January 2012 - nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

Islamic Republic of Iran: Computer Crimes Law

by fabio chiusi

http://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/2921/en/islamic-republic-of… f.

Jan. 13, 2012

Re: [nexa] R: Fwd: [IP] Google pleads for more unlicensed spectrum instead of more auctions

by Stefano Quintarelli

si, difficile. imho dal punto di vista di linee guida io le seguenti cose le caldeggerei - ridurre le freq TV e darle agli MNO (il prezzo lo fa l'asta) - mettere scadenze brevi delle assegnazioni - aumentare lo spettro disponibile unlicensed nella parte alta - aumentare le potenze per tutti (il limite era stato fissato ad 1/3 degli USA come decisione di un funzionario "quanto fanno in USA ? noi facciamo meno della meta" (cosi' si vendevano piu' apparati , costava di piu' fare la rete...) - riservare una parte bassa per sperimentazioni e uso privato (per consentire sperimentazioni radio cognitive e beamforming) - assegnare una nuova categoria di licenze per stesse frequenze da MNO ma low power (SRD indoor) ciao, s. On 13/01/2012 09:49, Giorgio Ventre wrote: > Ammetto che la questione è davvero interessante ma mi riesce difficile > capire se esiste una soluzione al problema, in termini di linee guida per > definire una strategia politica sul tema Frequenze. > > I Telco si lamentano di essere lasciati fuori dalla fetta più interessante > del Mercato e di essere costretti a pagare somme enormi per lo spettro. > Somme che peraltro garantiscono loro una posizione forte nei confronti dei > service provider o comunque consente loro di avere revenue diretti. > > Dall’altro i service provider dicono che non vogliono essere più sottoposti > a questo “balzello” e chiedono spettro gratis (o quasi) giustificando questa > richiesta con la loro enorme capacità di innovazione sui servizi. > > Cosa peraltro vera, in fin dei conti. > > Se a questo aggiungiamo poi che in Europa non esiste nessun service provider > degno di nota, la questione da noi si complica ancora di più. > > > > Saluti > > > > Giorgio > > > > > > Da: nexa-bounces(a)server-nexa.polito.it > [mailto:nexa-bounces@server-nexa.polito.it] Per conto di J.C. DE MARTIN > Inviato: venerdì 13 gennaio 2012 2.44 > A: nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it > Oggetto: [nexa] Fwd: [IP] Google pleads for more unlicensed spectrum instead > of more auctions > > > > > > -------- Original Message -------- > > > Subject: > > [IP] Google pleads for more unlicensed spectrum instead of more auctions > > > Date: > > Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:20:42 -0500 > > > From: > > Dave Farber<mailto:dave@farber.net> <dave(a)farber.net> > > > Reply-To: > > dave(a)farber.net > > > To: > > ip<mailto:ip@listbox.com> <ip(a)listbox.com> > > > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Dewayne Hendricks<dewayne(a)warpspeed.com> > Date: Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 8:01 PM > Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Google pleads for more unlicensed spectrum instead of > more auctions > To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net<dewayne-net(a)warpspeed.com> > > > Google pleads for more unlicensed spectrum instead of more auctions > Cites inability to compete with big carriers in auctions > By Brad Reed, Network World > January 12, 2012 > <http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/011212-google-spectrum-254842.html> > > LAS VEGAS - Google would really, really like to see the