United Nations summit convenes in Athens: lots of talk, not much else [fs]

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

So I'm at this U.N. "Internet Governance Forum" outside of Athens, where 
there's plenty of talk (and overheated proposals) but not much else.

Kieren McCarthy has some coverage here:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/31/igf_day_one/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/31/igf_blog_tuesday/

And a BBC blog is here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6105496.stm

Some of my articles follow.

-Declan

http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6130549.html
ATHENS, Greece--A top United Nations official on Monday called for 
changes in the way the Internet is operated, taking aim at "self-serving 
justifications" for permitting the United States to preserve its unique 
influence and authority online.

http://news.com.com/U.N.+blasts+Cisco%2C+others+on+China+cooperation/2100-1028_3-6131010.html?tag=nl
ATHENS, Greece--Delegates to a United Nations summit on Tuesday assailed 
Google, Cisco Systems, Microsoft and Yahoo for cooperating too closely 
with China, suggesting that new global regulations of free expression 
might be necessary.

http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6131394.html
On Wednesday, delegates to a United Nations summit here complained that 
the ASCII-only choice was representative of an Internet culture that is 
far too English-centric and that fails to respect other languages.

http://news.com.com/China+We+dont+censor+the+Internet.+Really/2100-1028_3-6130970.html?tag=nl
ATHENS, Greece--While many countries block off some Web sites, China has 
long drawn heightened scrutiny because of the breadth and sophistication 
of its Internet censorship.
Which is why it came as a surprise on Tuesday when a Chinese government 
official claimed at a United Nations summit here that no Net censorship 
existed at all.

http://news.com.com/2061-10796_3-6130991.html
You'd think that of all places that should have speedy and reliable 
Internet access, a United Nations summit on the Internet would be high 
on the list.

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