Not to worry. Ralph is only momentarily distracted. Just wait for the new administration to start chopping down thousand-year-old forests (and squishing some photogenic "poster animal" in the process). -----Original Message----- From: owner-cypherpunks@Algebra.COM [mailto:owner-cypherpunks@Algebra.COM]On Behalf Of Declan McCullagh Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2001 11:38 AM To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net Subject: Nader wants global U.N. Net-regulation body; Nader photos
Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2001 11:35:09 -0500 To: politech@politechbot.com From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com> Subject: Nader wants global U.N. Net-regulation body; Nader photos
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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
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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.
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