internet, satcom services, global sustainable development

[Milton Ponson <level.seven@setarnet.aw>]

  attached press release dealing with a.o. Microsofte negative impact on 
  global development
  
  Milton Ponson
  Rainbow Warriors International Telecommunications Project Group
  http://www.rainbowwarriors.org	
  -- 
  ========================LEVEL SEVEN COMPANIES=================
  TECHNE DATA                       *  LEVEL SEVEN DESIGN
  internet and network consulting   *  computational linguistics
  new media technologies            *  for non-governmental
  information technology research   *  organisations (NGOs)
  --------------------------------------------------------------
  TECHNEX                           *  TERRA PUBLISHING ARUBA
  e-commerce, chipcard, internet and*  publisher of ECO ARUBA
  satcom access technologies        *  and ECO ARUBA On-line
  ========================LEVEL SEVEN ORGANISATIONS=============
  http://www.rainbowwarriors.org    *  LEVEL SEVEN
  Sustainable Development and Human *  technology transfer and
  Rights for Small Island Developing*  resource development
  States and Indigenous Peoples     *  services for NGOs
  ==============================================================
  >> level.seven@setarnet.aw    POBOX 1154, ORANJESTAD, ARUBA <<
  PRESS RELEASE
  RWI NEWS SERVICE.............FOR IMMEDIATE INTERNATIONAL RELEASE.....
  November 18, 1997, 2.00 a.m. Aruba Time (06:00 GMT); Language: EN;    
  DOC ID: RWI-COR-111897-01-EN; Related DOC IDs: RWI-COR-111897-01-NL
  Key Words: INTERNET, SATCOM SERVICES, GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
  
  ORANJESTAD, ARUBA/RWI NEWS SERVICE:
  <GLOBAL INTERNET AND SATCOM ACCESS SERVICES SHOULD BE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL
  TO SUPPORT GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE>
  
  On June 20, 1995 was founded in Aruba RAINBOW WARRIORS INTERNATIONAL
  (RWI), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable
  development worldwide and human rights of Small Island Developing
  States, indigenous peoples and peoples not represented in the United
  Nations.
  
  The RWI campaigns and programs focus on:
  1.   Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Weapons
  2.   Ocean and Coastal Ecology
  3.   Natural and Environmental Disasters
  4.   Waste Management and Toxic Waste
  5.   Biodiversity, Forests, Sustainable Land Use, Freshwater
  6.   Atmosphere and Energy
  7.   Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Peoples not represented
       in the United Nations
  8.   International Cooperation and Telecommunications
  9.   Projects and Research Programs, focusing on themes 2 through 8
  
  RWI combines effective management and marketing techniques of free
  enterprise with activism and scientific research, using an integrated
  approach to promote and implement sustainable development worldwide.
  
  RWI employs ACTION UNITS (activism), PROJECT GROUPS (local & global
  projects) and scientific WORK GROUPS. ACTION UNITS consist of
  Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and/or individuals, scientific
  WORK GROUPS consist of individuals, and technical PROJECT GROUPS
  consist of individuals, NGOs and/or companies.
  
  Currently operational are:
  ACTION UNITS:
  þ    Centre of Operations for Rights and Environment (CORE)
  WORK GROUPS
  þ    International Policy Work Group (IPWG)
  þ    Cetacean Work Group (CWG)
  þ    Ocean and Coastal Ecology Work Group (OCEWG)
  þ    Atmosphere, Space and Renewable Energy Technology Work Group
       (ASRETWG)
  PROJECT GROUPS
  þ    International Telecommunications Project Group (RWINETPG)
  
  Planned are:
  ACTION UNITS
  þ    United Nations & Indigenous Tribes Opposing Nuclear Energy (UNIT
       ONE)
  WORK GROUPS
  þ    Biodiversity, Forests, Sustainable Land Use, Freshwater (TERRAWG)
  þ    International Waste Management and Toxic Wastes Work Group
       (INT4WG)
  
  Rainbow Warriors International was founded because:
  þ    it is not possible to deal with the issues of sustainable
       development, human rights, social justice and environment in a
       separate manner;
  þ    Small Island Developing States, unrepresented and indigenous
       peoples are insufficiently addressed and have access to few
       global program based development funds;
  þ    scientific research, activism and projects should be combined
       wherever possible to achieve increase of scale of reach, cost
       reduction and efficiency, utilizing the synergy effects of
       combining non-profit goals with commercially run activities.
  
