[ga] Re: [Ecommerce] ICC Seeks U.N. Takeover While Excluding ICANN, U.S. Government from Meeting
William and all,
I also have no idea of exactly what Abu-Ghazaleh said to anyone other
than what has been reported to me form trusted INEGroup folks that
were in attendance. It is clear enough to me and our members, that
some factions loyal to the UN and/or are associated closely with the UN
that a desire to do a power grab by one of more UN organizations
is factual. It is also clear to me and almost all of our members
that ICANN's leadership from it's very beginnings is less than
adequate or responsible to ALL stakeholders/users, either
commercially oriented or not.
As such it if logical to consider either dismantling ICANN
as it is currently or have all of its current BoD and staff members
resign and hold elections where any and all stakeholders/users
of interest or interested parties elect whom they wish to assume
ICANN's duties as outlined in the White paper and MoU.
William Drake wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I of course don't know what Talal Abu-Ghazaleh actually said to Jennifer
> Schenker of the International Herald Tribune, or how she understood it. But
> in her article she has him proposing that ICANN should be "placed under the
> umbrella" of and subject to the "oversight" of the UN's ICT Task Force, of
> which he is Vice Chair. This implies that the Task Force would have some
> sort of actual authority over ICANN on an ongoing basis. Hence, we now have
> people speculating here about a UN power grab with corporate backing. This
> would be a rather strange bedfellows scenario.
>
> However, if this is really what Abu-Ghazaleh told Schenker or what he
> proposed in the Dec. 9 private meeting, it is not what he has said in
> public. For example, in his plenary speech at WSIS
> http://businessatwsis.net/mainpages/position/policy/tag.php he merely
> stated that, "The UN ICT TF provides a dynamic multi-stakeholders forum to
> debate issues concerning the Internet as called for by the Prepcom
> resolution. ICANN performed well under its mandate. What is not in its
> mandate is yet to be addressed." Similarly, on the ICC site (he chairs the
> ICC's E-Business IT & Telecom Commission), his proposal is described as a
> suggestion that the TF could be "a platform for future discussions" on
> Internet governance, and he is quoted as saying that there should be
> continuing "operational management of the internet under private sector
> leadership, driven by the dynamics of business."
> http://www.iccwbo.org/home/news_archives/2003/stories/tag.asp. Also on the
> ICC site, one finds a piece from Dec. 10 called "Don't sidetrack ICANN is
> business plea"
> http://www.iccwbo.org/home/news_archives/2003/stories/icann.asp in which he
> states that "companies engaged in e-commerce wanted to preserve the existing
> Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers," and ICC Secretary
> General Maria Livanos Cattaui warns "against proposals to replace ICANN with
> any intergovernmental organization to manage root servers, domain names and
> address assignments." And in the "The final business statement--WSIS
> Geneva,"
> http://www.iccwbo.org/home/news_archives/2003/stories/wsis_final.asp the
> Honorary Chair of ICC, Richard McCormick, told the plenary that the notion
> of Internet governance is an oxymoron and that the net should remain subject
> to private coordination.
>
> This all seems rather different from the IHT account. Anyone who has
> participated in its meetings knows that as currently constituted the TF is
> in no position to exercise oversight over ICANN or anything else; on policy
> matters, it's mostly just a floating, open forum, and it has a very tiny
> support staff. Making it an operating entity with authority would be a huge
> step that governments are highly unlikely to take; indeed, mention of the TF
> was removed from the WSIS texts. So my guess is that he was simply
> proposing that the working group governments decided to set up at WSIS be
> under the ICT TF. We know that as an input to the next stage of WSIS, the
> working group is supposed to discuss questions like what is Internet
> governance and what public policy dimensions might require international
> frameworks. But what form the WG will take is very much up in the air. The
> governments and Kofi Anan could decide to connect it to the TF or separately
> constitute a group of luminaries or follow a more constituency-based model;
> only time will tell.
>
> If my guess is wrong and Abu-Ghazaleh actually did suggest that the TF
> should acquire operational authority, from the ICC statements above I'd
> guess further that he was speaking entirely on his own without clearing it
> with private sector colleagues. Perhaps someone who has seen his proposal
> or talked to him could clarify. Either way it doesn't matter, the UNICT TF
> seems unlikely to be in charge of anything more than a discussion, if that.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Bill Drake
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: ecommerce-admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > [mailto:ecommerce-admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of john bolk
> > Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2003 12:04 AM
> > To: Jeff Williams
> > Cc: ecommerce@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; icann board address; General Assembly
> > of the DNSO; Paul Twomey
> > Subject: Re: [Ecommerce] ICC Seeks U.N. Takeover While Excluding ICANN,
> > U.S. Government from Meeting
> >
> >
> > --
> > [ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
> > The really interesting thing about the ICC WSIS proposal is that
> > ICC represents many big US companies such as AT&T, Microsoft,
> > Boeing, Oracle, Verizon, AOL, etc.
> >
> > With big US companies supporting the proposal to let the UN ICT
> > Task Force take over ICANN's responsibilities it looks like
> > things could change soon. Not sure I understand why a buzz org
> > would like governments to govern the Internet though?
