Like what happened to the.ae Domain. It was run by a private citizen, and then the local MONOPOLY telephone company decided they wanted to be in the ISP business and emailed Postel who handed over the TLD to Etisalat with no process as defined at the time.
IANA and now ICANN had and have too much power behind opaque rules and processes and it boils down to if the rules do not suit them they just act.
No one asked the UAE internet community who should be redelegated the.ae domain. IANA just did it. The government had no involvement as at the time they were too ignorent, but now with the UAE trying to become WTO members it will look silly to have the.ae domain run by a gormless monopoly.
Freedom? Choice? Nah.......
ICANN is not about that, it is about power and influence and lack of process and MONEY.
You say "who have tried extremely hard to eliminate the existence of subversive web sites. ICANN impedes their ability to do this."
ICANN impedes them today exactly how?
Any country that want to impede web sites buys cisco routers and proxy servers and firewalls their main access and redirects all web access through a farm of proxy servers.
Why exactly do they need control of DNS to do this? In fact today they can redirect all port 53 requests away from OUR DNS servers to THEIR DNS servers.
You say "Firstly, Europe wants to eliminate the IETF..."
You stay this will no attribute, the EU does not give a %%$$£ about the IETF vs the ITU. This is of course a statement that only exists as true in your head because it suits you world view which seems to be EU sucks and US is KING.
Where have you seen concrete action that Europe wants to eleimnate the IETF? The ITU and the IETF have different goals and remits.
Perhaps the ITU should take over the IANA function of ICANN, perhaps not. But FREEDOM demands that this choice be made democratically by ALL internet stakeholders globally NOT just the US. Everyone should have an open process to add TLD's to the root file without having to beg and suck up to some fucked up ICANN expensive TAXABLE process.
WHy should nations and people of the world have an ICANN tax with no representation?
Oh......because you say so?
Has China and Iran fucked up the ITU? Is the global phone space at risk because China has input to the ITU standards process?
Does the US Suck? If it does only because ignorant serfs like you pull the flag out of their ass and try to jam it down the throats of other humans.
Sorry I have no points to Mod You Up. I should have taken time as you did to set out some history. This is what is missing here is a perspective on how this happend. But most of the Americans seem to want to wave a flag not actually engage in FREE and OPEN debate about how TLD's and the IANA function should have evolved.
Well....... China, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Cuba, Jordan, Tunisia, Burma, Singapore, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Kuwait, Vietnam, Syria, Iran, United Arab Emirates and parts of Africa You are sure ALL these countries are open with no Proxy? Oman? Qatar? Bahrain?
And yes I do. The point here is that ANY country that wants to filter can do it without input to the "IANA" function of the DNS. Many posters here whine about DNS and freedoms yet care not a hoot TODAY that any country will get co-operation from US companies to lock up their population tight.
Thus many people here in error worry about DNS and freedom. The reality is that with ICANN, any freedom is an illusion.
But in typical fashion Americans see "Made in USA" in ICANN and thus clap hand over heart and sing bad songs about freedom and bravery when in fact ICANN enslaves them.
In their deluded thoughts about freedom they fail to see that having a debate free from knee jerks and cliches is required and is demanded in the name of FREEDOM for all. Not just 5% of the worlds population.
I was not singling out the Arab nations, but as a fact many Arab nations are saddled with leaders who also hate freedom.
No some in the UN do not vote for the greater good. The US is a prime example through using it's veto to impede the greater good for it's own interests.
But how can you justify retaining DNS control well away from the users of the internet with no way to influence what occurs to DNS?
Any organization that works by consus will be slow. But speed is not required always. However I would like to see faster release of new TLD's.
No problems? Hmmmm. What you meant to say is nor problems YOU are aware of. Dig a bit deeper. Be daring. Read a little. Maybe start with one of the last PUBLICLY elected directors : http://www.cavebear.com/cbblog/ or maybe this: http://www.gtld-mou.org/
The fact that ICANN has foreign directors does not change that most internet stakeholders have no say in new TLD's. Did you bid on running.com? No? Oh I forgot there was no public tender to run.com. Just yet another backroom deal.
What part of the UN is dysfunctional? Do you actually have any idea what the UN is?
And ICANN? What is ICANN? Do you actually know what ICANN is? is ICANN effective?
