<DIV>I just want to introduce Jim. Jim is a director of the Vancouver Community Network, Canada and a lawyer.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Amali<BR><BR><B><I>James Sayre <jsayre@clasbc.net></I></B> wrote:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">This is an issue that most of us would support, and it's likely to be a <BR>hot one. MS and the US government will no doubt push hard to discourage <BR>countries like Brazil and Germany from using Linux and other o.s. <BR>software. <BR><BR>I guess Bush's (Paul Wolfashit's) lovely little decision yesterday not <BR>to let countries that opposed the invasion of Iraq bid on <BR>reconstructions contracts might help the o.s. cause along a bit in <BR>Geneva, eh? Like anyone in their right mind would want their staff to <BR>join the foreign targets in Iraq anyway...<BR><BR>Jim<BR><BR>--<BR>Jim Sayre<BR>jsayre@clasbc.net<BR><BR><BR><BR>> ATTACHMENT part 2 message/rfc822 name=[CPI-UA] Free/Libre and Open Source Software at the World Summit on the InformationSociety.<BR>Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 11:02:08 -0500 (EST)<BR>From: Russell McOrmond <RUSSELL@FLORA.CA><BR>Subject: [CPI-UA] Free/L
ibre and
Open Source Software at the World Summit on<BR>the Information Society.<BR>To: Honourable John Manley <MANLEJ1@PARL.GC.CA>,<BR>Reg Alcock MP -- Jeff Legault <JEFF.LEGAULT@REG-ALCOCK.CA>,<BR>Reg Alcock <REG.ALCOCK@REG-ALCOCK.CA>,<BR>"Bélanger,_Mauril_-_M.P." <BELANGER.M@PARL.GC.CA><BR>CC: CANadian OPENsource Education and Research <DISCUSS@CANOPENER.CA>,<BR>Universal Access Canada <CPI-UA@VANCOUVERCOMMUNITY.NET><BR><BR>I am sending copies to my MP in Ottawa-south, and a few other MP's and an<BR>MP's assistant that have expressed interest in the past.<BR><BR>Please pass this letter onward!<BR><BR><BR>I have been watching the WSIS as closely as I can from Canada. I hope<BR>that in the future that I will be reporting from the summit itself, but<BR>need to find someone to sponsor me as I could not afford to go on my own.<BR><BR>An article I read today in OPEN Magazine is worth hi-lighting. It<BR>reminds people that the question of FLOSS vs "software manufacturing"<BR>(treating of
software as a manufactured good to be paid for on a per-unit<BR>royalty fee) is not a technical one, but a social, economic and governance<BR>one:<BR><BR>To quote the article: http://weblog.flora.org/article.php3?story_id=537<BR><BR>The choice between free software, Open Source, and proprietary <BR>software is not a technological choice. It is a social choice, and a<BR>choice of business arrangement. It is a social choice, like deciding<BR>you want your citizens to be able to send email, not just receive it. <BR>It is also a business arrangement, like deciding that you want to buy<BR>a car rather than rent one. It is a matter of sovereignty also: If the<BR>government uses non-free software, it hands control of the<BR>government's computing to a private party, usually foreign.<BR><BR>"Technological neutrality is a good principle, but it does not imply<BR>neutrality on social issues, business arrangements, or sovereignty."<BR><BR><BR>I have authored or referenced a number of a
rticles
about FLOSS at WSIS <BR>on my weblog. Use the following search to see a list of them:<BR>http://weblog.flora.org/search.php3?query=WSIS<BR><BR><BR>The importance of the last one, the governance issue, can not be<BR>underestimated. When it comes to software that controls ICT, automates<BR>government policy, or counts votes, software "code is law". We must<BR>ensure that for this subset of software that this form of law receives the<BR>same level of accountability and transparency as other law enacted by<BR>democratic governments. One of the easiest ways to do this, and to also<BR>receive the social and economic benefits as a bonus, is to ensure that<BR>this type of software is FLOSS.<BR><BR>---<BR>Russell McOrmond, Internet Consultant: <HTTP: www.flora.ca /><BR>Governance software that controls ICT, automates government policy, or<BR>electronically counts votes, shouldn't be bought any more than <BR>politicians should be bought. --
http://www.flora.ca/russell/<BR><BR><BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<P><STRONG>Amali De Silva-Mitchell MSc.</STRONG></P>
<P>Tel: 1-604-736-9012 & Email: <A href="mailto:amalidesilva@yahoo.com">amalidesilva@yahoo.com</A></P>
<P> </P>
<P><EM><FONT face=Verdana size=1></FONT></EM> </P>
<P> </P></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV>