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Politech is the oldest Internet resource devoted to politics and technology. Launched in 1994 by Declan McCullagh, the mailing list has chronicled the growing intersection of culture, technology, politics, and law. Since 2000, so has the Politech web site.
********* I've put some photos of Ralph Nader, who is probably the least photogenic person in Washington, and that's saying a lot, at: http://www.mccullagh.org/theme/ralph-nader.html ********* http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,41106,00.html Nader Wants Internet Control by Declan McCullagh (declan@wired.com) and Nicholas Morehead 8:25 a.m. Jan. 10, 2001 PST WASHINGTON -- To most people, the Internet is a way to communicate, an untapped business opportunity, or a symbol of dot-com greed run amok. Not so Ralph Nader. The former Green Party presidential candidate sees an opportunity for a new global bureaucracy. On Tuesday, Nader called for the creation of a "World Consumer Protection Organization," comparable to the United Nations' World Intellectual Property Organization, only "more democratically run." Nader, at a National Press Club event, said the proposed WCPO would focus on regulation of privacy, e-commerce, intellectual property, antitrust and Internet governance -- areas he said affected consumers directly. "The technology of the Internet is far ahead of any legal framework, any ethical framework or global framework," Nader said. "Are we going to be left with self-regulatory standards set and implemented by individual companies? Are we going to be left with standards set by the Better Business Bureau as a last resort?" Another justification: Fraud. During the panel discussion organized by Forbes magazine, Nader said a recent Harris poll showed that 6 million Americans felt that they were "somehow defrauded" on the Internet during 2000. The odds of a WCPO being created anytime soon, of course, range between zero and infinitesimal. [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if it remains intact. To subscribe, visit http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------