In a free world, we have a debate then we make a decision...... based upon the greater good. Not the good for the US or the good of WIPRO or the good of private corporations. For the good of the majority of user of the Internet.... all who daily use the DNS system.
Perhaps the UN or some body like the ITU is not the place for the DNS. Perhaps we should disband the ITU and offer governance of the internation phone system and their standards to......Enron. Oh, did they disband for.......corruption?
Your American ignorant opinion about the UN without any insight to the reality of todays world is so....... predictable.
In the US it used to be "Black man bad White man Good" but now Americans have to pretend that they love each other. People have a burning desire to hate something and usualy those who lack in intellegence brims with hate and prejudice......about something.
Now they hate the UN. They have not idea what the UN is. They have no idea what the UN does.
They once saw a news headline that said UN.......blah blah corruption.
Were one as stupid as this one could say - Enron = corruption. Enron was US corporation. ICANN is US corporation. Thus........ BING (light bulb illuminates) ICANN is corrupt.
lets all bleat together "Four legs goooooood......two legs baaaaaad"
The UN also lets the US sit on any commision - yet the US has more prisoners behind bars that Libya. The US executes more people than most other nations. The US allows torture......yada yada.
What you hate is that you believe that the US deserves some special pantheon to sit astride the world.
The UN is a place where ALL nations meet. Many European countries abhor the state killing in the US yet still enter into dialogue with the US at the UN.
That you select certain anomolies in the nature of world bodies that suit your prejudices says nothing of note about who is best positioned to govern the Internet DNS system.
You have made a false and stupid choice - it is not the US or China. The issue is that ICANN ganed control of aspects of goverence that impact other soverign nations and they did so with not debate nor input at the time from those affected.
That the decision was made does not change the fact that it is up for debate now and you ( lover of freedom? ) cannot stop this debate.
it is certain among those who have taken the time to inform themselves that the ICANN is NOT the best organization to manage a GLOBAL resource.
You clearly have little time to inform yourself. Tell us something that we don't know and yet is also true. Your fear of the UN is noted but not justified.
We need to rewind the clock and have a real debate regarding how the DNS should be managed. Sadly there was little or no awareness in 1998 about the importance of IANA handing over governance to IANA. Jon Postel is revered perhaps but his support of ICANN was misguided. He of course I thin realized that his "one man" governance of DNS was untenable.
Sadly what we got was worse than Postels management.
That you even bother to post and yet not know how ICANN appeared speaks..... volumes.
That you see any desire for change for GOOD as an attack shows.......paranoia.
By the way.... I am American.
And you are worried about theoretical Chinese interference when the US it self censored.XXX? Are you on crack? Do as I say not as I do?
The ITU as part of the UN manages aspects of the phone system. And the Chinese protest about US porn telephone call lines?
It is sad to see humans with brains use continual knee jerk "UN BAD US GOOD" matra over and over. Especialy when they have no idea of the scope of the UN activities in the world today.
Maybe you should protest about Cisco selling equipment today to firewall and proxy filter free information to Chinese?
Perhaps you should protest that the ITU organizes aspects of the internation telephone system?
Perhaps you believe that the UN ( which UN organization by the way, the UN has many many parts....) is the only corrupt organization in the world?
I seem to recall much corruption in the US? Perhaps greed and corruption are universally human traits not exclusive to the UN? Perhaps you missed reference to any past American corruption because you are........ incapable of reading? Blind? In a black box with no light? In a town with no newspaper?
Perhaps you represent the typical ignorance of the average American?
As usual everyone keeps confusing the "Internet" with the DNS.
Common Quote - We invented it, we want to keep it.
This of course is a stupid argument - the Internet is many things - WWW being the most obvious. And the Web was invented where?
Common misconception - repressive countries need to control DNS root servers to repress......not so.
Cisco and other vendors sell products that today succeed in blocking site not allowed. Most Arab countries filter the internet behind proxy servers and cisco firewalls.
The real issue at stake is that ICANN is an opaque organization that was handed control of the root file with no REAL input from ALL internet stakeholders. ICANN today holds the power to drop any country off the DNS system. The EU itself had to apply for permission to ICANN for the.EU domain. ICANN could have refused, as they did for.XXX. ICANN decides who in a country get delegated control of that TLD management function of a country.
