RE: [atlarge-discuss] Challenge from Ross Rader

["Judith Oppenheimer" <joppenheimer@icbtollfree.com>]

Re "individual participation" in ICANN - So many reasons, so little time,
so here are just a few (courtesy of ICB Toll Free News archives):


Because "A major implication of the Internet model is that value is not
created in the network, but at the edges, by users."
Timothy Denton, with François Ménard and David Isenberg, Netheads Versus
Bellheads:  Research into Emerging Policy Issues in the Development and
Deployment of Internet Protocols


Because "control of the root is being leveraged to control the Internet
itself in such key areas as trademark and copyright protection,
surveillance of users, content regulation, and regulation of the domain
name supply industry."
Milton Mueller, Ruling the Root: Internet Governance and the Taming of
Cyberspace


Because "ICANN has the potential to turn into the first world regulatory
body. By beginning to associate top level domains with content usage, they
are putting themselves into the position of being the defacto arbiter of
content. This is in addition to what territory that they can grab in the
intellectual property world along with WIPO. If all else fails, they can
always play games with protocol standards and IP address allocation. I
suspect that most people have no clue what this issue is all about, nor
care. Remember that Mussolini started with the trains....  There's an old
adage about only giving power to those who don't want it.... If we're going
to have a world government, then I want a revolution first. Preferably with
some historic event like throwing all the T-1s into Boston harbor. These
people are enacting policy, cutting deals with large technology companies
and signing things that look suspiciously like treaties with governments
and quasi government groups (some of dubious legitimacy).... I went to
school with one of the students killed at Kent State, worked for an
military/intelligence agency in my youth and watched as the last
administration passed wind while leaving the white house. I never felt
paranoia before. I do now."
David Holtzman, Chairman and CEO of Opion Inc. and former Chief Technology
Officer at Network Solutions, IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A WORLD GOVT, I WANT A
REVOLUTION FIRST.


Because "icann is more interested in, and totally focused on, arranging
power rather than providing simple stewardship and service. icann is
brilliant at rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic. the problem is
they have the internet on board."
Randy Bush (characterized, for those who don't know him, by Dave Farber, as
"brutally rational.")


Because "The board of ICANN shouldn´t consist of people with direct
commercial interests such as registrar/registry function. ICANN needs to be
able to make decisions in the interest of the internet users and the global
information space, the internet. There needs to be a balance between
commercial and public use of this infrastructure and the board must consist
of people who think about the impact of the decisions for the communication
culture and space, not only on their own business."
Andy Mueller-Maguhn, elected ICANN Director


Because "We're not so stupid that we don't see what ICANN is doing, which
is establishing absolute power, free from any of the checks and balances of
government."
Brian Livingston, Contributing Editor of InfoWorld and CNET News.com


Because "The UDRP walks and quacks like law. It sets out a rule for
deciding between competing claims to possession of particular resources. It
sets up a process to apply that rule on a case-by-case basis. And it is
binding upon those in possession of the resource in question; in the event
of an adverse ruling, the domain name holder will relinquish possession of
the contested domain name."
David G. Post, Associate Professor of Law at Temple University Law School,
and Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Cyberspace Law Institute.


Because "Someday we may look back and realize that this moment was critical
in deciding who got to control this new form of global communication."
Steven Hill, western regional director of the Center for Voting and
Democracy


Because "In my research of Internet policy over the years, I've had the
pleasure of reading numerous court orders, FCC notices, and other official
government documents. These works are impressive historic documents that
exhaustively consider every point raised by all sides, bring in the
background that applies to each point, and carefully lay out the reasoning
that leads to a final decision. Nothing like this appears in ICANN public
documents. They are terse bulletins that list decisions made and brief
technical justifications.... Many non-profit organizations let members vote
on by-law changes, examine accounting books, and so forth. If ICANN members
were allowed to elect its Board, they'd have the same rights.
Andy Oram, an editor at O'Reilly & Associates


Because “ICANN is establishing Internet policy ... It becomes problematic
if it makes policy judgments without adequate policy processes.”
Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass


Because "The most critical public policy issue affecting the Internet
remains the same - namely, its governance... ICANN’s legal authority for
“technical management of the Internet” (in ICANN’s own words) remains in
doubt. A connected issue is ICANN’s ability to finance its operations."
David W. Maher, Vice President - Public Policy, ISOC


Because ""When ICANN was in serious trouble in 1998 and 1999, they promised
open elections for all... The Internet Community relied on their word. But
once Congress and Commerce seemed satisfied and NSI was brought into the
fold, ICANN began a full reversal of their original stance."
Mikki Barry, President of the Domain Name Rights Coalition


Because, Ross, "The essence of ICANN’s problem is the disproportionate
attention which is being given inside the working groups, and, increasingly
outside, in private conferences, to the pretensions of the IP community ...
on grounds that we and our Internet users consider to be dubious and, in
some cases, in outright error ... as to policy as regards the future
direction of the Internet... What we are actually observing in the saga of
domain name expansion is a power-grab of major proportions over the
architecture of the Internet, using ICANN not so much as a representative
forum for IP interests as the embodimenet of IP lawyers’ interests.
 ... that we are in fact acceding to a takeover of the political processes
of ICANN by a set of interests that oppose what the Internet stands for."
Ross Wm. Rader, Tucows


Because "... Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just
Powers from the Consent of the Governed"


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Judith Oppenheimer
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>
> > >From Ross Rader's byte.org blog:
> >
> > "I asked the question a week ago, but still don't "get" the
> answers. A few
> > people included me in a thread going on over on the
> at-large discussion list
> > regarding what the arguments for and against individual
> participation in
> > ICANN actually are. The answers coming back weren't all
> that convincing - all
> > I managed to take away was that users are entitled to a
> seat because they use
> > the system. Not terribly convincing. Convince me."
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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>
> Regards,
> --
> Jeffrey A. Williams
> Spokesman for INEGroup - (Over 127k members/stakeholders strong!)
> CEO/DIR. Internet Network Eng/SR. Java/CORBA Development Eng.
> Information Network Eng. Group. INEG. INC.
> E-Mail jwkckid1@ix.netcom.com
> Contact Number: 214-244-4827 or 972-244-3801
> Address: 5 East Kirkwood Blvd. Grapevine Texas 75208
>
>
>
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>
>


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