The most important fact in Washing ton’s failure on Thursday to be re-elected for the first time since 1947 to the U. N. Human Rights Commission is that it as America’ friends, not its enemies, that engineered the defeat. After all, China and Cuba and other targets of U.S.-led criticism in the committee were always going to vote and lobby against Washington; the shock came in the fact that the European and other Western nations that traditionally ensured U.S. Re-election turned their backs on Washington.
Many traditional U.S. supporters clearly withdrew their vote to signal displeasure over U.S. unilateralism. They have been increasingly chagrined by Washington’s tendency to ignore the international consensus on issue ranging from the use of land mines to the Kyoto climate change treaty. They are also critical of what they see ass Washington’s tendency to publicise the issue of human rights, using annual resolutions at the committee to denounce China or Cuba hen that conforms to U.S. foreign policy objectives but for the same reason voting alone in defence of Israel when that country is in the dock over its conduct.
At a time when the public is being assaulted with unsolicited e-mail ads, Califomia is about to launch the toughest counterattack in the nation. A law that goes into effect on Jan. 1 allows computer users in the state to refuse unwanted solicitations en masse and sue spammers who violate their wishes for as much as $1 million.
Those potent weapons for deflecting pitches that offer everything from bigger body parts to lower mortgage rates have attracted the ire of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and mass marketers. Fearing the law will curtail advertising on the Internet, they are pushing for a far weaker national solution that would undercut the tough tactics in California and other states that are going the same route.
But such self-interest is hardly enlightened. The growing flood of messages not only annoys PC users, it also slows the transmission of wanted e-mail and forces businesses to spend billions to combat spam.
In fact, a survey released Oct. 22 suggests the proliferation of pitches could hurt the very e-commerce these business groups say they want to preserve. The survey of computer users, funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, a non-profit group that studies public issues, found 25% use e-mail less because of spam. And 75% were reluctant to give out e-mail addresses, even to online retailers.