<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<TITLE>Message</TITLE>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18852"></HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV><SPAN class=879534318-19112009>Eric,</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=879534318-19112009></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=879534318-19112009>I have no idea what this sentence could
possibly mean from any perspective--development, social science, marketing,
management--"Direct use and consumption of a good or service is not any kind of
test as to it's viability or value to a society."</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff><SPAN class=879534318-19112009><FONT color=#0000ff
face=Arial></FONT></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff><SPAN class=879534318-19112009><FONT
color=#000000>Anyway, since we aren't talking about syringes or police academies
(???) but rather about access to the major and fundamental infrastructure of
modern society -- </FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff><SPAN class=879534318-19112009><FONT
color=#000000></FONT></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff><SPAN class=879534318-19112009><FONT color=#000000>The
unavailability of access is a major impediment to participation and
development... In my country, Canada, the fact that roughly 25% of the
population is not accessing the Internet means that the range of public and
private services that have and are migrating to the Net are inaccessible for use
by those individuals leading either to the requirement for duplication of
services (both manual and electronic) or to the denial of service (where the
service is available only in electronic form...</FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff><SPAN class=879534318-19112009><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial></FONT></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff><SPAN class=879534318-19112009><FONT color=#000000>In
the Cameroun (with which I'm not familiar) or in South Africa (with which I
am familiar) lack of access to the Net means that the 97.1% (the Cameroun) or
the 91.4% (South Africa) of the population not currently accessing/able to
access the Net prevents them from having access to the knowledge, training, and
support resources that are available to those with such
access. Perhaps most important this means that the huge bulk of the
population is not sufficiently informatized as to make a direct contribution to
those activities which will spur local and national economic and social
development. South Africa for example, has a significant net shortage of
those with sufficient skills to occupy available technical positions necessary
to maintain and extend the Information Society/Information Economy. That
individuals, communities, local institutions are unable to access the Net makes
it all that much more difficult to bridge these gaps, fill these slots and so on
and so on.</FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
class=879534318-19112009></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=879534318-19112009>All of which is to give me an opportunity
to </SPAN><SPAN class=879534318-19112009>say once again BTW, how
disappointed I am that there seems to have been little or no discussion at the
IGF (although simply observing from afar I may have missed it) about issues of
concern to the other 5.5 billion or so not currently accessing the
Net.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial><SPAN class=879534318-19112009><FONT
color=#000000 face="Times New Roman"></FONT></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial><SPAN class=879534318-19112009><FONT
color=#000000 size=3 face="Times New Roman">MBG</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV></SPAN></FONT>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr lang=en-us class=OutlookMessageHeader align=left><SPAN
class=879534318-19112009><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr lang=en-us class=OutlookMessageHeader align=left><SPAN
class=879534318-19112009> </SPAN>On Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 11:08 AM, Eric
Dierker <SPAN dir=ltr><<A href="mailto:cogitoergosum@sbcglobal.net"
target=_blank>cogitoergosum@sbcglobal.net</A>></SPAN> wrote:<BR></DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; PADDING-LEFT: 1ex"
class=gmail_quote>This argument line is specious. Direct use and consumption
of a good or service is not any kind of test as to it's viability or value
to a society.<BR> <BR>Do we say that since only 2% of the population
uses syringe(s) to inoculate thousands that the regulation and
governance of medical appliances is not relevant? Do we say that
because only the supplier uses a telecommunication device to supply food
more efficiently and less expensive that the telecommunication device is not
