Discussion of the possible DNS fork by the UN or ITU continues on Dave Farber's always interesting Interesting People list. (And if Dave Coursey doesn't like it, he can leave.)

Perhaps the most interesting comment was this from Paul Vixie, father of BIND:

I've pondered the meaning of all of this within the context of the dns protocol and of my company's open source
implementation of that protocol, and I think I can see a way to define and support alternate roots in a way that will reduce their chaos -- but not their harm. Given that the US-DoC/VeriSign/ICANN trinity pursuing "a policy contrary to their own interests" and that the inevitable result of this will be hundreds if not thousands of chaotically interrelated dns namespaces, i'm ready to consider ways that DNS and BIND might be extended to make that inevitable condition less painful to live in.

But if i do it, it will be with rage in my heart against hose who could have helped us preserve name universality but who squandered that opportunity for short term political or financial gain. (Emphasis mine.)

I read this, frankly, as confirmation of my worst fears. The Internet can be Balkanized, it is being Balkanized, and those who built it are being forced to support it, to deal with it, with rage in their hearts.

Not everyone reads things like this, however. Conservative Hiawatha Bray of the Boston Globe has read all the arguments and, frankly, doesn't worry:

That sounds about right to me. It would be absurd for dissenting countries to set up their own Internet. just so the Ruritanians can have more of a say on domain space allocation. The biggest Internet users wouldn't disconnect from the real 'Net to hook up with some rump version . It'd be a total waste of time and money.

I actually have no objection to international oversight of the Internet,but the notion of handing it over to that ollection of thugs, chiselers and road agents known as the UN is downright absurd. Maybe some new organization, open only to countries with democratically elected governments, might be the way to go.

It isn't that George Bush is living in a fairyland. His supporters are living there, too.