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The Letter That Won US Internet Control
K-boy writes "Pushing my own scoop, but I think it's a valuable piece of Net history, I have come into possession of the vital letter sent by Condoleezza Rice to the EU over Internet governance. And posted it on the Web.
The letter is pretty stern but you should also read it bearing in mind that letters of this type are not only very rare but they are always written in very, very soft diplomatic language. This was not.
The result of the letter was that the EU dropped its plan for an inter-governmental oversight body for the Internet and we have ended up with the status quo (ICANN, US government control).
The letter was never meant for publication."
How did you get this letter, and why did you post it? Isn't that slightly illegal?
Purple, because ice cream has no bones.
I know this issue has been discussed a lot, and I'm all for keeping things the way they are (it simply works). HOWEVER, what does concern me is growing evidence of U.S. puritanism in the decision process, like the blocking of the .xxx domain on what seems like shallow premises. While the benefits of .xxx are a separate issue altogether, I doubt if European audiences would resist something like that unless they had a very strong reason to do so. I say let ICANN keep control as long as it doesn't become puritan-ized.
An old-timer with old-timey ideas.
if that is strong language, I don't want to read the 'soft' letters that are usually written. She lays out the reasons they want things the way they are and asks for the change to be reconsidered. After reading the summary I was expecting something more egregious.
There are a lot of folks here with a wide range of experience. Someone please explain to me why I should think this is a big deal.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
Can the US, as it is now, stop French surfers from reaching a .FR domain? Can they stop them from reaching a .EU domain?
10 ?"Hello World" life was simple then
Say they build XXX.. what then do you do about all the millions of smut websites in existence? force them to move?
what if someone has MUFFDIVER.COM and someone else has MUFFDIVE.NET.
My guess? the government took a good long look at the first amendment, and other legal issues, and realized, it would not solve any problem, and perhaps, a court case would arise (which they realize they would have to lose) embarrisingly enough.
Maybe that same case would open up a whole 'nuther mess of worms that would not be something they would have to face.
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
It doesn't seem all that stern to me. I'd hate to see what's considered very very soft. I was half expecting to see Rice threatening to fuckiing bury that EU.
"The Right Honourable Jack Straw..."
Out of curosity, since when would an American English user use the British English spelling?
Also, would an "official diplomatic entity allow" a raw typo like:
"growth and adaptation , based on" (extra space)
Sure, it could be a typo by the editor, this is The Register ® , of course.
...Rob
The American Dream isn't an SUV and a house in the suburbs; it's Don't Tread On Me.
The Register is a very opinionated publication, and this article, like most, is heavily laden with emotional bias and innuendo. I have no problem with that, per se, but I am confused because K-boy's articles from the Tunis conference seemed to be contradictory.
I recall one article which quoted the head of the ITU bragging that -- because of EC support? -- the ITU (the international consortium of telephone companies and nationalized telephone utilities) would control the Internet within five years. K-boy, the Register reporter, was appropriately horrified at that prospect, and pointed out that ITU controls in the past would have quashed the Internet, simply never let it be born.
Now, however, in his article about Rice's forceful US defense of the status quo, the same reporter seems again disturbed (if perhaps less than horrified) that the US is not more open to international governmental influences, and is not more willing to adapt Internet control to the likes of the ITU.
So where *do* you stand, K-boy?
Many of us Netcitizens are willing to put up with the imperfections of the current Internet governance -- hoping that strong contractual obligations on an independent administrator will, minimally, guarrantee the ongoing availability of connections -- rather than see control of the Net slide into the hands of greedy, lowest-common-denominator, trans-national bureaucrats, of which the ITU is a preeminent example.
Didn't Condi's letter and the US lobbying campaign save us from the ITU, a fate worst than (or perhaps equivalent to) death for the Internet as we know it?
One thing Rice's letter suggested to me was the advantage of the home-town team, the established owner and manager, over uppity rebels with independent ideas. The same thing, I fear, would be true of the advantage the ITU regulators would have over disorganized international libertarians, if the US were to declare the Net's infrastructure to be up for grabs. If Internet governance -- which may only today be an oximoron -- were to slide into the international political arena, wouldn't it only be a matter of time before Real Control would be seized by the organization with the best financing, technical savvy, and skills at political infighting?
