more on Summarized -- The Internets, Not Just Bush's Word, His Fault

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: John Scott <johnmscott () mindspring com>
Date: January 19, 2006 1:55:39 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: RE: [IP] Summarized -- The Internets, Not Just Bush's Word,  
His Fault
Reply-To: johnmscott () mindspring com

The countries that have the most problem with the US running the  
system are also the
ones who are trying to limit political discourse, etc. (China, Iran,  
etc.). Yes, the
present Icann process can be improved - pinning the cause on the fact  
Icann backed
away from .xxx is a red herring.

And if you do hand it over to an international body, you will end up  
with the UN
Human rights commission with countries that don't support human  
rights. If right now
they coerce MSN, Google, Yahoo!, etc. to filter, what other ways  
could they game an
international-Icann for their own uses.

Where there is chaos comes opportunity, maybe fracturing parts of the  
internet is
inevitable, opening up the space to new ideas may not be such a bad  
idea...

End of the day, countries with reasons to control their populations  
access to the
internet will do what they want and there isn't anything, anyone in  
the US can do
about it, except not buy their products, talk with them. Kinda sucks,  
but there
aren't many levers we can pull

Js

------------------------------------------------------------------
John Scott
<     jms3rd () gmail com      >
http://powdermonkey.blogs.com
Washington DC
ph 240.401.6574

-----Original Message-----
From: David Farber [mailto:dave () farber net]
Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2006 1:18 PM
To: ip () v2 listbox com
Subject: [IP] Summarized -- The Internets, Not Just Bush's Word, His  
Fault



Endangered Domain
In Threat to Internet's Clout,
Some Are Starting Alternatives
Rise of Developing Nations,
Anti-U.S. Views Play Role;
Pioneer Sounds the Alarm
A 'Root' Grows in Germany

By CHRISTOPHER RHOADS
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
January 19, 2006; Page A1
More than a decade after the Internet became available for commercial  
use, other
countries and organizations are erecting rivals to it -- raising  
fears that global
interconnectivity will be diminished.

Summarized:

China has created three suffixes in Chinese characters substituting
for .com and the like, resulting in Web sites and email addresses
inaccessible to users outside of China.

..."You've had some breakaway factions over the years, but they've
had no relevance," says Rodney Joffe, the chairman of UltraDNS, a
Brisbane, Calif., company that provides Internet equipment and
services for companies.

...A single root helps ensure that when people type in a Web address
such as www.amazon.com, they all end up at the site of the Internet
retailer no matter where in the world they are or which Internet
service provider they use.

...As the Internet's role grows around the world, some are uneasy
with the notion that a U.S.-based body overseen by the U.S.
government has sole power over what domain names are used and who
controls each name.

...Concern about U.S. oversight increased last summer when the
Commerce Department persuaded Icann to postpone the approval of a new
domain-name suffix to be used for pornographic Web sites, .xxx.

...The matter of control came to a head last November at a United
Nations summit in Tunis, where the U.S. delegation fought off demands
from more than 170 countries to give up unilateral oversight of Icann.

...U.S. officials counter that the Internet is too valuable to tinker
with or place under an international body like the U.N. "What's at
risk is the bureaucratization of the Internet and innovation," says
Michael Gallagher, the Department of Commerce official who
administers the government's tie to Icann.

...Governments already control what their citizens see on the
Internet by blocking some sites, making surfing a less-than-universal
experience, notes Paul Mockapetris, who invented the Internet's
domain-name system in the early 1980s.

...Powerful servers inside a locked, metal cage translate Internet
domain names into a series of numbers, called Internet protocol
addresses, helping users find Web sites and send and receive email.

...Mr. Vixie says he has no interest in making political statements
but he agreed last September to work with Mr. Grundmann by operating
one of ORSN's 13 mirrors.

...The company has established its own root and signed up Amsterdam's
Schiphol Airport, among other companies, according to Erik Seeboldt,
UnifiedRoot's managing director.

...China has created three domain names in Chinese characters
-- .zhongguo, .gongsi and .wangluo -- and made them available for  
public and commercial use inside China only.

Similarly, Arab countries have in the past 18 months experimented
with country code domain names in Arabic, distinct from the Icann
system, says Khaled Fattal of Surrey, England.

...Paul Twomey, the chief executive officer of Icann, says the
divisions reflect cultural differences between nations that operate
under a strong government hand and those, including the U.S., that
put more trust in the private sector.



-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as johnmscott () mindspring com
To manage your subscription, go to
  http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip

Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting- 
people/



-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org
To manage your subscription, go to
 http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip

Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/