[ga] good bye
Title: Help I'm afraid I have to support the scepticism expressed by Eric Dierker, Joe
Baptista and Danny Younger...
The maudlin sentiment gushing out in these fond farewells is all part of
the "Alice in Cyberland" Black=White universe that ICANN has contrived to create
and perpetuate.
A'hem, a few moments of reality please my friends... their own ALSG was
asked to determine the role of Ordinary Internet Users as elected
representatives on the ICANN Board... the ICANN Board then wholly disregarded
their own appointed groups findings... then the elected representation of
millions of internet users was expelled from the ICANN Board (which clearly
couldn't stomach dissenting opinions in its politburo)... and the GA was then
summarily disposed of.... no cause for celebration and sentimental crap here
either... indeed, when the GA tried to vote on a re-bid for ICANN's contract, my
friend Herr Roessler mishandled the affair by coupling together two rival votes
in my opinion... it comes as no surprise that Thomas now receives accolades (eg
from ICANN Board member Cohen)... the politburo remains intact... all dissenting
voices have now almost been purged... Thomas has a certain amount of integrity
but he presided over the ongoing disenfranchisement of ordinary people and the
further handing over of power to the vested interests.
Nice to see Ram Mohan of Afilias popping up to say "goodbye" : of all the
companies which come out of recent months with discredit, Afilias must virtually
top the bill... their own Board member Bob Connelly had the integrity to resign
and disassociate himself from the .info "fiasco" which he termed an
"abomination" because of the way Afilias abandoned its Landrush customers... Hal
Lubsen's close association with DomainBank was in my view shocking, when you
consider that he was also CEO of Afilias, and yet DomainBank profited by $15000
(in just one instance with one customer, Lorenz) by sponsoring applications
which breached Afilias's own rules - and yet they took the money and ran... Ram
himself was deeply responsible for trying to clear up Afilias's own Sunrise mess
(which came about because of ICANN's friend-to-friends ridiculously loose
Registry Agreement)... and yet Afilias now says that it does not intend to
pursue further the fakes which have escaped their Landrush 2... so Afilias have
abandoned the integrity of their own part of the namespace... then remember
Speednames (represented on the Afilias Board at the time)... they gained
$500,000 for submitting fake applications to Afilias from Konrad Plankenstein's
4981 fake names with 1899-date trademarks... So, yes thanks, Ram for coming and
saying goodbye to the Assembly where Afilias was criticised... shame that
neither you nor Afilias have ever dared or been able to defend the charges
repeatedly made against you...
Hal Lubsen has maintained "radio silence" (indicating to me that he has not
got a leg to stand on) and surprise, surprise, Dan Halloran when asked to
investigate these and other matters (like the continued accreditation of Yesnic
after it was shown by WIPO to have made fraudulent claims), has never been able
(dared) respond or even acknowledge the serious issues and charges raised (and
they have been repeatedly put to him as ICANN's registrar liaison)... but 250
days later, not a sound from Dan Halloran... and you call that integrity? ICANN
has created its own universe, cynically protected I'm sorry to have to say by
the USG through DoC... it's an Alice in Wonderland universe... and it doesn't
give a shit as long as it maintains its own powerbase and ejects anyone who
rocks the boat.
If Thomas and Alexander stay on board, then I would not personally regard
that as a compliment. I know no more damning indictment than for a Board member
like Jonathan Cohen to write to you in these terms about the so-called ICANN
reforms, which tried to legitimise the stifling of democratic accountability and
the removal of dissent: "we all felt it to be the 'right thing to do'.You two
have done the right things for the DNSO and Names Council and it is clearly
recognized by your colleagues and by the Board."
Sorry... pause for laughter... "the right thing to do".... does ANYBODY
independent of ICANN seriously think they are committed to "the right thing to
do"? And the ICANN Board is recognising that Thomas and Alexander have "played
their part" then however decent these guys are, they ought to feel
embarrassed... If the Board thinks you have done the "right" things then... um
... they're presumably (patronisingly) grateful to you for the part you played
in formalising the processes without sufficient protest and the legitimising of
the At Large expulsions, closing down of GA etc etc
Danny Younger's remarks are, as ever, spot on... the ICANN Board continues
to act ruthlessly to protect its own vested interests and its power base... the
interests of the ordinary millions are nowhere to be seen in their processes...
they set up a nominating procedure worthy of the USSR through which they can
effectively perpetuate their own politburo...
Yes, black is white and white is black... Alice in Cyberland... but as for
the At Large and the GA... "Off With Their Heads!" ...
It is the stifling of the democracy movement as far as Internet Governance
is concerned, and all involved (including USG) should be ashamed of
themselves.
No wonder ICANN is making overtures to a Chinese government which arrests
people for downloading politically sensitive material, and blocks critical
websites. ICANN have been engaged in just that kind of stifling of people who
speak the truth. The idea of being held to account by democratically elected
Board members is unthinkable. And the GA had to go when it started to suggest a
re-bid of ICANN's contracts.
These "Goodbye" messages smell too much of complacency and sentiment... no
wonder ICANN and Afilias officials come out to wave us all goodbye...
I, too, would like to thank Thomas and Alexander (among others) for their
hard work. But when it comes to the people who have REALLY been committed to
truth, protest, exposure, and the interests of more than just the *I* society, I
reserve my real thanks and deep-seated gratitude for people like Danny
Younger.
Ths removal of voting rights for most of the GNSO, and the expulsion of
democratic User representatives from the ICANN Board, are disgraces which merit
no celebration whatsoever.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the media (and the historians) will come to
understand what has been done here.
We're witnessing a funeral (of democratic interests and processes). No
cause for celebration or satisfaction at all.
Richard Henderson
(The People's Net)
(The Global Forum)
(The Internet Challenge)
|