The current ITU president obviously thinks that it is a foregone conclusion that the ITU would be that organization. Anyone want to predict the future of the Net that would follow?
What does the history of the ITU tell us about the prospects for future innovation and disruptive change in an Internet controlled by the ITU?
Just because the US government is a proponent of a position does not mean that it is wrong.
Seems that Ms.Rice has also been tough on the EU in other matters. She's told them to back down on this matter: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4497006. stm
My web domain.
It seems like you haven't been to Europe recently or at all... If you have been here, it was probably only as a tourist.
I'm an american living abroad and let me tell you, these people are more likely to speak their mind than most in the states. The only way that comment is wrong is if you're from the hood.
Ever see Duce Bigalow European Jig? There are comments about Americans in there all over. While the Dutch are usually friendly to us, other countries or people can be like just like that. It all depends on where you are and how much you're sticking out. There is a reason the military really harps on us to keep a low profile.
Besides the American comments, these people don't have comfort zones around them like we do, they don't have a problem watching you for a hour or more and they sure as hell don't have a problem speaking their mind.
Now, by either standard, I thought that the leter was mild as well. The only thing it really got across was that the internat was very important to the US and, oh yea, the European Union & the rest of the world...
I think he is referring to people not being friendly because he doesn't follow certain social norms. Probably related to showing, deodorant, burping, and/or spitting. We have a lot of little rules that we don't like to be around people when they don't follow them, 75% are hygienic, 10% are behavior, 10% is attitude (douche-nozzles, elitists, snobs, etc.) and 5% is miscellaneous.
Computers allow humans to make mistakes at the fastest speeds known, with the possible exception of tequila and handguns
You're kidding right? Al-J is considered to be one of the most balanced media outlets available. Their producers are KNOWN for getting really pissed trying to make sure their news spots and guest speakers aren't crazy american rhetoric spewers OR local nationalist fundamentalists. Try reading or watching it sometime to decide for yourself... not just being told that "it's bad".
Generally, we say what we mean and we don't disguise it in a bunch of niceties or doublespeak.
Interestingly, we Europeans have always had the opposite impression. An example: why is the first thing an American asks if he meets you "how are you" if he expects this question to be answered by "fine" or even some superlative of "fine" instead of the plain truth?
Actually, the fact that American people don't say what they think is one of the points that is mentioned most as a reason for returning from a well-paid job in the US.
SebastianLet me know when the IPv6 multihoming problem is solved. PA address space is for losers.
Watch this Heartland Institute video
Invented? Hardly. It's just a packet switched network, a concept which was old by the time the first RFC was written. If you really think about it, what made the Internet popular was the world wide web, which was invented in the UK.
while true;do echo -e -n "\033[s\n\033[u\134_\033[B";done
And UN governance would solve this problem in which way? MIT's and Stanford's IP address space is a done-deal unless what we are really talking about is a comunistic style redistribution of wealth via some kind of UN fiat. That is why the US is opposed to psuedo-govenamental influence over ICANN. If China wants more IP addresses than IP4 will allow, let them use IP6, if EU wants more address space than IP4 will allow, let them use IP6, when enough use IP6 to make it difficult to use IP4 then in a blink of an eye everybody will be using IP6.
The reality is that the internet governace is driven bottom-up rather than top-down. The thing that got ICANN off its' ass and open up more gTLDs wasn't the dept. of Comm's influence rather it was offerings from openNIC and others; of course they'd never admit that because it's important to keep up appearences after all.
Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
Their website has extensive news in english as well as arabic. I was there quite a bit durring the first part of the war. Their version of the news seemed very slanted to what their intended audiance wanted to hear, which was no real surprise. If your a neo-con right-wing american slashdoter like me and want to get a handle on what stokes the fires of arabic-muslim passion, there is no better place; if your looking for objective coverage, stay away from Al-Jazeera, Fox CNN ect. and try BBC world news instead.
Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
Actually, this is an Irish and British thing too. When in Germany, I got strange looks off people when I'd say "Wie geht's?" as a salutation. It was only when I was there a few months that I realised that mainland Europeans don't generally ask how you are as a salutation. I think that this is particular to English speaking countries and not solely an American feature.
It's about 'settling in' to a conversation. Irish people tend to speak to each other for a minute or so (usually asking each other how they are, talking about the weather etc.) before launching into what they actually want to speak to each other about.