Federal > Communications Commission open up a huge swath of unlicensed spectrum for > mobile broadband. > However, it doesn't look like the company will get its wish. During a panel > discussion at the Consumer Electronics Show yesterday, Google senior policy > counsel Rick Whitt outlined his company's case for making more unlicensed > spectrum available instead of simply auctioning off spectrum to the highest > bidders. In particular, Whitt cited Google's inability to compete with > Verizon when bidding on the so-called "C Block" of spectrum on the 700MHz > band that the FCC auctioned off in 2008 that now forms the backbone of > Verizon's nationwide LTE network. > > "We thought, 'What would it take for us to outbid Verizon?' And every one of > the game theorists we talked to across the spectrum said the same thing: > 'You'll never outbid Verizon,' " he said. "They are the incumbents and they > will do everything they can to foreclose your entry into the market." > > Whitt also cited concerns about the proposed spectrum auction legislation > that recently passed in the House of Representatives. In particular, Whitt > said that an all-licensed approach to spectrum wouldn't give carriers the > spectrum they need to build out common infrastructure. > > "The concern that many of us have ... is that [the proposed House > legislation] seems to say, 'Everything that's cleared must be auctioned and > everything that's auctioned must be licensed,' which in our mind would rule > out unlicensed," said Whitt. "If nothing else, if you are an advocate of > licensed usage there are things like guard bands or things like duplex gaps > that are going to be really necessary to have the next generation of LTE > networks built... This is beachfront spectrum. How about a couple public > beaches?" > > But Neil Fried, the chief telecommunications counsel for the House Energy > and Commerce Committee, said that the spectrum in question would be wasted > if it was used for short-field communications and said that it needed a > national telecom carrier to properly build out and manage a nationwide > mobile broadband network. > > "There is a need for unlicensed spectrum and that will remain," said Fried. > "The type of things we're talking about, the offloading? That's short haul, > that's not long haul. If we're talking about beach-front property, are we > talking about a place to go surfing or are we talking about a shipping lane? > ... What we've done is we've set the right balance. The 700MHz and below, > that's the prime stuff for the long-haul licensed wireless broadband use ... > creating an oasis for unlicensed use would be essentially preventing the use > for licensed." > > [snip] > > Dewayne-Net RSS Feed:<http://www.warpspeed.com/wordpress> > > > > > > > <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now> Archives > <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/14798382-eb93fc78> | > <https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=14798382&id_secret=14798382-58a8a > c4b> Modify Your Subscription | > <https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=14798382&id_secret=14798382- > d392ffd3&post_id=20120112202047:D1040E7C-3D84-11E1-A979-F67A02A212EC> > Unsubscribe Now > > <http://www.listbox.com> > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > nexa mailing list > nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it > https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa -- blog.quintarelli.it www.ilsole24ore.com

