[kictanet] Article compares the misinformation about WCIT to the US stories about WMD in Iraq)

[Ali Hussein]

John

Well quoted. Let me just say that my concerns are straddled across the
oceans from Washington to Dubai to the African shores.

The process that we have started here in East Africa is a good one at IGF
where most stakeholders participated. Of course the concern is whether the
resolutions will be binding and presented as a unified voice for East
Africa.

Could the convenors please circulate the  way forward and wrap up by ATUs
Alice Koech and EAIGF Convenor Alice Munyua.

Through this process I must say that I am proud to be an East African!

Ali Hussein

On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 9:15 AM, John Kariuki <
ngethe.kariuki2007 at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

> Alice, Listers,
>
> Well spoken by Milton L. Mueller and I will only underline one sentence
> in his article and I quote:
> "
> I am less worried about what will happen in Dubai than I am about what is
> happening in Washington. "
> ******
> **Thanks,**
> **John Kariuki**
> ****
>
>   *From:* "alice at apc.org" <alice at apc.org>
> *To:* ngethe.kariuki2007 at yahoo.co.uk
> *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> *Sent:* Sunday, 22 July 2012, 12:15
> *Subject:* [kictanet] Article compares the misinformation about WCIT to
> the US stories about WMD in Iraq)
>
>
> Chronical
> http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/Greatest-threat-to-Internet-governments-3723621.php
>
>
> Greatest threat to Internet: governments
> Milton L. Mueller
>
>
>
> When U.S. politicians and businesses tell us that the revision of the
>
>  International Telecommunication Regulations could lead to a takeover of
> the Internet or global censorship, I think of
>
>  Saddam Hussein.
>
> Why Hussein? The invasion of Iraq was based on the claim that the Iraqi
> dictator held weapons of mass destruction, and thus posed a clear and
> present danger to this country and the world. Those who wanted a war played
> up the threats to manufacture political support. We now know that there
> were no WMD; we were rushed into war under false pretenses. The result,
> most agree, was disastrous. Here's the lesson I hope we all learned: a
> false diagnosis, inflated to provoke extreme, hasty action, leads to bad
> outcomes. Something very similar to the WMD claims seems to characterize
> our approach to the World Conference of International Telecommunications
> (or WCIT, pronounced "wicket").
>
> Maybe the stakes seem lower. No one thinks millions of people are going to
> die because of an
>
>  International Telecommunications Union meeting in Dubai.
>
> But from another perspective the stakes are much higher.
>
> The linkage of powerful information technology to free, open, global
> communications makes gigantic contributions to civilization and commerce.
> And it was the Internet - the ability to network computers across borders,
> free from nation-state controls and permissions - that opened up this new
> world for us. If that is truly threatened by WCIT, it is indeed something
> to rise up about.
>
> But the claim that the revision of the International Telecommunication
> Regulations constitutes a mortal threat to the future of the Internet is
> absurd. It is even less plausible than the claim that Hussein was
> harboring WMD.
>
> The simple fact is that the WCIT cannot possibly undo the Internet
> revolution unless all the governments involved, including the United
> States, agree to do so. The International Telecommunications Union has no
> police force, no army. It cannot make any state do something it doesn't
> want to do. It cannot even fine or tax corporations. There is no
> Internet-WMD hidden in its stately offices in Geneva. Internet governance
> is not even the main target of the current WCIT negotiations
>
> …(read the full story on
>
>
> http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/Greatest-threat-to-Internet-governments-3723621.php
> )
>
>
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> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>



-- 

*Ali Hussein|Managing Partner*

*
*Telemedia Africa
Azania Technology Group

Chaka Court, Argwings Kodhek Road

P O Box  14556-00100

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*Nairobi, Kenya*





Twitter: @AliHKassim

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"You generally hear that what a man doesn't know doesn't hurt him, but in
business what a man doesn't know does hurt.". - E. St. Elmo Lewis, member,
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