> >
> > The proposal was stated again by an ICC official at WSIS today:
> > http://businessatwsis.net/mainpages/position/policy/tag.php
> >
> > http://businessatwsis.net/mainpages/media/press/news.php?news_id=15
> >
> >
> > Jeff Williams <jwkckid1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > John and all,
> >
> > I am not surprised to here of the unfortunate forcible removal of ICANN's
> > CEO Mr. Twomey's removal form this UN ICC meeting. As ICANN has
> > snubbed many stakeholder groups including ICC and INEGroup amongst
> > many others form it's terribly flawed "Reform" process started by
> > the former
> > ICANN CEO Stuart Lynn, and finalized by Mr. Twomey. The much discussed
> > and debated ICANN Cabel has led it to growing disdain on global
> > basis.
> >
> > However all this aside, it is also obvious that from earlier
> > reports that the
> > US is not interested nor willing to consider a major Role of the UN or
> > any UN agency to play a significant management role for managing
> > the central aspects of the Internet, nor determine policy there unto
> > pertaining.
> >
> > ICANN was warned time and time again of the "error in its ways"
> > as far back as 1999, and either ignored such warnings unwisely
> > or did not have the intellectual capacity by which to address these
> > many and repeated warning adequately and as such has served
> > to divide stakeholders/users rather than act as a catalyst to
> > unite them...
> >
> > john bolk wrote:
> >
> > > --
> > > [ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
> > > CircleID, Dec 09, 2003
> > >
> > > ICC Seeks U.N. Takeover While Excluding ICANN, U.S. Government
> > from Meeting
> > >
> > > An organization which purports to be "the voice of world
> > business" is proposing a de facto U.N. takeover of ICANN. The
> > proposal by a senior official of the International Chamber of
> > Commerce (ICC) would place ICANN under the U.N. umbrella and give
> > a strong role to U.N. agencies and to various national
> > governments, including those that suppress free speech and free
> > enterprise. In a move of breathtaking arrogance, the ICC refused
> > to even invite ICANN or U.S. government representatives to the
> > meeting at which they are presenting their proposal. As reported
> > here by Jennifer Schenker:
> > >
> > > "Paul Twomey, the president of the Internet's semi-official
> > governing body, Icann, learned Friday night what it feels like to
> > be an outsider. Mr. Twomey, who had flown 20 hours from Vietnam
> > to Geneva to observe a preparatory meeting for this week's United
> > Nations' conference on Internet issues, ended up being escorted
> > from the meeting room by guards. The officials running the
> > meeting had suddenly decided to exclude outside observers. Mr.
> > Twomey's ejection may underscore the resentment of many members
> > of the international community over the way the Internet is run
> > and over United States ownership of many important Internet
> > resources. Although Mr. Twomey is Australian, Icann - the
> > Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers - is a
> > powerful nonprofit group established by the United States
> > government in 1998 to oversee various technical coordination
> > issues for the global network. Icann and the United States
> > government are expected to come under heavy fire at the conference,
> > which
> > > begins Wednesday in Geneva and will be one of the largest
> > gatherings of high-level government officials, business leaders
> > and nonprofit organizations to discuss the Internet's future."
> > >
> > > Any proposal or process for overhauling ICANN's governance that
> > excludes key stakeholders is a major step backwards for the goals
> > of openness and transparency. Furthermore, for a business group
> > to propose giving a strong role in managing the infrastructure of
> > the international information economy to the United Nations, an
> > organization best known for unwieldily, costly, ineffective, and
> > unaccountable bureaucracies, is downright strange. Corporations
> > that contribute to the ICC may want to reconsider how best to use
> > their shareholder's resources.
> > >
> > > http://www.circleid.com/article/394_0_1_0_C/
> > >
> > > ---------------------------------
> > > BT Yahoo! Broadband - Save £80 when you order online today.
> > Hurry! Offer ends 21st December 2003. The way the internet was
> > meant to be.
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Ecommerce mailing list
> > > Ecommerce@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/ecommerce
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > --
> > Jeffrey A. Williams
> > Spokesman for INEGroup LLA. - (Over 134k members/stakeholders strong!)
> > "Be precise in the use of words and expect precision from others" -
> > Pierre Abelard
> >
> > "If the probability be called P; the injury, L; and the burden, B;
> > liability depends upon whether B is less than L multiplied by
> > P: i.e., whether B is less than PL."
> > United States v. Carroll Towing (159 F.2d 169 [2d Cir. 1947]
> > ===============================================================
> > CEO/DIR. Internet Network Eng. SR. Eng. Network data security
> > Information Network Eng. Group. INEG. INC.
> > E-Mail jwkckid1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Contact Number: 214-244-4827 or 214-244-3801
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Ecommerce mailing list
> > Ecommerce@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/ecommerce
> >
> > ---------------------------------
> > BT Yahoo! Broadband - Save £80 when you order online today.
> > Hurry! Offer ends 21st December 2003. The way the internet was
> > meant to be.
> >
Regards,
--
Jeffrey A. Williams
Spokesman for INEGroup LLA. - (Over 134k members/stakeholders strong!)
"Be precise in the use of words and expect precision from others" -
Pierre Abelard
"If the probability be called P; the injury, L; and the burden, B;
liability depends upon whether B is less than L multiplied by
P: i.e., whether B is less than PL."
United States v. Carroll Towing (159 F.2d 169 [2d Cir. 1947]
===============================================================
CEO/DIR. Internet Network Eng. SR. Eng. Network data security
Information Network Eng. Group. INEG. INC.
E-Mail jwkckid1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Contact Number: 214-244-4827 or 214-244-3801