<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=windows-1252"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Candidly, at least with respect to my comments, I don't see any connection between the below and what I offered...<div><br></div><div>As to the idea that multilateral treaties are negotiated in a more open way: my experience is that this is more virtual than real. Sure, there may be more plenaries where accredited observers can see what is said, and sometimes make interventions, but the hard negotiations are almost always behind closed doors. Negotiating treaties - of any kind - between governments is not meant to be an open process and is unlikely ever to be fully so.</div><div><br><div><div>On 13 Mar 2013, at 01:42, michael gurstein <<a href="mailto:gurstein@gmail.com">gurstein@gmail.com</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline !important; float: none; ">You are saying that you would prefer to have a bilateral agreement negotiated behind closed doors between the plutocrats err… the responsible senior officials in the US and the high level bureaucrats in China determining who knows what aspects of the operation of the Internet (perhaps you can explain to me/us how it will be possible to separate out "bi-lateral" connections on the Internet from the interconnections of the "global" Internet) rather than a multilateral agreement negotiated more or less in public among all countries where, given the current move towards "multi-stakeholderism" civil society, the technical community etc.etc. (amongst others) would have input…</span></blockquote></div><br></div></body></html>