I was watching the replay of President Clinton's speech to the WTO on C-SPAN, and I noticed an obvious cut in the footage. I found that curious. Since when does C-SPAN edit its coverage of presidential speeches? Today, I noticed a similar gap in the transcripts of his speech! http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/global/120299wto-clinton-text.html While other international organizations have sought and not shied from public participation, when that has happened public support has grown. If the W.T.O. expects to have public support grow for our endeavors, the public must see, and hear, and in a very real sense actually join in the deliberations. That's the only way they can know the process is fair and know their concerns were at least considered. We've made progress since I issued this challenge in Geneva last year. But I believe there's more work to be done, from opening the hearing-room doors to inviting in a more formal fashion public comment on trade disputes. . . . The sooner the W.T.O. opens up the process and lets people representing those who are outside in, the sooner will see fewer demonstrations, more constructive debate and a broader level of support in every country for the direction that every single person in this room knows that we ought to be taking into the 21st century. So we can do it a little bit now and a little bit later. We can drag our feet or we can run through an open door. Can anyone explain what's going on? Respectfully, Jay Fenello, New Media Relations ------------------------------------ http://www.fenello.com 770-392-9480 "We are creating the most significant new jurisdiction we've known since the Louisiana purchase, yet we are building it just outside the constitution's review." -- Larry Lessig, Harvard Law School, on ICANN