The reality? Most Americans have no idea where ICANN came from or how it works or how it is not really beneficial for them, but they invoke this maddening knee jerk blind patriotism - it's ours and we run it. Sad that they have no idea who "we" is. ICANN is not "we". ICANN is undemocratic even for Americans, and is secretive. ICANN is in bed with WIPRO and seems to have a policy that supports big business. ICANN has no idea of trademark law. in short ICANN is NOT the answer for DNS governance.
I find it amusing that the UN - with the ITU, has controlled the telephone system and standards associated with telephony for a long tome now, with no complaints or issues. Amusing that no one here seems to understand how the UN actually works. It is doubly amusing that by demanding the Status Quo with ICANN they fail to see how unaccountable ICANN is.
Amazing that so many posters here decry the corporate pressures to control any and all domain names, yet are silent on the ties betwen WIPRO desires and ICANN actions.
Stupendous that no one seems aware of how the IANA function passed from Postel to ICANN with no stops and with no real consultation and little input from any stakeholder. Bizarre that for so many years the entries into the TLD space and delegations of Country Code TLD's were in the hands on one man (Postel).
The ITU has done an acceptable job in ensuring that the international phone system and it's required standards tick over nicely.
The ITU should have received the IANA function when Postel agreed it should move. However everyone in government at the time was too ignorent to absorb the implications of ICANN power.
I am also stunned that people actually believe that censorship requires any control of DNS - I am based from time to time in Dubai and remember when they fired up their firewalls and proxy servers running filtering lists.......those that want to control the internet have all the help they need from Cisco and white list vendors in the US to have any need to play games with TLD issues.
I cannot imagine that an ITU type function under the UN is going to block the issuance of.fuck as a TLD. However I would see major US outcy of a UN body allowed.fuck to be intered into the TLD files.
The internet seems to have no history. Certainly 1998 when all the action when down and the debates were lost seems to be too long ago for most posters to remember.
Long and short - ICANN sucks and will continue to suck.
Since the late 1800 The ITU ( International Telecommunications Union) has had control of such matters of Telephone Area Codes etc. the ITU is part of the UN. Any organization has corruption, yet you blindly dismiss the immense worth of UN organizations. The UN is the sum of MANY parts.
The DNS function used to be run by IANA in a US university - in essence one man. Major problems developed when the IANA function was faced with legitimate demand for more top level domain names. It was decided through NO OPEN PROCESS to remove the DNS process from IANA to ICANN.
Several problems stem from this:
1. DNS country code delegation. The process is arbitrary. ICANN can redelegate a nations "ownership" of a top level country code with no effective way for the legitimate users of that nation to stop the redelegation. Study what happened to Australia. Examine places like the UAE where the IANA arbitrairly handed over country code control to an organization of it's choice with no reference to the internet community of that nation and with no input from the actual rulers of that nation.
2. By what right does the ICANN function have to control what new TLD's be enacted? Who voted for the board of ICANN? How are board members nominated?
I would rather a central organization like the ITU who have for a long time successfully made the international telephone system work be in control of the DNS files.
Who is ICANN? Can you influence it? Can you see all it's documents? Is it good for the internet?
You are quite short sighted in you equating press hype of corruption in parts of the UN and fail to see that ICANN is a defiicient organization.
ICANN offers NO accounatability but of course your post proves you have no idea how the DNS function actually is managed today - with ZERO accountability. To you and I as US citizens - ZERO. To citizens out of the US - ZERO.
We are all in this together........try educating yourself about where ICANN came from and the implication of it's strangulation on what goes into the DNS.
Think of the EU having to ASK for permission of ICANN to enact a.EU top level domain. Had ICANN refused to enact this, there was NO PROCESS that would allow the EU to dispute this decision.
So yes change is needed.
to quote you " There needs to be accountability "
Re:the exclusion of radio is pretty stupid
on
The Future of the iPod
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
The iPod is aimed at people who want control of what they are listening to. There are plenty of small radios on the market. When you listen to radio, you are at the mercy of THEIR playlist. When you listen to the iPod you CONTROL the playlist.
With Podscasting, YOU can control what and when you hear.
The iPod is not a radio. It is what it is and it is excellent at what it is.
