Just as I had begun to feel some sympathy for David Stokes, he managed to dissipate it at a stroke.
Just what does <begin extract> The question was not which exact organisation decides such things, but rather whose particular political orientation will be asserting itself in such decisions, and how will they be implemented in practice. </end extract> mean operationally? In another context Paul Krugman recently reminded us that conspiracy theories are dispensable, likely to be misleading, in the many situations in which stupidity provides an adequate explanation of what is going on. Whatever else the Internet may be, its evolution reflects a congeries of diverse, finally irreconcilable ideologies and business interests; and no simple dietrologia is likely to be very helpful in explaining it. These things said, Mr Stokes HAS been the target of too much ad hominem criticism. John Gilmore, Ashland, MA 01721 - USA ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