Jan. 13, 2012

R: Fwd: [IP] Google pleads for more unlicensed spectrum instead of more auctions

by Giorgio Ventre

Ammetto che la questione è davvero interessante ma mi riesce difficile capire se esiste una soluzione al problema, in termini di linee guida per definire una strategia politica sul tema Frequenze. I Telco si lamentano di essere lasciati fuori dalla fetta più interessante del Mercato e di essere costretti a pagare somme enormi per lo spettro. Somme che peraltro garantiscono loro una posizione forte nei confronti dei service provider o comunque consente loro di avere revenue diretti. Dallaltro i service provider dicono che non vogliono essere più sottoposti a questo balzello e chiedono spettro gratis (o quasi) giustificando questa richiesta con la loro enorme capacità di innovazione sui servizi. Cosa peraltro vera, in fin dei conti. Se a questo aggiungiamo poi che in Europa non esiste nessun service provider degno di nota, la questione da noi si complica ancora di più. Saluti Giorgio Da: nexa-bounces(a)server-nexa.polito.it [mailto:nexa-bounces@server-nexa.polito.it] Per conto di J.C. DE MARTIN Inviato: venerdì 13 gennaio 2012 2.44 A: nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it Oggetto: [nexa] Fwd: [IP] Google pleads for more unlicensed spectrum instead of more auctions -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [IP] Google pleads for more unlicensed spectrum instead of more auctions Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:20:42 -0500 From: Dave Farber <mailto:dave@farber.net> <dave(a)farber.net> Reply-To: dave(a)farber.net To: ip <mailto:ip@listbox.com> <ip(a)listbox.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne(a)warpspeed.com> Date: Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 8:01 PM Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Google pleads for more unlicensed spectrum instead of more auctions To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <dewayne-net(a)warpspeed.com> Google pleads for more unlicensed spectrum instead of more auctions Cites inability to compete with big carriers in auctions By Brad Reed, Network World January 12, 2012 <http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/011212-google-spectrum-254842.html> LAS VEGAS - Google would really, really like to see the Federal Communications Commission open up a huge swath of unlicensed spectrum for mobile broadband. However, it doesn't look like the company will get its wish. During a panel discussion at the Consumer Electronics Show yesterday, Google senior policy counsel Rick Whitt outlined his company's case for making more unlicensed spectrum available instead of simply auctioning off spectrum to the highest bidders. In particular, Whitt cited Google's inability to compete with Verizon when bidding on the so-called "C Block" of spectrum on the 700MHz band that the FCC auctioned off in 2008 that now forms the backbone of Verizon's nationwide LTE network. "We thought, 'What would it take for us to outbid Verizon?' And every one of the game theorists we talked to across the spectrum said the same thing: 'You'll never outbid Verizon,' " he said. "They are the incumbents and they will do everything they can to foreclose your entry into the market." Whitt also cited concerns about the proposed spectrum auction legislation that recently passed in the House of Representatives. In particular, Whitt said that an all-licensed approach to spectrum wouldn't give carriers the spectrum they need to build out common infrastructure. "The concern that many of us have ... is that [the proposed House legislation] seems to say, 'Everything that's cleared must be auctioned and everything that's auctioned must be licensed,' which in our mind would rule out unlicensed," said Whitt. "If nothing else, if you are an advocate of licensed usage there are things like guard bands or things like duplex gaps that are going to be really necessary to have the next generation of LTE networks built... This is beachfront spectrum. How about a couple public beaches?" But Neil Fried, the chief telecommunications counsel for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said that the spectrum in question would be wasted if it was used for short-field communications and said that it needed a national telecom carrier to properly build out and manage a nationwide mobile broadband network. "There is a need for unlicensed spectrum and that will remain," said Fried. "The type of things we're talking about, the offloading? That's short haul, that's not long haul. If we're talking about beach-front property, are we talking about a place to go surfing or are we talking about a shipping lane? ... What we've done is we've set the right balance. The 700MHz and below, that's the prime stuff for the long-haul licensed wireless broadband use ... creating an oasis for unlicensed use would be essentially preventing the use for licensed." [snip] Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: <http://www.warpspeed.com/wordpress> <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now> Archives <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/14798382-eb93fc78> | <https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=14798382&id_secret=14798382-58a8a c4b> Modify Your Subscription | <https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=14798382&id_secret=14798382- d392ffd3&post_id=20120112202047:D1040E7C-3D84-11E1-A979-F67A02A212EC> Unsubscribe Now <http://www.listbox.com>

Jan. 13, 2012

Re: [nexa] Fwd: [IP] Google pleads for more unlicensed spectrum instead of more auctions