relevant to the eater?<BR>Are police academies not relevant to the safety of
a small child?<BR> <BR>In fact the complete opposite is true. The need
for intermediaries and those skilled is the only reason to allow all of us
pontithicators to have any say in governance. The fact that the hunter and
gatherer brings home the food from the forest does not obsolve or relinquish
the right and duty of the homemaker to manage his forest and fields. And
since facts and opinions without study and understanding are more
dangerous than helpful, I tolerate all of you speaking for the consumer ;-)
You all be careful that I do not come up with an instant vaccine against
ignorance, lest and whilst you be out of a job.<BR><BR><BR>--- On Thu,
11/19/09, Nyangkwe Agien Aaron <<A href="mailto:nyangkweagien@gmail.com"
target=_blank>nyangkweagien@gmail.com</A>> wrote:<BR><BR><BR>From:
Nyangkwe Agien Aaron <<A href="mailto:nyangkweagien@gmail.com"
target=_blank>nyangkweagien@gmail.com</A>><BR>Subject: Re: [governance]
FW: Internet Users Globally<BR>To: <A
href="mailto:governance@lists.cpsr.org"
target=_blank>governance@lists.cpsr.org</A>, "Michael Gurstein" <<A
href="mailto:gurstein@gmail.com"
target=_blank>gurstein@gmail.com</A>><BR>Date: Thursday, November 19,
2009, 10:42 AM<BR>
<DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR>Many thanks Michael for the revelation.<BR>I can now understand
that despite the availability of an optical fibre<BR>along the cost of my
country Cameroun about 97.1% of my fellow country<BR>men and women do not
use internet. Astonishing is the finding that<BR>only 86.56 Senegalese do
not have access to Internet.<BR>And when you look at the per capita income
of both countries!!!<BR><BR>Internet bandwith capacity in my office is here
in Douala is 256/64<BR><BR>Aaon<BR><BR>On 11/18/09, Michael Gurstein <<A
href="mailto:gurstein@gmail.com" target=_blank>gurstein@gmail.com</A>>
wrote:<BR>><BR>>> For a very revealing application concerning
Internet users by country go<BR>>> to <SPAN
class=879534318-19112009><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial> the
</FONT></SPAN><BR>>><BR>>> If you go to Google and put
"Internet users in (your country of choice)"<BR>>> into the search bar
you will get the information graphed by year!<BR>>><BR>> I'm
wondering how much of the discussion at this year's IGF was of
relevance<BR>> to the 99.19% of Malians who are not currently Internet
users (or similalry<BR>> for 99.16% of Chadians, 89.49% of Bolivians,
92.8% of Indians, 98.18% of<BR>> Papua New Guineans
etc.etc.<BR>><BR>>> MBG<BR>><BR><BR><BR>--<BR>Aaron Agien
Nyangkwe<BR>Journalist-OutCome Mapper<BR>Special Assistant The
President<BR>ASAFE<BR>P.O.Box 5213<BR>Douala-Cameroon<BR><BR>Tel. 237 3337
55 31, 3337 50 22<BR>Fax. 237 3342 29
70<BR>____________________________________________________________<BR>You
received this message as a subscriber on the list:<BR>
<A href="mailto:governance@lists.cpsr.org"
target=_blank>governance@lists.cpsr.org</A><BR>To be removed from the list,
send any message to:<BR> <A
href="mailto:governance-unsubscribe@lists.cpsr.org"
target=_blank>governance-unsubscribe@lists.cpsr.org</A><BR><BR>For all list
information and functions, see:<BR> <A
href="http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance"
target=_blank>http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance</A><BR>____________________________________________________________<BR>You
received this message as a subscriber on the list:<BR> <A
href="mailto:governance@lists.cpsr.org"
target=_blank>governance@lists.cpsr.org</A><BR>To be removed from the list,
send any message to:<BR> <A
href="mailto:governance-unsubscribe@lists.cpsr.org"
target=_blank>governance-unsubscribe@lists.cpsr.org</A><BR><BR>For all list
information and functions, see:<BR> <A
href="http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance"
target=_blank>http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance</A><BR></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><BR
clear=all><BR>-- <BR>LDMF.<BR>> Dr. Linda D. Misek-Falkoff<BR>> 914 769
3652<BR>> law / computing / humanities:<BR>> Founder/Director
*Respectful Interfaces*;<BR>> Member, Board, Officer - Communications
Coordination Committee for the<BR>> U.N.;<BR>> World Education
Fellowship;<BR>> Member Committees on disability, aging, health, values,
development;<BR>> National Disability Party (NDP); International Disability
Caucus;<BR>> Persons with Pain Intl.;<BR>> ICT multiple decades;<BR>>
Other affiliations on Request.<BR>><BR>> n.b.:<BR><BR>> - You
are welcome to join *Respectful Interfaces.* The *Respectful<BR>>
Interfaces* Coda is: "Achieving Dialogue While Cherishing Diversity"
(ask<BR>> about leadership interning).<BR><BR>> - Communication,
Cooperation and Collaboration are core values of the
CCC/UN.<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>