Slashdot Mirror
Behind the Fight to Control the Internet
Carl Bialik from the WSJ writes "The battle over control of the Internet and ICann (previously slashdotted here and here) gets placed in broader context in the Wall Street Journal. The article explains the role of 'other nations' discomfort with the U.S. as the world's only superpower, unafraid of taking unilateral action,' a fear intensified by the U.S.'s move to halt the introduction of .xxx domains for pornography sites. In a related column, Frederick Kempe opens the floor for a debate between the diplomat leading talks for the U.S., and the former journalist from Luxembourg leading the effort to move the Internet away from U.S. control. 'Today, in a globalized world in which the Internet has become a global resource for freedom of expression and for economic exchange, this monopolistic oversight of the Internet by one government is no longer a politically tenable solution,' Viviane Reding says. Kempe also suggests ways the two sides can split the difference."
You know, I was just thinking that what we really need is another one of these threads.
So when's the invasion^Wliberation of Luxembourg due?
Look at all of the people on /. that don't seem to understand the precise technical details of what is going on, and reduce the argument to simplistic claims about "the US controlling the net"
/.-er doesn't really understand what is going on, can you really expect the average CNN viewer to understand?
If the average
Who's going to tell China?
> Our (US) government is not perpetual, and any system can fall. If it did, the rest of
> the world wouldn't want the internet governed by whatever restriction could come about
> in such a case.
Don't worry about the root DNS servers if the US ever completes it's slide to socialism or lurches towards a police state. Just remember that the US of A is THE number one power on this planet and the implications of that. No, if we go over to the Dark Side I can personally promise everyone that they won't be worrying about what we order ICANN to do to the root name servers; no you guys will be far too busy cowering in terror from our war machine.
Which is why I prefer the root servers stay under the Dept of Commerce. Moving it to the UN has enormous downside potential and zero upside. So long as the US remains the lone force holding the line against the Darkness and defending Truth, Justice and Western Civilization there isn't a problem leaving ICANN in charge of DNS. Should we sucumb to the Darkness, lose the will to continue holding the line or be ultimately defeated by the barbarians, it just doesn't matter anymore because the whole world will slide into a new Dark Ages anyway.
Democrat delenda est
Yes, the Christian Right happened (Safe for viewing, unless you work for the Christian Coalition)
These other countries who belong to the European Union are more tyrannical than the USA will ever be. They couldn't even bring themselves to mention Christ in the European constitution. In Germany, if a woman wants to keep her unemployment benefits, she has to accept a job at a brothel if it is offered to her. In schools in France, it is against the law for Muslims to wear Burkas and for Christians to wear large crosses. These other countries trample all over religious freedom, and force their own citizens into prostitution. They have no right to complain about any so-called tyranny of the USA.
What you are looking for is the old quote:
"Puritan : Someone who is afraid that, somewhere, someone else is having a good time."
- H. L. Mencken.
-WS
An operating system should be like a light switch... simple, effective, easy to use, and designed for everyone.
My sister and brother-in-law registered a domain for their baby girl who's now 19 months old. They upload photos and keep a log to share with family and friends. But I seriously doubt they would have registered if they had to pay $500.
God, what a loss to humanity that would have been.
Exactly. Emo-ize her while she's young, that way she'll never escape.
I can see it now. "Here's little Susie taking her first picture of herself in the bathroom. And here's Susie showing some cleavage just to get some friend invites. And here she is laying upside down on her bed, just wearing a bra. I'm so proud!"