Meryl Yourish has a rather thorough report on the United Nations’ failed attempt to win control of the internet. In it, she gives details of the process, reasons why they tried it, and reasons why it was a good thing that it failed.
But as much as I respect Meryl, I have to disagree with her posting. It was far, far more complicated than it needs be.
Is there ANYONE who can give any reason WHATSOEVER why the UN should be trusted with control of the internet, especially in light of their own stellar record of failures, corruption, and ineptitude? I wouldn’t trust the UN with a goddamned lemonade stand — it would be overpriced, toxic, and served in leaky cups.
The only really useful thing to know about the U.N. is its targeting coordinates.
It is October 1st, 2005 and they still have “Copyright 2004” on http://www.un.org/
No .. none .. zip … zero … nada
Contrary to what AlGore thinks, the Internet was developed by DARPA. Which was funded SOLELY with american tax dollars. End of story. The euros should be freakin happy we don’t charge them .01 per packet as a license to use our military technology. Worthless pricks.
a4g:
Imagine the response had the UN building been the target of a hijacked airliner (lets not argue about the unlikelihood of such an event). I believe that alone would be enough fodder to explain why the UN should not be in charge of anything.
Never trust a group of people who act like and closely resemble the characters in the bar scene from the movie “Star Wars.”
I wouldn’t trust the UN with a goddamned lemonade stand — it would be overpriced, toxic, and served in leaky cups. – Jay Tea
Assuming, of course, they could agree on setting up a lemonade stand in the first place.
But as much as I respect Meryl, I have to disagree with her posting. It was far, far more complicated than it needs be.
I like reading Mery’s blog. She’s right on the Mideast and she’s right on the GWOT, but other than those things, she’s pretty much a liberal, is she not? Which means that for her, the U.N. is not a self-evidently corrupt and worthless organization in all its works. So it’s going to take her a bit of work to sift through the relevant information in order for her to come to the same conclusion that we conservatives know instinctively.
I’m ashamed of you, Jay, underestimating the UN like that. The leaky cup (from a company owned by Kofi’s brother-in-law) would be available for an extra charge, proceeds to be used to furnish much-needed aid to impoverished palestinian explosives industry workers.
And it would be made without sugar, because sugar is bad for you!
The UN, that socialist dream-state of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s, was intended to metamorphose into an institution that could coerce national governments by its own means. Of course, FDR intended that the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union would control it “for everyone’s greater good,” but that’s a mere detail.
The three legs on which freedom and autonomy stand are education, communications, and weaponry. If these things are free, and ready to hand, nothing can withstand the will of men to determine their own futures. So: can you name three resources the UN and its allegiants have been most interested in choking off?
The UN’s thrust for control of the Internet was a battle in a larger war. An important battle, to be sure, but one must not neglect the bigger picture. The war will continue.
Don’t let the UN see this message — I would hate for them to actually set up a lemonade stand that might attract kids — given what their troops have done in the past.