IP: a response by Greg Simon on Cook on NTIA and DNS NOI

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 11:14:52 -0400
From: "Gregory C. Simon" <simon () podesta com>


Dear All:


The open letter from Gordon Cook to Larry Irving is profoundly misguided
and uninformed. =A0The basic premise is ludicrous -- that Henry Geller
somehow set the parameters of NTIA's authority by his personal views.
NTIA is the voice of the Administration on many matters but it is also
part of the brain. =A0During my tenure in the White House with Vice
President Gore, we relied heavily on NTIA's institutional knowledge and
analytical skills in formulating and executing policy decisions. =A0Larry
Irving in particular has been astoundingly and unerringly prescient in
identifying policy areas that will rise to the top of the public policy
debate. =A0His views have often carried the day with the President and
Vice President.


In my dealings with NTIA on the DNS issues I have detected none of the
prejudice Mr. Cook asserts. =A0Reading symbolism into such simple gestures
as granting additional comment time and giving great weight to every bit
of gossip emanating from a free give and take discussion within the
government smacks of clinical paranoia.


Finally, is it necessary to wave the bloody shirt of encrpytion into
every policy debate no matter how remote? =A0Must everything be related to
a government conspiracy to read your mail? =A0Surely there must be a more
honest way to disagree than to impune everybody's motives all the time.
And as for being cut off at the knees, I personally repudiate Mr. Cook
for bringing that level of vileness and personal animus into the debate
on a policy issue. =A0Larry Irving has devoted his professional career to
public service, he deserves respect, not threats.


Sincerely,


Greg Simon
(In the interest of full disclosure, Mr. Simon, President and CEO of
Simon Strategies =A0is a consultant to SAIC, the parent company of Network
Solutions.)


>
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---------------------------------
> Subject: FW: Cook on NTIA and DNS NOI
> Date: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 17:14:38 -0400
> From: "Telage, Don" <dont () netsol com>
> To: Christopher Clough <chrisc () netsol com>,
> =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0"Dan Dutko (E-mail)" <ddutko () dutkogroup com>,
> =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Daniel Killeen <DANIEL.J.KILLEEN () cpmx mail saic com>,
> =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Dave Graves <daveg () netsol com>, Gabe Battista=
 <gabeb () netsol com>,
> =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0"Greg Simon (E-mail)" <strategy () simoninc com>,
> =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0"Julie Raffensperger (E-mail)"=
 <jraffensperger () dutkogroup com>,
> =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0"Kim Bayliss (E-mail)" <kbayliss () dutkogroup com>,
> =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0"Kristan Van Hook (E-mail)" <vanhook () simoninc com>,
> =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Phil Sbarbaro <phils () netsol com>,
> =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Robert Korzeniewski <bobk () netsol com>,
> =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0"Steve Perry (E-mail)" <sperry () dutkogroup com>,
> =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Tom Newell <tomn () netsol com>
>
> Cook is unusual, but often very well informed. His suspicions about
> internal government discussions are probably true. He has numerous
> moles
> who talk to him often.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: =A0=A0Nicholas Lordi Jr [SMTP:nlj () bellcore com]
> Sent: =A0=A0Friday, October 10, 1997 3:31 PM
> To: =A0=A0=A0=A0Don Telage
> Cc: =A0=A0=A0=A0Dave Sincoskie; Nick Lordi
> Subject: =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Cook on NTIA and DNS NOI
>
> fyi, Cook's letter was posted to several lists, and picked up by Dave
> Farber and his "interesting people" list which has very high level
> readership.
> Nick
> - ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: =A0=A0Tue, 07 Oct 1997 22:39:16 -0400
> From: =A0=A0David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
> To: =A0=A0=A0=A0ip-sub-1 () majordomo pobox com
> Subject: =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0IP: NTIA Exerting dubious Stewardship over=
 DNS NOI -
> open =A0letter
> =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0to Larry Irving
>
> From: =A0=A0Gordon Cook <cook () netaxs com>
>
> Dear Mr. Irving:
>
> Until I have evidence to the contrary I shall assume that you are well
>
> intentioned. I have however some disturbing evidence about the process
>
> of the Internet DNS NOI for which you have been given responsibility.
> NTIA was established in part to give the White House a voice in
> telecommunications policy. I understand that in agreeing to the
> establishment of NTIA people like Henry Geller set very clear
> conditions
> such that NTIA would never try to originate its own policy. Your own
> web
> pages make it pretty clear that you are here to carry out and not to
> originate policy.
> What I see happening with the NTIA role in the Inter Agency Task Force
>
> on DNS seems to be contrary to the original intent of the role of your
>
> agency - - namely you have been given the role of shaping the redesign
>
> of DNS and, by extension, the response of the US government not only
> to
> DNS but to Internet governance as a whole. If this does not place NTIA
>
> in a policy making role, I don't know what would.
> Furthermore, at the same time that NTIA is telling Internet industry
> representatives that nothing has been decided and that it wants them
> to
> meet with it to place all ideas on the table, there are continuing
> indications that elements within the IATF are looking favorably on an
> outcome involving an internationally focused stewardship for gTLDs. I
> have been told by multiple people for the past five weeks that some
> key
> people within the gov't NOI effort are well disposed to the IAHC
> agenda
> and have discussed scenarios where the infrastructure fund might be
> given to some large American corporations for the development of the
> IAHC database. To say that this runs counter to recent other
> indications
> that your people allegedly want to hear from other industry players is
>
> to put it mildly. I might remind you that it also runs directly
> counter
> to the tenor of the recent congressional hearings. By the way, you did
>
> give IAHC extra time to answer the NOI. Why? Do you wonder that for
> this
> and many other reasons sources are telling me that all the policy
> people
> (Burr, Kahin and Nelson) feel is needed is a bit of tweaking of IAHC?
> Given these events I question whether and why NTIA should have been
> assigned any role that could leave it as the government office in
> charge
> of Internet affairs. Unless that is, Clinton and Gore have
> hornswaggled
> Ira Magaziner into backing a plan that would grant this political arm
> of
> the White House undue influence over the Internet in an effort to help
>
> it impose its profoundly mistaken ideas about using encryption in
> order
> to give the police agencies of the federal government access to the
> privacy of American citizens and American business. You can't burn the
>
> candle at both ends Mr. Irving. If you try, it is my most earnest hope
>
> that Congress will cut you off at the knees.
>
> ********************************************
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>
> ***********************************************************************
>
> **************************************************
> "Photons have neither morals nor visas" =A0-- =A0Dave Farber 1996
> **************************************************
>
> ------- End of Forwarded Message






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"Photons have neither morals nor visas"  --  Dave Farber 1994
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