Yes Dubai grows because it uses "slave" labor from India, where workers die all the time due to lack of ant meaningful laws, where the "government" can throw you in jail on a whim.
Try opening a company with out government intrusion. Try buying land. Try surfing the wed through government filters on all internet traffic.
Try bouncing a cheque and get arrested and jailed until you male good the funds with no recourse to courts.
Try raising your middle finger to a woman and sit in jail for three years.
Try getting killed on the road from a loon driving at 100 Mph making a new fast lane on the higway, all because of a lack of effective policing for "locals" with too much money and contempt for human life.
Government Intrusion? Get real.
Dubai grows because of cheap labor and exploitation of labor not because of lack of taxes. There is no income tax, but high taxes on everything else.
You cannot move in Dubai without paper...
Just a single example of many......this is the most recent of course.
"....Date Posted: Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Afghanistan called the deaths of up to 17 people in a U.S. airstrike unjustified, as U.S. forces found the bodies of two missing commandos.
KABUL, Jul 5 (MASNET & News Agencies) - Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai said he was "saddened and distressed" by the deaths of up to 17 people in a U.S. airstrike, as U.S. forces found the bodies of two missing commandos.
The Afghan government urged the U.S.-led coalition to change its tactics following Friday's bombing in Chichal village in the eastern province of Kunar bordering with Pakistan, which came amid a mission to rescue a team of four U.S. Special Forces soldiers, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"The president is extremely saddened and distressed to hear the report that recent military operations in Kunar by the coalition forces resulted in the death of civilians," presidential spokesman Jawed Ludin told reporters Tuesday.
Karzai added that such deaths could not be justified, reports Reuters.
"There is no way, obviously, that the killings of civilians can be justified," Ludin told a news briefing. "It's the terrorists we are fighting. It's not our people who should suffer."
Ludin said the Afghan government had launched its own investigation into the bombing....."
You state "Attacking civilian populations ceased to be acceptable as of the end of WWII", then ignore the millions killed in Cambodia and Vietnam by carpet bombing.
You then presume that I need education? I have facts many facts....and by the way my life is not young, I bet I am a lot older than you are....
The reality is that after WW1 the west decided that attacking civilian populations was acceptable, and now they "sell" it by the myth of collateral damage.
As one who has ridden the tubes many times to work, that could have been me. As one who has spent quite some time in Afghanistan, that could have been me.
We have bombs, they have bombs. People die, and those left ask why as they arm the fuse on the revenge blast.
You might have also operated under the impression that the audience here has any perspective and knowledge of history and current affairs. They do not.
The TV burbs the latest "facts" and the sheep bleet in unison.
In the technical world I have never got 10 people in a telco room to agree what a Portal was.
In the political world I have never seen a real definition of the word terrorism.
Democracy is what they tell you it is. Not what you want to believe it is.
If you want to use history as an example, then perhaps read some history. About 3000 people were killed in the conflict refered to as the "Troubles". Some were killed by the British Army. Some were killed by the SAS, some were killed by the IRA, some were killed by the UVF, some were killed by the NI Police, some were killed....
You get the idea.
The problem here and everywhere we try to constrain human injustice and suffering, cause and effect with simple factoids that are usually incorrect.
Todays press is great at vomiting facts about events, but devoid of context and meaning.
People die all the time. it is more significant to me that 18000 americans will die killed by a drubk this year and we sit by and belch and screech factoids and distort history.
Why worry wbout one death and not another? Why would these deaths in London be so more significant than 60 dead Afghan villlagers killed by a US explosive device?
Why? Because SKY and CNN tell us they are. They are dead westerners. Our deaths are inportant, poor and disposseded deaths are not.
Slashdot Mirror
Like what happened to the .ae Domain. It was run by a private citizen, and then the local MONOPOLY telephone company decided they wanted to be in the ISP business and emailed Postel who handed over the TLD to Etisalat with no process as defined at the time.
.ae domain. IANA just did it. The government had no involvement as at the time they were too ignorent, but now with the UAE trying to become WTO members it will look silly to have the .ae domain run by a gormless monopoly.
IANA and now ICANN had and have too much power behind opaque rules and processes and it boils down to if the rules do not suit them they just act.
No one asked the UAE internet community who should be redelegated the
Freedom? Choice? Nah.......
ICANN is not about that, it is about power and influence and lack of process and MONEY.
You say "who have tried extremely hard to eliminate the existence of subversive web sites. ICANN impedes their ability to do this."
ICANN impedes them today exactly how?
Any country that want to impede web sites buys cisco routers and proxy servers and firewalls their main access and redirects all web access through a farm of proxy servers.
Why exactly do they need control of DNS to do this? In fact today they can redirect all port 53 requests away from OUR DNS servers to THEIR DNS servers.
You say "Firstly, Europe wants to eliminate the IETF..."
You stay this will no attribute, the EU does not give a %%$$£ about the IETF vs the ITU. This is of course a statement that only exists as true in your head because it suits you world view which seems to be EU sucks and US is KING.
Where have you seen concrete action that Europe wants to eleimnate the IETF? The ITU and the IETF have different goals and remits.
Perhaps the ITU should take over the IANA function of ICANN, perhaps not. But FREEDOM demands that this choice be made democratically by ALL internet stakeholders globally NOT just the US. Everyone should have an open process to add TLD's to the root file without having to beg and suck up to some fucked up ICANN expensive TAXABLE process.
WHy should nations and people of the world have an ICANN tax with no representation?
Oh......because you say so?
Has China and Iran fucked up the ITU? Is the global phone space at risk because China has input to the ITU standards process?
Does the US Suck? If it does only because ignorant serfs like you pull the flag out of their ass and try to jam it down the throats of other humans.
Sorry I have no points to Mod You Up. I should have taken time as you did to set out some history. This is what is missing here is a perspective on how this happend. But most of the Americans seem to want to wave a flag not actually engage in FREE and OPEN debate about how TLD's and the IANA function should have evolved.
Well....... China, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Cuba, Jordan, Tunisia, Burma, Singapore, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Kuwait, Vietnam, Syria, Iran, United Arab Emirates and parts of Africa You are sure ALL these countries are open with no Proxy? Oman? Qatar? Bahrain?
And yes I do. The point here is that ANY country that wants to filter can do it without input to the "IANA" function of the DNS. Many posters here whine about DNS and freedoms yet care not a hoot TODAY that any country will get co-operation from US companies to lock up their population tight.
Thus many people here in error worry about DNS and freedom. The reality is that with ICANN, any freedom is an illusion.
But in typical fashion Americans see "Made in USA" in ICANN and thus clap hand over heart and sing bad songs about freedom and bravery when in fact ICANN enslaves them.
In their deluded thoughts about freedom they fail to see that having a debate free from knee jerks and cliches is required and is demanded in the name of FREEDOM for all. Not just 5% of the worlds population.
I was not singling out the Arab nations, but as a fact many Arab nations are saddled with leaders who also hate freedom.
Are you trying to make a point? Or just preening?
And who are "us Americans"? I am an American but I am not in your little banjo playing cracker club.
No some in the UN do not vote for the greater good. The US is a prime example through using it's veto to impede the greater good for it's own interests.
But how can you justify retaining DNS control well away from the users of the internet with no way to influence what occurs to DNS?
Any organization that works by consus will be slow. But speed is not required always. However I would like to see faster release of new TLD's.
No problems? Hmmmm. What you meant to say is nor problems YOU are aware of. Dig a bit deeper. Be daring. Read a little. Maybe start with one of the last PUBLICLY elected directors : http://www.cavebear.com/cbblog/ or maybe this: http://www.gtld-mou.org/
.com? No? Oh I forgot there was no public tender to run .com. Just yet another backroom deal.
The fact that ICANN has foreign directors does not change that most internet stakeholders have no say in new TLD's. Did you bid on running
These directors have what power?
What part of the UN is dysfunctional? Do you actually have any idea what the UN is?
...... based upon the greater good. Not the good for the US or the good of WIPRO or the good of private corporations. For the good of the majority of user of the Internet.... all who daily use the DNS system.
......Enron. Oh, did they disband for .......corruption?
....... predictable.
And ICANN? What is ICANN? Do you actually know what ICANN is? is ICANN effective?
In a free world, we have a debate then we make a decision
Perhaps the UN or some body like the ITU is not the place for the DNS. Perhaps we should disband the ITU and offer governance of the internation phone system and their standards to
Your American ignorant opinion about the UN without any insight to the reality of todays world is so
In the US it used to be "Black man bad White man Good" but now Americans have to pretend that they love each other. People have a burning desire to hate something and usualy those who lack in intellegence brims with hate and prejudice ......about something.