by Stefano Quintarelli

scusate se faccio (nuovamente) la kind-of-cassandra. sono stato la prima (e per lungo tempo unica) voce fuori dal coro quando veniva reclamizzato il wimax come la tecnologia che avrebbe dato banda illimitata gratis ovunque... IMHO "unlicensed" e "mobile" sono un quasi-ossimoro come "ruota" e "ovale" "mobile" implica che non sai dove sta il terminale e che devi gestire il passaggio da una cella all'altra. ciò implica che devi irradiare a 360 gradi e che devi gestire la prenotazione di risorse sulla cella successiva nel "fixed", invece, la casa non si muove e puoi fare link altamente direzionali dove non hai quasi problemi di collisione con altri una buona analogia e' pensare alla lampadina vs. il laser. se acceso e' "1" e spento e' "0", nel primo caso bisogna dividersi i colori della luce tra chi vuole trasmettere e nel secondo invece non serve. fintanto ch enon ci sara' l'adaptive beamforming (una sorta di lampadina che illumina in un fascio stretto, simile al laser) e le radio cognitive (che se si accorgono che disturbano qualcuno, si spostano da un'altra parte), non mi pare ci siano alternative al mobile e licensed. pero' queste tecnologie arriveranno e allora potrebbe esserci anche il mobile unlicensed, quindi il license dovrebbe essere per l'appunto license (per poter usare diversamente le frequenze quando si potra) e non property, IMHO ciao,s. On 13/01/2012 02:43, J.C. DE MARTIN wrote: > > > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: [IP] Google pleads for more unlicensed spectrum instead of more > auctions > Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:20:42 -0500 > From: Dave Farber <dave(a)farber.net> > Reply-To: dave(a)farber.net > To: ip <ip(a)listbox.com> > > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: *Dewayne Hendricks* <dewayne(a)warpspeed.com > <mailto:dewayne@warpspeed.com>> > Date: Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 8:01 PM > Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Google pleads for more unlicensed spectrum > instead of more auctions > To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <dewayne-net(a)warpspeed.com > <mailto:dewayne-net@warpspeed.com>> > > > Google pleads for more unlicensed spectrum instead of more auctions > Cites inability to compete with big carriers in auctions > By Brad Reed, Network World > January 12, 2012 > <http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/011212-google-spectrum-254842.html> > > LAS VEGAS - Google would really, really like to see the Federal > Communications Commission open up a huge swath of unlicensed spectrum > for mobile broadband. > However, it doesn't look like the company will get its wish. During a > panel discussion at the Consumer Electronics Show yesterday, Google > senior policy counsel Rick Whitt outlined his company's case for making > more unlicensed spectrum available instead of simply auctioning off > spectrum to the highest bidders. In particular, Whitt cited Google's > inability to compete with Verizon when bidding on the so-called "C > Block" of spectrum on the 700MHz band that the FCC auctioned off in 2008 > that now forms the backbone of Verizon's nationwide LTE network. > > "We thought, 'What would it take for us to outbid Verizon?' And every > one of the game theorists we talked to across the spectrum said the same > thing: 'You'll never outbid Verizon,' " he said. "They are the > incumbents and they will do everything they can to foreclose your entry > into the market." > > Whitt also cited concerns about the proposed spectrum auction > legislation that recently passed in the House of Representatives. In > particular, Whitt said that an all-licensed approach to spectrum > wouldn't give carriers the spectrum they need to build out common > infrastructure. > > "The concern that many of us have ... is that [the proposed House > legislation] seems to say, 'Everything that's cleared must be auctioned > and everything that's auctioned must be licensed,' which in our mind > would rule out unlicensed," said Whitt. "If nothing else, if you are an > advocate of licensed usage there are things like guard bands or things > like duplex gaps that are going to be really necessary to have the next > generation of LTE networks built... This is beachfront spectrum. How > about a couple public beaches?" > > But Neil Fried, the chief telecommunications counsel for the House > Energy and Commerce Committee, said that the spectrum in question would > be wasted if it was used for short-field communications and said that it > needed a national telecom carrier to properly build out and manage a > nationwide mobile broadband network. > > "There is a need for unlicensed spectrum and that will remain," said > Fried. "The type of things we're talking about, the offloading? That's > short haul, that's not long haul. If we're talking about beach-front > property, are we talking about a place to go surfing or are we talking > about a shipping lane? ... What we've done is we've set the right > balance. The 700MHz and below, that's the prime stuff for the long-haul > licensed wireless broadband use ... creating an oasis for unlicensed use > would be essentially preventing the use for licensed." > > [snip] > > Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: <http://www.warpspeed.com/wordpress> > > > > Archives <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now> > <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/14798382-eb93fc78> | > Modify > <https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=14798382&id_secret=14798382-58a8a…> > Your Subscription | Unsubscribe Now > <https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=14798382&id_secret=14798382-…> > [Powered by Listbox] <http://www.listbox.com> > > > > > _______________________________________________ > nexa mailing list > nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it > https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa -- blog.quintarelli.it www.ilsole24ore.com

