On Wednesday, May 16, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) made his 3rd report to the UN Security Council on the action of the ICC on the referral under UN Security Council Resolution 1970.(1) Much of Ocampo’s report was about the actions of the ICC on issues related to the detention of Saif Al Islam Gaddafi.

The report, however, failed to mention important aspects of the case. Instead it substituted the views of the National Transitional Council (NTC) of Libya in place of the actions and determinations of the ICC, giving the UN Security Council a false picture of the situation that exists regarding Saif Al Islam Gaddafi’s detention.

According to the reports by the ICC Registry and the Office of the Public Counsel for the Defence (OPCD), Saif Al Islam Gaddafi has been held mostly incommunicado and denied access to a lawyer by his… weiter lesen

[Note: This is a slightly edited version of a talk presented on May 1, 2012 at a small celebration in honor of the 15th Anniversary of the publication of the print edition of the book Netizens]

I – Looking Back

Fifteen years ago on May 1, 1997, the print edition of Netizens: On the History and Impact of Usenet and the Internet was published in English. Later that year, in October, a Japanese translation of the book was published. Today we are celebrating the occasion of the 15th Anniversary of this event.

In honor of this occasion I want to both look back and look forward toward trying to assess the significance of the book and of Michael Hauben’s discovery of the emergence of the netizen. I want to briefly look at what has happened in the interim of these 15 years toward trying to understand what new advance this… weiter lesen

Introduction to Spring 2012 issue of the Amateur Computerist, Vol 21 No. 2

On May 1, 1997, the book “Netizens: On the History and Impact of Usenet and the Internet” was published in a print edition.(1) This May Day, May 1, 2012 marks the 15th anniversary of that occasion. Five years ago, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the book, I wrote an article for the online magazine Telepolis. In the article I wrote that an anniversary “offers an occasion to consider the potential of the Net that was identified in Netizens and to assess what has developed with regard to this potential today.”

I reviewed some of the background of Netizens: “During the course of his pioneering research in the early 1990s, Michael Hauben discovered a surprising phenomenon. He recognized that there was a new social consciousness developing among those in the online community. At… weiter lesen

Union Square May Day 2012

On Tuesday, May 1, in an impressive show of numbers, and a gathering of young and old, workers, students, community people and retirees, New Yorkers welcomed May Day 2012.

Labor was represented by contingents, and Occupy Wall Street was represented, as were Art workers, transit workers, musicians, along with those calling for the US government to stop its harassment of Iran, and advocates of immigrant rights.

Gathering at Union Square in Manhattan, the march set off for Wall Street.

It was unusual in recent years to hear labor songs like “SOLIDARITY FOREVER” ring out from the microphone at Union Square, even though May Day, the traditional workers’ day of celebration and struggle began in the US in 1886, over a century ago.

The Transit Workers Union (TWU) who gathered in the Union Square then led the march. They were protesting the… weiter lesen

In his briefing to the UN Security Council on Tuesday April 24, Kofi Annan noted the important impact that the UN Observer Mission was having on the ground even though there had only been a few UN observers deployed thus far. (1) He reported that there had been a marked decrease in the level of violence since the April 12 cease fire in Syria. “Without comprehensive monitoring of the situation,” he said, “it is difficult to assess the level of violence, but the available reports suggest that, taken as a whole the level of violence has decreased across the period since 12 April….” (Kofi Annan Briefing, Para 7 )

He noted that the importance of having observers was not only to “see what is going on.” More significantly, he pointed out that “their presence has the potential to change the political dynamics.” (Kofi Annan Briefing, Para 21)

His goal is… weiter lesen

I-Security Council Authorizes UN Observer Mission

At a stakeout for journalists on Saturday after the vote on Security Council Resolution 2043, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin explained that the text was carefully worded to signal all, including the opposition, to refrain from violence and to support the implementation of Special Envoy Kofi Annan’s 6 point plan. This resolution (S/2012/2043) provides the authorization for up to 300 UN observers to be sent to Syria for a period of up to 90 days. (1) The resolution states that the “mandate of the Mission shall be to monitor a cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties and support the full implementation of the Envoy’s six-point proposal.”

Differences about some of the provisions of the resolution had been resolved by changes made to the draft resolution in a 3-1/2 hour consultation held by Security Council members on Friday evening. Ambassador… weiter lesen

The Presidency of the General Assembly at the United Nations this year is held by the former Ambassador from Qatar, Nassir Abdulaziz al Nasser. On Thursday, April 5, the President (PGA) held an informal plenary meeting of the General Assembly. Often an informal meeting is called when the meeting will be closed to the press and the public. But in this situation, the spokesperson for the PGA sent journalists email inviting them to the meeting and informing them “Please be advised this will be an OPEN meeting on UNTV and webcast.” (Email to journalists from Nihal Saad, April 4)

The meeting was to hear a report via a live satellite link from Mr Kofi Annan, the UN Envoy for Syria, about the progress of his six point peace plan for Syria. The meeting was called to order and was webcast for journalists and the public.

After Mr. Annan’s live… weiter lesen

Save Gangjeong Village

In honor of the memory of the uprising on JeJu Island on April 3, 1948 known as 4.3, several people held a silent performance in the Columbus Circle area of New York City. The purpose of the demonstration was to inform the public about the struggle in the Jeju Island village of Gangjeong against the building of a naval base. Holding up signs about the struggle on Jeju, the demonstrators attracted interest from people walking by.

Several people wanted to learn about the Jeju situation and took the leaflet being handed out. Some stopped to talk to learn more about what was happening with Gangjeong Village.

The leaflet explained that on March 21, 2012 Samsung used 1.5 tons of explosives to blow up a rock formation called Gureombi as part of the excavation process to build a naval base on an area designed as a world heritage site… weiter lesen

Introduction to Exhibit at The 8th
Floor gallery

The photo exhibit “Window on North Korea” which opened at The 8th Floor gallery in New York on Thursday, March 15 is an unusual and important event. It is a significant achievement to have gathered and put on display over 70 photographs documenting daily life, important events and cultural achievements of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). The exhibit is a joint exhibit which presents photographs taken by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), and photographs taken by Associated Press (AP) photographers in North Korea. Hence it is not only unusual to have an exhibit of photographs taken in North Korea opening in the US, but even more striking is the fact that the exhibit is the product of a joint agreement between the AP and the KCNA.

At the opening reception for the exhibit, on Thursday… weiter lesen

In line with the non-binding UN General Assembly resolution A/Res/66/253 approved at the UN on February 16, 2012, Ban Ki-moon has appointed Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General as the joint UN-Arab League envoy to Syria.(1)

Mr. Annan came to the UN on Wednesday, February 29, to begin the assumption of his role in the Syrian situation. Speaking to journalists at a press stakeout on Wednesday evening, Ban Ki-moon presented Mr. Annan to the media. As this was the first chance for UN journalists and the public to hear from Mr. Annan about the role he envisions playing in the Syrian conflict, it was disappointing that the Spokesman for the Secretary General only allowed 3 questions from journalists at this press encounter.

Clearly Mr. Annan is no stranger to the UN Charter as he served for 10 years as UN Secretary General. Yet his new appointment represents a significant dilemma… weiter lesen