.......blah blah corruption.
........ BING (light bulb illuminates) ICANN is corrupt.
......two legs baaaaaad"
Now they hate the UN. They have not idea what the UN is. They have no idea what the UN does.
They once saw a news headline that said UN
Were one as stupid as this one could say - Enron = corruption. Enron was US corporation. ICANN is US corporation. Thus
lets all bleat together "Four legs goooooood
The UN also lets the US sit on any commision - yet the US has more prisoners behind bars that Libya. The US executes more people than most other nations. The US allows torture......yada yada.
What you hate is that you believe that the US deserves some special pantheon to sit astride the world.
The UN is a place where ALL nations meet. Many European countries abhor the state killing in the US yet still enter into dialogue with the US at the UN.
That you select certain anomolies in the nature of world bodies that suit your prejudices says nothing of note about who is best positioned to govern the Internet DNS system.
You have made a false and stupid choice - it is not the US or China. The issue is that ICANN ganed control of aspects of goverence that impact other soverign nations and they did so with not debate nor input at the time from those affected.
That the decision was made does not change the fact that it is up for debate now and you ( lover of freedom? ) cannot stop this debate.
it is certain among those who have taken the time to inform themselves that the ICANN is NOT the best organization to manage a GLOBAL resource.
You clearly have little time to inform yourself. Tell us something that we don't know and yet is also true. Your fear of the UN is noted but not justified.
We need to rewind the clock and have a real debate regarding how the DNS should be managed. Sadly there was little or no awareness in 1998 about the importance of IANA handing over governance to IANA. Jon Postel is revered perhaps but his support of ICANN was misguided. He of course I thin realized that his "one man" governance of DNS was untenable.
Sadly what we got was worse than Postels management.
That you even bother to post and yet not know how ICANN appeared speaks ..... volumes.
That you see any desire for change for GOOD as an attack shows.......paranoia.
By the way.... I am American.
And you are worried about theoretical Chinese interference when the US it self censored .XXX? Are you on crack? Do as I say not as I do?
The ITU as part of the UN manages aspects of the phone system. And the Chinese protest about US porn telephone call lines?
It is sad to see humans with brains use continual knee jerk "UN BAD US GOOD" matra over and over. Especialy when they have no idea of the scope of the UN activities in the world today.
Maybe you should protest about Cisco selling equipment today to firewall and proxy filter free information to Chinese?
........ incapable of reading? Blind? In a black box with no light? In a town with no newspaper?
Perhaps you should protest that the ITU organizes aspects of the internation telephone system?
Perhaps you believe that the UN ( which UN organization by the way, the UN has many many parts....) is the only corrupt organization in the world?
I seem to recall much corruption in the US? Perhaps greed and corruption are universally human traits not exclusive to the UN? Perhaps you missed reference to any past American corruption because you are
Perhaps you represent the typical ignorance of the average American?
As usual everyone keeps confusing the "Internet" with the DNS.
.EU domain. ICANN could have refused, as they did for .XXX. ICANN decides who in a country get delegated control of that TLD management function of a country.
/ 00990.html
Common Quote - We invented it, we want to keep it.
This of course is a stupid argument - the Internet is many things - WWW being the most obvious. And the Web was invented where?
Common misconception - repressive countries need to control DNS root servers to repress......not so.
Cisco and other vendors sell products that today succeed in blocking site not allowed. Most Arab countries filter the internet behind proxy servers and cisco firewalls.
The real issue at stake is that ICANN is an opaque organization that was handed control of the root file with no REAL input from ALL internet stakeholders. ICANN today holds the power to drop any country off the DNS system. The EU itself had to apply for permission to ICANN for the
The real issue is that prior to 1998, IANA had plans to open up hundreds of top level domains......which plans were then shelved with no open process by ICANN. http://www.gtld-mou.org/gtld-discuss/mail-archive
The reality? Most Americans have no idea where ICANN came from or how it works or how it is not really beneficial for them, but they invoke this maddening knee jerk blind patriotism - it's ours and we run it. Sad that they have no idea who "we" is. ICANN is not "we". ICANN is undemocratic even for Americans, and is secretive. ICANN is in bed with WIPRO and seems to have a policy that supports big business. ICANN has no idea of trademark law. in short ICANN is NOT the answer for DNS governance.