  RWI performs scientific research, operate our own media and is planning
  its own IT and telecommunications infrastructure (VPN & RainbowPorts),
  which we will also be available to third parties, practices activism
  on sustainable development and human rights issues, and will have its
  own commercial (merchandising) activities, which include planned fair
  trade outlets, and will help co-finance projects at grass roots level.
  
  RWI is currently carried by the Level Seven International Group, a
  hybrid network of commercial companies and non-profit organizations,
  which all work on a rational, commercial and efficient basis.
  
  The rationale is that the United Nations and many NGOs dedicated to
  sustainable development and environmental issues allocate sizable
  parts of their budgets to the upkeep of offices with paid officers,
  often not involved in field work.
  
  With the advent of new internet technologies, personal communication
  services, thin client and satcom access terminal technologies small
  non governmental organizations can be linked up together and achieve
  similar functionality and output as large traditional organizations at
  much lower cost.
  
  This is becoming increasingly important as international financial
  resources available for sustainable development and environmental
  issues are currently in short supply.
  
  NGOs and individuals linking up with Rainbow Warriors International
  will have low cost access to a wide range of services and facilities,
  in which economies of scales will contribute to lower overall costs.
  
  Through efficient use of state-of-the-art telecommunications and
  information technology we will be able to achieve an almost horizontal
  organization structure with minimal staff.
  
  The Internet eliminates a great many problems, and assuming a similar
  transparency and efficiency as in the academic world, virtual offices
  with free-lance telework staff members become possible.
  
  Telework and PC conferencing technologies will eliminate the need for
  physical regional offices, and enable Rainbow Warriors International
  to work directly at the GLOBAL<->LOCAL level, this based on an
  analysis of large global environmental organizations, which do not
  function in this manner, thus being less efficient and having a larger
  overhead on personnel.
  
  Rainbow Warriors International will be invited to participate in the
  Island Web Consortium (see http://www.skyejet.demon.co.uk) and is
  looking for interested parties to help evolve a similar initiative
  called the Indigenous Peoples Web Consortium.
  
  We are looking for interested parties to link up with our Rainbow
  Warriors International Telecommunications Work Group to further
  develop our RainbowPort concept which will allow thin client and
  satcom access terminal technologies, chip card and e-commerce
  applications to be used within the concept of a virtual teleport as
  defined by the World Teleport Association.
  
  On November 5, 1997 the UNEP Mercure project was launched (see
  http://www.estec.esa.nl/mercure) which addresses most of the issues to
  be dealt with in the Island Web Consortium and our proposed Indigenous
  Peoples Web Consortium.
  
  The availability of PCS, Inmarsat satcom access services and satcom
  access terminals such as Altus, thin client technologies, PDAs and the
  planned systems Iridium, Globalstar, Teledesic (co-owned by Microsoft)
  will make it possible in the near future to eliminate satellite
  uplinks through stationary satellite earth stations thus increasing
  the scope of access to services as currently provided by Mercure and
  make them become accessible to Small Island Developing States and
  Indigenous Peoples.
  
  We would like to invite all interested parties to help draft documents
  to be submitted to the IETF and ITU-T to help develop and introduce
  the technologies which will allow internet and satcom access for non
  governmental organizations and individuals in Small Island Developing
  States and Indigenous Peoples worldwide within the scenario sketched
  above.
  
  Within this context, Rainbow Warriors International condemns the
  current global strategies of Microsoft Corporation, which is intent on
  trying to tie internet and satcom access to the Intel and Windows
  platforms, thus potentially rendering unobtainable and unaccessible
  other viable technologies to millions of users in developing countries.
  
  In other words Microsoft's software and hardware initiatives (e.g.
  through Citrix Systems and Teledesic) are a potential threat to global
  sustainable development and thus form a direct threat to vested
  interests of global and US international trade.
  
  Rainbow Warriors International applauds the initiative by Sun
  Microsystems, IBM Corp., Netscape Corp, Oracle and Novell to counter
  this threat and would like to actively invite said companies to
  provide support for the Island Web Consortium and Indigenous Peoples
  Web Consortium initiatives.