Re: <nettime> [IFWP] Death of Net Predicted (Courtesy ICANN/NSI/SAIC/USG/EU/ETC)

[Josselien Janssens <j.g.janssens@speed.A2000.nl>]

	[orig to Allisat, CCed to nettime]

Dear Bob Allisat, (Gates, you listening?)

As far as I can tell, there is nothing new about monopoly positions and
clampdowns on freedom of expression in any given time or age,
considering any given new media. At least not in the last 2000 years or
so. We've always BEEN surrounded on all sides. I don't understand what
the pessimism is about - right now, we are in a position of unlimited
freedom of expression compared to those who lived before us. If they
shut the Internet down for anything other than Big Buck Inc., all this
means is that free people will have to find yet another way to
communicate. (Anyone tried "talking" recently?)

All it means to be free is to continuously outsmart those who are not. I
am a bit baffled about how some people see the Net as the End-All In
Communication and act like their lollipop is taken away when suddenly it
turns out that the forces of oppression use it as well and want to
control it too. It was actually invented by & for use of the military,
guys, remember?

Come on, let's try telepathy next, see how they're going to clamp down
on that...;-) And for all you freedom fighters out there - and
especially for the Zapa's and radio B92 braves today: WE LOVE YOU AND WE
THINK OF YOU, NEVER GIVE UP. You fight for yourself and for all of us
and all our freedom lies in continuing the fight itself.

Love & Peace
JJJumpS
Non-Violent White Yellow Red Green Black Pantheress (and a total hippy,
too)

PS. Gates, sweety-PIE, remember the hardware we're all working on has
been constructed with the blood, sweat and tears of a whole lot of
gracious young Asian women and men. They are the ones who are slaving
away under inhumane and dangerous circumstances for next to nothing to
make the hallowed 'electronic revolution' as well as your exhorbitant
income possible. You may find yourself wanting to make some considerable
investments in their quality of life. Thank you for your consideration.

Bob Allisat (by way of Name.Space) schreef:

>  Monopoly siutuations invite the kind of decision
>  making and public reaction we are witnessing in
>  regards to Network Solutions recent abandonment
>  of the Internic moniker (not to mention the highly
>  covered up reaction to the ICANN debacle!). We,
>  as citizens, have nowhere else to turn with our
>  objections if we are pissed off. And, viewing the
>  course of recent DNS events, it looks like we
>  won't have much choice of offerings under the
>  soon to be installed conventional junta the USG
>  is planning to ram down our throats. In this version
>  of tommorrow we will simply have a selection of
>  equally bad and more highly controlled so-called
>  options. All with the same policies, corporatist
>  ideology and centrally managed flaws. In effect
>  five more, and then a hundred more NSI/SAICs with
>  their own version of a dictatorial WORLDNIC all
>  under the diabloical ICANN heel all in Pinkie
>  and the Brain-like control of our collective
>  destinies. We'll be surrounded on all sides...
>
>  The entire debacle of Internic/NSI/SAIC and the
>  soon to be floated ICANN multiple monopoly regime
>  lies in it's extreme centralization and entire
>  lack of transparency, accountability and democratic
>  mechanisms. Decisions are made in secret, behind
>  closed doors and without a shred of public advise
>  or input. There are no means to control or veto
>  any particiluar misadventure no matter how extremely
>  misadventurous and no way to right a wrong once it
>  has been sprung upon the unsuspecting public. As if
>  all of the options for the future proposed by our
>  more orthodox collegues contain the same archaic,
>  top down, "hierarchy scales", essentially militarist
>  and *ERRONEOUS* thought patterns behind them. So
>  no matter how hard these folk try it all fails
>  due to this fundamental flaw.
>
>  Our situation is highly ironic and made even more
>  amusing given the hype and potential this medium
>  had for individual expression, the decentralization
>  of political and economic power and all of the other
>  cliched attributes the Internet drags around with it
>  ball and chainlike. As it howls ever more into boob
>  toob mass media patterns of control, censorship and
>  commercialization. To the point of only ghostlike
>  similarity to the vibrant and independance oriented
>  community of even a few years past. So... perhaps all
>  of these "developments" are fitting of the general
>  malady the net is suffering. Fitting and inevitable
>  though every alleged netizen and their cyber-dog
>  continue to bark the same, tired, stupid assertions
>  of the wild-wild-wild virtual west, controlled anarchy,
>  WiReD yada, yada, yadam, bullship.
>
>  Like it or not the days of freedom and expression
>  have drawn to an inevitable close. Unless some as yet
>  unseen revolution occurs wresting control from these
>  nasty ICANN/NSI/ETC bureaucratic monkies we can all
>  just pack it in here and now and enjoy the ride down.
>  Taking as great pleasure in the slow decay of the thing
>  we helped raise up with equal relish. Unless some
>  serious and sustained collective butt kicking commences
>  pretty darned soon the game is drawing, thankfully,
>  to a fitting close. And all of these silly Internet
>  governance and "Domain Name Wars" are simply the
>  precursors of the greater rot soon to descend. Any
>  way you choose to look at it the days ahead are
>  looking pretty darned entertaining! On with the show!
>  Or the rebbollution, comrade! Either way it's more
>  fun than a barrel full of Metzgers!
>
>  Bob Allisat
>
>  Free Community Network _ bob@fcn.net
>  http://fcn.net _ http://fcn.net/allisat
>  http://robin.fcn.net
> ---
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Dear Bob Allisat, (Gates, you listening?)

<P>As far as I can tell, there is nothing new about monopoly positions
and clampdowns on freedom of expression in any given time or age, considering
any given new media. At least not in the last 2000 years or so. We've always
BEEN surrounded on all sides. I don't understand what the pessimism is
about - right now, we are in a position of unlimited freedom of expression
compared to those who lived before us. If they shut the Internet down for
anything other than Big Buck Inc., all this means is that free people will
have to find yet another way to communicate. (Anyone tried "talking" recently?)

<P>All it means to be free is to continuously outsmart those who are not.
I am a bit baffled about how some people see the Net as the End-All In
Communication and act like their lollipop is taken away when suddenly it
turns out that the forces of oppression use it as well and want to control
it too. It was actually invented by &amp; for use of the military, guys,
remember?

<P>Come on, let's try telepathy next, see how they're going to clamp down
on that...;-) And for all you freedom fighters out there - and especially
for the Zapa's and radio B92 braves today: WE LOVE YOU AND WE THINK OF
YOU, NEVER GIVE UP. You fight for yourself and for all of us and all our
freedom lies in continuing the fight itself.

<P>Love &amp; Peace
<BR><I>JJJumpS</I>
<BR>Non-Violent White Yellow Red Green Black Pantheress (and a total hippy,
too)

<P>PS. Gates, sweety-PIE, remember the hardware we're all working on has
been constructed with the blood, sweat and tears of a whole lot of gracious
young Asian women and men. They are the ones who are slaving away under
inhumane and dangerous circumstances for next to nothing to make the hallowed
'electronic revolution' as well as your exhorbitant income possible. You
may find yourself wanting to make some considerable investments in their
quality of life. Thank you for your consideration.

	[HTML cruft deleted--tb]
---
#  distributed via nettime-l : no commercial use without permission
#  <nettime> is a closed moderated mailinglist for net criticism,
#  collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
#  more info: majordomo@desk.nl and "info nettime-l" in the msg body
#  URL: http://www.desk.nl/~nettime/  contact: nettime-owner@desk.nl