I find it amusing that the UN - with the ITU, has controlled the telephone system and standards associated with telephony for a long tome now, with no complaints or issues. Amusing that no one here seems to understand how the UN actually works. It is doubly amusing that by demanding the Status Quo with ICANN they fail to see how unaccountable ICANN is.
/ 00990.html).
.fuck as a TLD. However I would see major US outcy of a UN body allowed .fuck to be intered into the TLD files.
Amazing that so many posters here decry the corporate pressures to control any and all domain names, yet are silent on the ties betwen WIPRO desires and ICANN actions.
Stupendous that no one seems aware of how the IANA function passed from Postel to ICANN with no stops and with no real consultation and little input from any stakeholder. Bizarre that for so many years the entries into the TLD space and delegations of Country Code TLD's were in the hands on one man (Postel).
Sad that no one here seems to recall the hundreds of pending TLD applications that were sent into "space" once ICANN gave birth to itself (my application was one pending : http://www.gtld-mou.org/gtld-discuss/mail-archive
Accountability? None whatsoever with ICANN.
The ITU has done an acceptable job in ensuring that the international phone system and it's required standards tick over nicely.
The ITU should have received the IANA function when Postel agreed it should move. However everyone in government at the time was too ignorent to absorb the implications of ICANN power.
I am also stunned that people actually believe that censorship requires any control of DNS - I am based from time to time in Dubai and remember when they fired up their firewalls and proxy servers running filtering lists.......those that want to control the internet have all the help they need from Cisco and white list vendors in the US to have any need to play games with TLD issues.
I cannot imagine that an ITU type function under the UN is going to block the issuance of
The internet seems to have no history. Certainly 1998 when all the action when down and the debates were lost seems to be too long ago for most posters to remember.
Long and short - ICANN sucks and will continue to suck.
Since the late 1800 The ITU ( International Telecommunications Union) has had control of such matters of Telephone Area Codes etc. the ITU is part of the UN. Any organization has corruption, yet you blindly dismiss the immense worth of UN organizations. The UN is the sum of MANY parts.
.EU top level domain. Had ICANN refused to enact this, there was NO PROCESS that would allow the EU to dispute this decision.
The DNS function used to be run by IANA in a US university - in essence one man. Major problems developed when the IANA function was faced with legitimate demand for more top level domain names. It was decided through NO OPEN PROCESS to remove the DNS process from IANA to ICANN.
Several problems stem from this:
1. DNS country code delegation. The process is arbitrary. ICANN can redelegate a nations "ownership" of a top level country code with no effective way for the legitimate users of that nation to stop the redelegation. Study what happened to Australia. Examine places like the UAE where the IANA arbitrairly handed over country code control to an organization of it's choice with no reference to the internet community of that nation and with no input from the actual rulers of that nation.
2. By what right does the ICANN function have to control what new TLD's be enacted? Who voted for the board of ICANN? How are board members nominated?
I would rather a central organization like the ITU who have for a long time successfully made the international telephone system work be in control of the DNS files.
Who is ICANN? Can you influence it? Can you see all it's documents? Is it good for the internet?
You are quite short sighted in you equating press hype of corruption in parts of the UN and fail to see that ICANN is a defiicient organization.
ICANN offers NO accounatability but of course your post proves you have no idea how the DNS function actually is managed today - with ZERO accountability. To you and I as US citizens - ZERO. To citizens out of the US - ZERO.
We are all in this together........try educating yourself about where ICANN came from and the implication of it's strangulation on what goes into the DNS.
Think of the EU having to ASK for permission of ICANN to enact a
So yes change is needed.
to quote you " There needs to be accountability "
The iPod is aimed at people who want control of what they are listening to. There are plenty of small radios on the market. When you listen to radio, you are at the mercy of THEIR playlist. When you listen to the iPod you CONTROL the playlist.
With Podscasting, YOU can control what and when you hear.
The iPod is not a radio. It is what it is and it is excellent at what it is.
