[originally from nettime:::date: 29-Jun-99]

From: Jim Fleming 
To: kent@songbird.com 
Cc: kstubbs@corenic.org ; doug@skycache.com
; Theresa.Swinehart@wcom.com
; rus@neteze.com ;
linda_wilson@radcliffe.edu ;
Joe_Sims@jonesday.com ; Karl Auerbach
; jwkckid1@ix.netcom.com ;
javier@aui.es ; erony@marin.k12.ca.us
; emaxwell@doc.gov ;
edyson@edventure.com ; bburr@ntia.doc.gov
; heath@isoc.org ; love@cptech.org
; dont@netsol.com ; cook@cookreport.com
; amr@chaos.com ; richard@vrx.net

Date: Saturday, June 26, 1999 10:42 PM
Subject: U.S. Government Funding, etc.


>Kent,
>
>Are you still employed by the U.S. Government ?
>
>If I recall, back in the IAHC/CORE days, you listed your
>affiliation as one of the big DOE/DOD research labs
>in California. In the Chicago area, places like Argonne
>and Fermi are known havens for people that do little all
>day but play on the Internet. Have you seen that in your
>area ?
>
>Continuing...have you ever considered how many people
>in all of the various Internet Resource debates are either
>paid directly by the U.S. Government or derive their income
>from companies that are largely supported by the government ?
>
>Has it occurred to anyone that maybe people are concerned
>that the average citizen (netizen) is not really represented because
>these processes are dominated by government officials or people
>who have worked for years to exploit the government for their
>own personal gain ?
>
>Do people really want to live in a soviet-like society where
>"the state" controls all of the critical means of production and the
>essential resources and ordinary people are not allowed into "the party" ?
>
>In my opinion, that is where many of these ICANN/ISOC/IETF developments
>appear to be heading. If you track almost all of the major power companies
>and power people in these processes their pockets are lined with U.S.
>Government money. I think it would be very interesting for all people in
>these forums to disclose who pays them to participate day in and day out.
>I have a feeling that the answer will mostly be, the U.S. Government.
>
>Given that is likely, I think the average netizen has to accept the fact
>that
>they will have little chance to influence the outcome of these debates.
>As a U.S. citizen, it is sad to see my Government and its various paid
>agents, steamroll the Internet. I hope that some day someone writes an
>accurate history of how the next generation Internets came about, without
>the "help" of the U.S. Government.
>
>In my opinion, people in Washington, D.C. should be ashamed of what they
>have done in these proceedings. People trusted that the right thing would
>be done. As we now see, we do not have less government we have more
>government and it is getting worse, not better. I hope that eventually some
>commercial companies stand up for capitalism and avoid the continued
>movement toward the soviet-like society...that some call the Internet...
>
>
>Jim Fleming