[governance] [IP] a 2013 resolution: defund the ITU

[Avri Doria]

Yes, very interesting,
As was a later message that said something to the effect of:

Give the money to the IGF instead!


avri

On 3 Jan 2013, at 10:59, Lee W McKnight wrote:

> Well remember what I said about ITU carrying on...I still think it will, but echos from Dubai may shake its budgetary formula. 
> 
> And according to Tony's spin, Hurricane Sandy. 
> 
> The attachment is interesting reading.
> 
> Lee
> 
> 
> From: DAVID J. FARBER [farber at gmail.com]
> Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2013 9:29 AM
> To: ip
> Subject: [IP] a 2013 resolution: defund the ITU
> 
> 
> 
> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: Tony Rutkowski <trutkowski at netmagic.com>
> Subject: a 2013 resolution: defund the ITU
> Date: January 3, 2013 9:10:09 AM EST
> To: Dave Farber <dave at farber.net>
> Reply-To: trutkowski at netmagic.com
> 
> Happy New Year, Dave.
> 
> More than a few people on the IP list
> may have an interest in this post to the
> State Dept's advisory committee list.  
> Even if a reader doesn't resonate with 
> my advocacy, the facts here are very 
> interesting and difficult to find.
> 
> cheers,
> tony
> 
> 
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject:	a 2013 resolution: defund the ITU
> Date:	Thu, 03 Jan 2013 08:55:04 -0500
> From:	Tony Rutkowski <trutkowski at netmagic.com>
> Reply-To:	trutkowski at netmagic.com
> Organization:	NetMagic Associates
> To:	WCIT at LMLIST.STATE.GOV
> 
> 
> What is not well known is that the ITU
> depends on voluntary contributions.  Each
> member elects to give the ITU some number (or
> fraction of a number) of "contributory units"
> each year.  A CU is currently equal to about
> $300k/yr.  Thus the U.S. actually volunteers
> to give the ITU 30 units or about $9 million
> per year.  It is the only country other than
> Japan to do so.  The difficult to find
> official ITU contributions ledger is attached.
> 
> So all those G89 countries at the WCIT that
> thumbed their noses at the U.S. and are
> trying to use the ITU to regulate the
> Internet and constrain information flow -
> they contribute almost nothing.  
> Incredulously, they get the U.S. to help fund
> them to do that.  Most of them even get free
> stipends from the ITU to go on Geneva
> vacations to rail against U.S. interests.
> That's going to increase as the WTSA-12
> voted so many of them into the ITU-T leadership.
> 
> What is remarkable about the ledger is that 
> you can readily see how over the past six years,
> many other major countries and much of
> industry have shut their wallets, and in a
> great many cases simply walked out of the ITU-T. 
> Yet the U.S. itself has kept paying the largest
> contribution amount!  Indeed, as the others cut
> back their contributions, the U.S. pays even
> more to prop up the ITU bloated budget and the
> fine lifestyle of the ITU staff.
> 
> With the 2013 Congress convening today, there
> is the perfect opportunity to begin defunding
> the ITU and send a message to those 89
> countries and the duplicitous ITU officials who
> helped them.  If the U.S. halves its contribution 
> to fifteen units like many European countries 
> have done, that's $45 million over ten years.  
> 
> Rather than flushing U.S. money down the ITU
> rathole to fund the G89 over the coming years
> to implement their extreme anti-Internet
> agenda, give it instead to the communities
> who were victims of Hurricane Sandy to
> re-build their broadband infrastructure. 
> Considering the WCIT Internet resolution was
> unanimously adopted by Congress, that should
> be a no-brainer.
> 
> Those companies who still remain as ITU-T
> members can act here as well.  Renounce your
> membership and join all the others who have
> already left.
> 
> -t
> 
> 
> 
> 
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