Issue No. 287/288 (Jul/Aug 2014)

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COVER:
Democratising global Internet governance: Issues and challenges
The
Internet: Challenges and discontents
Numerous
pressing issues with the development, technical architecture and governance
of the Internet threaten to stall or completely derail many of its benefits,
particularly to the developing world.
By Rishab Bailey
Global
Internet governance: a developing-country perspective
There is still time for the South to develop a proactive strategy
to shape the emerging global regime on Internet governance, which should
be broadly based on a new paradigm of the Internet as a global commons
and a public utility.
By Parminder Jeet Singh
The
multistakeholder model and neoliberalism
Multistakeholderism is the counterpart of neoliberalism and is being
promoted as the basic governance model of Internet governance.
By Michael Gurstein
Multistakeholderism
- a conduit for the corporate takeover of the Internet
The
whole basis of the multistakeholder model is that there should be no
regulation of the Internet economy, but the unregulated market has led
to the formation of powerful monopolies which stifle competition.
By Prabir
Purkayastha and Rishab Bailey
How
can the Internet be de-monopolised?
An
interview with Robert McChesney by Sally Burch.
Western-dominated
Internet governance harms Southern economies
The
Western dominance of Internet governance threatens to destroy a great
part of the potential benefits, specifically for the economies of developing
countries.
By Norbert Bollow
Human
rights, the Internet and its governance
Some
neglected dimensions of human rights on the Internet are highlighted.
By Richard Hill
Cyber-surveillance
and control vs Internet rights
The
tension between, on the one hand, protecting civil liberties and the
privacy of communications, and, on the other, preventing cybercrime,
intellectual property violations, spamming and terrorist activities,
is likely to be at the centre of initiatives to regulate cyberspace
activity.
By Sally Burch
Whither
a just and equitable Internet?
The
NETmundial Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet
Governance, held in April in Sao Paulo, Brazil, raised hopes that a
progressive roadmap for Internet governance would emerge.
By Urvashi
Sarkar
ECOLOGY
China
rivers on brink of collapse
A
new report warns that reckless dam construction has brought China's
river ecosystems to the point of collapse.
By Peter
Bosshard
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ECONOMICS
The
era of mega-arbitration: International court rules against Russia
in $50 billion decision
Former
shareholders of the Russian oil giant Yukos have been awarded $50
billion in damages against Russia in one of the biggest arbitration
awards ever made against a sovereign state.
By Kavaljit Singh
Farmland
meets finance: Is land the new economic bubble?
Powerful
investors are now embracing farmland as a financial asset. If the
process continues unchecked, it could have lasting effects on land
ownership and farming worldwide.
By Madeleine Fairbairn
WORLD AFFAIRS
How
Israel undermines international law through 'lawfare'
Israel
has enlisted prominent legal experts in its latest assault against
Gaza, to delegitimise attempts to hold it accountable for its crimes
under international humanitarian law.
By Jeff Halper
UN
chief accused of biased stance on Gaza conflict
UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has again come under fire for his pro-Israel
bias with regard to the latest conflict in Gaza.
By Kanaga Raja
Can
the Thai junta deliver on promise to 'bring back happiness'?
There
is little prospect of a resolution of Thailand's political crisis
by the military junta which has seized power as it is too aligned
to the country's traditional royalist elite which has come under challenge
in recent years.
By Tom
Fawthrop
HUMAN RIGHTS
UN
moves to establish legal instrument on TNCs
The
United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a historic and significant
resolution to start a process for an international legally binding
instrument on transnational corporations.
By Kinda
Mohamadieh
WOMEN
Activists,
government push forward bill to prevent gender violence in Burma
Perpetrators
of sexual violence in Burma have long evaded justice, but thanks to
the efforts of women's rights activists, a bill to prevent violence
against women is at last taking shape.
By Nyein Nyein
VIEWPOINT
The
flight of the children
The
arrival of tens of thousands of refugee children into the United States
from Central America is the consequence of US involvement in Latin
America over the years.
By Jeremy Seabrook
POETRY
Imitation
of water
Joao
Cabral de Melo Neto (1920-99), who was born and grew up in northeast
Brazil, served as a diplomat in Spain and other countries for many
years. Despite this, his poetry generally reflected his pastoral origins,
with natural elements as the motif of many of his works.
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