A tense dispute over the control of the World Wide Internet was developing this week at the U.N.'s World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). This could have resulted in the eventually break-up of the global network and hamper seamless browsing, officials warned. Some officials were arguing that regimes that do not value freedom of speech might exploit weaknesses in a UN-supervised system.
The internet was developed in the late 1960's by the United States Department of Defense.
Today, the internet is overseen by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) a California-based independent body which is awarded the task by the US government on a renewable tender. It is run by a group of free-spirited enthusiasts who were anxious to avoid regulation of the Internet. About 30 governments have a purely advisory role.
The outcome of the summit meetings will keep the global network controls in the Untied States and out of the hands of the U.N. This is a victory to those living in countries with oppressive regimes who do not value freedom of speech.
Posted by Walt as General Commentary, Internet at 8:11 AM EST
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John Bolton has reversed his views on the U.N. from an adversary to a friend of the U.N. since his statements he had made last April.
In an interview with Human Events, a national conservative weekly published in Washington, U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton said he believes a properly functioning United Nations can be an effective instrument for advancing U.S. interests in world politics.
“The basic issue for the United States is to make the United Nations more effective, so it can better serve American foreign policy interests,” stated Bolton. “I think we have had examples in the past when use of the Security Council or other United Nations organs has been very beneficial to us.” This was demonstrated by the role the UN played in the first Gulf War: “You’ll recall the Security Council authorized the use of force there before the U.S. Congress.” Bolton also commended “a lot of other UN agencies that do important work and humanitarian relief in other areas such as the AIDS crisis and so on. There’s no doubt that a properly functioning United Nations can serve American foreign policy interests.”
John Bolton, it will be remembered, was denounced by his critics and hailed by his supporters as a bane enemy of the United Nations and the internationalist vision it embodies. In an item posted on this magazine’s website last April 13, THE NEW AMERICAN predicted that once confirmed as our UN ambassador, Bolton, “like the Bush administration in general … will cash in his anti-UN [reputation] and spend his political capital on pro-UN initiatives.”
Posted by Walt as Corruption, General Commentary at 3:26 PM EST
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Another good reason to get the U.S. out of the U.N.!
Next week, the United Nations will be holding the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunisia. This meeting is said to threaten the free use of the internet, with the U.N. wanting to control it over ICANN, the non-governmental agency that now oversees the internet’s domain names and IP addresses. The U.N denies this, but can they be trusted?
Last month, Congressional Internet Caucus co-chairmen Rick Boucher, D-Va., and Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., as well as Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., introduced a H. Con. Res. 268 that says the current Internet governance system is working well and that control of the root server responsible for overseeing global Internet addresses should remain in the United States, with the Commerce Department loosely overseeing ICANN.
"It is incumbent upon the United States and other responsible governments to send clear signals to the marketplace that the current structure of oversight and management of the Internet’s domain name and addressing service works, and will continue to deliver tangible benefits to Internet users worldwide in the future," states the measure, H. Con. Res. 268.
This international meeting follows on the heels of the release Oil-For-Food scandal report which the U.N. is being held responsible. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., who is in charge of the Senate’s investigation into the U.N. Oil-for-Food scandal, said the Internet governance plan to give the U.N. more control smacks of anti-Americanism.
Posted by Walt as Freedom & Human Rights at 1:53 PM EST
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