK
> are still accessing via analogue telephone lines
> and paying for these calls by the second
> so when we surf we have the spectre of our next phone bill
> lurking in the back of our heads.
>

It often amazes me that people seem to be blissfully unaware.......

..........that, beyond the gilt edges of their comfortable existence, there
are lesser beings who remain ignorant of the wonders of the Internet due to
lack of money

A survey at our local primary school revealed that 90% of pupils did not
have access to even the most basic personal computer and fewer than that had
ever had access to the internet. Parents in Coalville have to decide whether
to spend ten pounds a month on unlimited internet access, or to invest it in
a pair of shoes so their child can walk to school without getting their
socks wet.

It is easy to assume that the poor are poor because they are ignorant,
rather than consider their poverty deprives them of the benefits of
knowledge. It is also easy to forget that it is the rich who benefit from
this cycle of deprivation. Access to the treasure-trove that Gary describes
as 'free' is barred to anyone without a golden key.

It often amazes me that people seem to have so little imagination......

Terri )O(