Yes Dubai grows because it uses "slave" labor from India, where workers die all the time due to lack of ant meaningful laws, where the "government" can throw you in jail on a whim. Try opening a company with out government intrusion. Try buying land. Try surfing the wed through government filters on all internet traffic. Try bouncing a cheque and get arrested and jailed until you male good the funds with no recourse to courts. Try raising your middle finger to a woman and sit in jail for three years. Try getting killed on the road from a loon driving at 100 Mph making a new fast lane on the higway, all because of a lack of effective policing for "locals" with too much money and contempt for human life. Government Intrusion? Get real. Dubai grows because of cheap labor and exploitation of labor not because of lack of taxes. There is no income tax, but high taxes on everything else. You cannot move in Dubai without paper ...
Just a single example of many......this is the most recent of course.
"....Date Posted: Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Afghanistan called the deaths of up to 17 people in a U.S. airstrike unjustified, as U.S. forces found the bodies of two missing commandos.
KABUL, Jul 5 (MASNET & News Agencies) - Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai said he was "saddened and distressed" by the deaths of up to 17 people in a U.S. airstrike, as U.S. forces found the bodies of two missing commandos.
The Afghan government urged the U.S.-led coalition to change its tactics following Friday's bombing in Chichal village in the eastern province of Kunar bordering with Pakistan, which came amid a mission to rescue a team of four U.S. Special Forces soldiers, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"The president is extremely saddened and distressed to hear the report that recent military operations in Kunar by the coalition forces resulted in the death of civilians," presidential spokesman Jawed Ludin told reporters Tuesday.
Karzai added that such deaths could not be justified, reports Reuters.
"There is no way, obviously, that the killings of civilians can be justified," Ludin told a news briefing. "It's the terrorists we are fighting. It's not our people who should suffer."
Ludin said the Afghan government had launched its own investigation into the bombing....."
You state "Attacking civilian populations ceased to be acceptable as of the end of WWII", then ignore the millions killed in Cambodia and Vietnam by carpet bombing.
You then presume that I need education? I have facts many facts....and by the way my life is not young, I bet I am a lot older than you are....
You visted Afghanistan when?
So a B-52 wasting an Afghan Viliage is......what?
The reality is that after WW1 the west decided that attacking civilian populations was acceptable, and now they "sell" it by the myth of collateral damage.
As one who has ridden the tubes many times to work, that could have been me. As one who has spent quite some time in Afghanistan, that could have been me.
We have bombs, they have bombs. People die, and those left ask why as they arm the fuse on the revenge blast.
If I had Mod points I would Mod you up. My sentiments exactly. When will we learn that our killings angers them and they kill us
Our history begins yesterday or whatever day the TV tells us history begins.
You might have also operated under the impression that the audience here has any perspective and knowledge of history and current affairs. They do not.
The TV burbs the latest "facts" and the sheep bleet in unison.
In the technical world I have never got 10 people in a telco room to agree what a Portal was.
In the political world I have never seen a real definition of the word terrorism.
Democracy is what they tell you it is. Not what you want to believe it is.
If you want to use history as an example, then perhaps read some history. About 3000 people were killed in the conflict refered to as the "Troubles". Some were killed by the British Army. Some were killed by the SAS, some were killed by the IRA, some were killed by the UVF, some were killed by the NI Police, some were killed....
You get the idea.
The problem here and everywhere we try to constrain human injustice and suffering, cause and effect with simple factoids that are usually incorrect.
Todays press is great at vomiting facts about events, but devoid of context and meaning.
People die all the time. it is more significant to me that 18000 americans will die killed by a drubk this year and we sit by and belch and screech factoids and distort history.
Why worry wbout one death and not another? Why would these deaths in London be so more significant than 60 dead Afghan villlagers killed by a US explosive device?
Why? Because SKY and CNN tell us they are. They are dead westerners. Our deaths are inportant, poor and disposseded deaths are not.
First your grasp of History is suspect. You are trying to pin the Vietnam war in LBJ? Interesting to say theh least.
Sad that you ignore the dead. Dead babies have a story that they will never tell, dead babies decribe a world that might have been.
Go to Vietnam sometimes. Count the dead killed by B-52's who were not soldiers. Ditto for Cambodia.
Then come back and bleat about Vietnam vets being homeless.
When I lived in California I saw plenty of them up in the woods but that does not change wrong into right.
Your grasp of morality is..... priceless.