Thank God for Norm Coleman. With him, Minnesota makes up for Paul Wellstone and Eugene McCarthy combined.

Any rival to the Internet would, by definition, be a LAN.

Don't forget Brave Sir Dayton, Jim. (He bravely ran away, away! When danger reared its ugly head, he bravely turned his tail and fled.)

And for the U.N. to build their own internet, they'd have to actually stop stealing or trying to steal other people's stuff. I think the U.N.'s motto is the same as Belloq's line from the begining of Raiders of the Lost Ark: "There is nothing you can possess which I cannot take away."

Perhaps I don't have the technical knowledge to understand this (well... not, perhaps, but surely I don't) BUT...

Even if the UN passes something or other saying "It's ours"... Bush is going to ignore them. So...

If the next president agrees (somehow I can't see Hillary doing it, though) can it be enforced without the cooperation of tens of thousands of geeks? (Which is why I can't see Hillary agreeing, she's a lot of things but I don't believe she's dumb.)

I just really can't think that the UN folks have thought this through.

I doubt that the forces of digital anarchy will be burning any cars, but applied creativity to passive resistance should be a grand old show.

Rule one of governance... never *ever* pass a law you can't enforce.