The UN is utterly inept. Can anybody say "oil for downloads"?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20051108/tc_nf/38790

There are two internets. Or at least I seem to recall someone saying that. No, wait, that might have been just some dumb hick. Nevermind.

The American run ICANN functions as pretty much as a post office: they assign addresses, delivery protocols, and, deal with mostly technical matters of keeping information flow efficient. No political interference comes from ICANN.

The countries mainly opposed to the United States maintaining an American invention are Brazil, China, Cuba, Iran and several African Muslim nations. All of which are oppressive of their people, advocate stringent political censorship of their citizen's internet use, and vigorously violate intellectual property rights.

The internet is successful because it is run by people who American capitalists who believe in openness and free market efficiency, and not socialist demagogues. Keeping ICANN in place essential.

Dear Phlogiston,

I will control the internet because I invented it.

Sincerely,
Al Gore

NewsFactor - Wed Nov 16, 4:08 PM ET
Under an agreement struck at the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society, the United States will retain control of the domain-name system controlling the Internet. The European Union and some countries had hoped to put the system under international control, which they believed would lead to enhanced cooperation among governments. Some countries, such as Iran and Brazil, argued that the United Nations or another global organization should take over management of the domain-name system.
http://news.yahoo.com/fc/tech/internet_and_world_wide_web