The IT industry clearly needs systems so that companies can work well together, and these systems need to work well in all countries. The ISO process for IT sta

The IT industry clearly needs systems so that companies can work well together, and these systems need to work well in all countries. The ISO process for IT standards was designed to promote interoperability, portability, and cultural and linguistic adaptability, using a consensus process. We believe strongly in these goals, but the current process is not designed to achieve them. The OOXML proposal has exposed serious flaws in ISO process–especially in the fast-track process–and we believe these flaws need to be fixed. The credibility of ISO is at stake. http://magazine.redhat.com/2008/03/24/iso-approval-a-good-process-gone-bad/ http://magazine.redhat.com/2008/03/24/iso-approval-a-good-pr... Either way, the ISO's current state is likely to be seen as a quagmire when viewed through history's lens. Microsoft did not respond to several calls requesting comment. http://archive.wired.com/software/coolapps/news/2007/08/ooxml_vote http://archive.wired.com/software/coolapps/news/2007/08/ooxm... We begin therefore where they are determined not to end, with the question whether any form of democratic self-government, anywhere, is consistent with the kind of massive, pervasive, surveillance into which the Unites States government has led not only us but the world. This should not actually be a complicated inquiry.