Jan. 13, 2012

[nexa] Re: [nexa] Doctorow: "Lockdown: The coming war on general-purpose computing"

by Stefano Quintarelli

se qualcuno fosse interessato, lo ho commentato qui: http://blog.quintarelli.it/blog/2012/01/circa-i-pc-e-internet-meno-aperti-e… tra l'altro quei giorni sono stati densi di notizie, ho riportato alcune in altri post. Ciao, s. ------- Original message ------- > From: Paolo Brini <paolo.brini(a)iridiumpg.com> > To: nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it > Sent: 13.1.'12, 1:33 > > Il 13/01/2012 01:31, J.C. DE MARTIN ha scritto: >> Notevole discorso di Cory Doctorow. >> >> juan carlos > > Veramente un must. Per Glyn Moody, il più importante discorso mai > pronunciato da Doctorow... > > Ciao, > Paolo > > _______________________________________________ > nexa mailing list > nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it > https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa

Jan. 13, 2012

Fwd: [IP] Google pleads for more unlicensed spectrum instead of more auctions

by J.C. DE MARTIN

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: [IP] Google pleads for more unlicensed spectrum instead of more auctions Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:20:42 -0500 From: Dave Farber <dave(a)farber.net> Reply-To: dave(a)farber.net To: ip <ip(a)listbox.com> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: *Dewayne Hendricks* <dewayne(a)warpspeed.com <mailto:dewayne@warpspeed.com>> Date: Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 8:01 PM Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Google pleads for more unlicensed spectrum instead of more auctions To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <dewayne-net(a)warpspeed.com <mailto:dewayne-net@warpspeed.com>> Google pleads for more unlicensed spectrum instead of more auctions Cites inability to compete with big carriers in auctions By Brad Reed, Network World January 12, 2012 <http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/011212-google-spectrum-254842.html> LAS VEGAS - Google would really, really like to see the Federal Communications Commission open up a huge swath of unlicensed spectrum for mobile broadband. However, it doesn't look like the company will get its wish. During a panel discussion at the Consumer Electronics Show yesterday, Google senior policy counsel Rick Whitt outlined his company's case for making more unlicensed spectrum available instead of simply auctioning off spectrum to the highest bidders. In particular, Whitt cited Google's inability to compete with Verizon when bidding on the so-called "C Block" of spectrum on the 700MHz band that the FCC auctioned off in 2008 that now forms the backbone of Verizon's nationwide LTE network. "We thought, 'What would it take for us to outbid Verizon?' And every one of the game theorists we talked to across the spectrum said the same thing: 'You'll never outbid Verizon,' " he said. "They are the incumbents and they will do everything they can to foreclose your entry into the market." Whitt also cited concerns about the proposed spectrum auction legislation that recently passed in the House of Representatives. In particular, Whitt said that an all-licensed approach to spectrum wouldn't give carriers the spectrum they need to build out common infrastructure. "The concern that many of us have ... is that [the proposed House legislation] seems to say, 'Everything that's cleared must be auctioned and everything that's auctioned must be licensed,' which in our mind would rule out unlicensed," said Whitt. "If nothing else, if you are an advocate of licensed usage there are things like guard bands or things like duplex gaps that are going to be really necessary to have the next generation of LTE networks built... This is beachfront spectrum. How about a couple public beaches?" But Neil Fried, the chief telecommunications counsel for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said that the spectrum in question would be wasted if it was used for short-field communications and said that it needed a national telecom carrier to properly build out and manage a nationwide mobile broadband network. "There is a need for unlicensed spectrum and that will remain," said Fried. "The type of things we're talking about, the offloading? That's short haul, that's not long haul. If we're talking about beach-front property, are we talking about a place to go surfing or are we talking about a shipping lane? ... What we've done is we've set the right balance. The 700MHz and below, that's the prime stuff for the long-haul licensed wireless broadband use ... creating an oasis for unlicensed use would be essentially preventing the use for licensed." [snip] Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: <http://www.warpspeed.com/wordpress> Archives <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now> <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/14798382-eb93fc78> | Modify <https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=14798382&id_secret=14798382-58a8a…> Your Subscription | Unsubscribe Now <https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=14798382&id_secret=14798382-…> [Powered by Listbox] <http://www.listbox.com>

Jan. 13, 2012

Re: [nexa] Doctorow: "Lockdown: The coming war on general-purpose computing"

by Paolo Brini

Il 13/01/2012 01:31, J.C. DE MARTIN ha scritto: > Notevole discorso di Cory Doctorow. > > juan carlos Veramente un must. Per Glyn Moody, il più importante discorso mai pronunciato da Doctorow... Ciao, Paolo

Jan. 13, 2012

Doctorow: "Lockdown: The coming war on general-purpose computing"

by J.C. DE MARTIN

Notevole discorso di Cory Doctorow. juan carlos Lockdown The coming war on general-purpose computing By Cory Doctorow - /This article is based on a keynote speech to the Chaos Computer Congress <http://boingboing.net/2011/12/27/the-coming-war-on-general-purp.html> in Berlin, Dec. 2011. / General-purpose computers are astounding. They're so astounding that our society still struggles to come to grips with them, what they're for, how to accommodate them, and how to cope with them. This brings us back to something you might be sick of reading about: /copyright/. But bear with me, because this is about something more important. The shape of the copyright wars clues us into an upcoming fight over the destiny of the general-purpose computer itself. [...] Continua qui: http://boingboing.net/2012/01/10/lockdown.html

Jan. 13, 2012

Re: [nexa] R: "Mayor Bloomberg Will Learn How To Write Code In 2012"

by bernardo parrella

--> http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/12/opinion/rushkoff-write-code/index.html?hpt=hp… *Learn to code, get a job* by Douglas Rushkoff, Special to CNN This week, New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg tweeted his intent to learn computer code by the end of the year. He joined about 300,000 other people who have signed up at CodeYear to receive free interactive programming lessons each week from the Codecademy, a web-based tutorial. I am greatly relieved. It's time Americans begin treating computer code the way we do the alphabet or arithmetic. Code is the stuff that makes computer programs work -- the list of commands that tells a word processor, a website, a video game, or an airplane navigation system what to do. That's all software is: lines of code, written by people. We are socializing, working, consuming, and living in a world increasingly defined by programs. Learning to code is the best way to understand what all those programs do, or even to recognize that they are there in the first place. Just a couple of years ago, I was getting blank stares or worse when I would suggest to colleagues and audiences that they learn code, or else. "Program or be programmed," became my mantra: If you are not a true user of digital technology, then you are likely being used by digital technology. My suggestion that people learn to program was meant more as a starting point in a bigger argument. --> more at: http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/12/opinion/rushkoff-write-code/index.html?hpt=hp… PS: il delizioso libretto di Ruskhoff, "Program or be Programmed", esce ora in edizione italiana per postmediabooks.it (si, tradotto dal sottoscritto ;): http://postmediabooks.it/2012/67programma/rushkoff.htm

Jan. 12, 2012

Amnesty "Is Internet Access A Human Right?"

by J.C. DE MARTIN

Is Internet Access A Human Right? Posted by: Scott Edwards <http://blog.amnestyusa.org/author/scott-edwards/>, January 10, 2012 at 3:20 PM *http://blog.amnestyusa.org/business/is-internet-access-a-human-right/* A curious op ed appeared in /The New York Times/ recently, titled "Internet Access is Not a Human Right." <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/opinion/internet-access-is-not-a-human-ri…> In this piece---which I read as I do most news and media, via my computer---Vinton Cerf <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vint_Cerf>, a "father" of the Internet, makes an argument that despite the critical role of Information Communication Technologies (the internet) in the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa <http://blog.amnestyusa.org/tag/yearofrebellion/>, access to the Internet is not a human right. I should note that his right to express himself so is enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights <http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/human-rights-basics/universal-declaratio…> (UDHR): Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to... seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. The curious bit of his piece though, isn't the claim that Internet Access is not a human right, but rather*the exceptionally narrow portrayal of human rights from a legal and philosophical perspective. * *[...] * The simplified answer is: We have them because the original guarantees as elaborated weren't enough. We have them because our evolving understanding of the rights enshrined in the UDHR required new instruments to guarantee those rights. We have them because someone, somewhere, refused to make the necessary changes to policy or practice to guarantee some segment of the human family the rights they were already guaranteed in the UDHR. Because someone, somewhere said "that's not a human right." **

Jan. 12, 2012