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<div>Important new blog post from Avri about how ICANN policy staff continues to spread lies to Board about non-commercial users. Disappointing, although not surprising.....</div><div><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://avri.doria.org/post/438544387/secret-board-briefings-a-method-of-icann-capture">http://avri.doria.org/post/438544387/secret-board-briefings-a-method-of-icann-capture</a></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; "><font face="Helvetica Neue" size="5" color="#3b216d" style="font: 20.0px Helvetica Neue; color: #3b216d"><b>Secret Board Briefings a Method of ICANN Capture</b></font></div></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#333333" face="'Lucida Grande'" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; "><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 24.0px 0.0px; line-height: 24.0px"><font face="Georgia" size="5" color="#3b216d" style="font: 16.0px Georgia; color: #3b216d">While in a meeting with Board members, a member of my Stakeholder group had an opportunity to read part of one page of the Policy Staff’s briefing report to the Board from across the table (some of us read documents upside down better the we read right side up.)</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 24.0px 0.0px; line-height: 24.0px"><font face="Georgia" size="5" color="#3b216d" style="font: 16.0px Georgia; color: #3b216d">In this case it was all they could do to refrain themself from standing up and yelling “the staff lies.” The lies in this case were repeated lies first invented by the Commercial Stakeholder Group (CSG) about the Non Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG) - that the most diverse Stakeholder group in the GNSO was not diverse enough. The same group that seem to stand against all types of diversity requirement in every discussion.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 24.0px 0.0px; line-height: 24.0px"><font face="Georgia" size="5" color="#3b216d" style="font: 16.0px Georgia; color: #3b216d">That this absurd accusation was made by a group that needs an exception from the geographical diversity clause for council member elections was not enough to show its absurdity and motivated the Board’s unjust behavior toward the NCSG in last years Council member appointments (though we dearly love our Board appointed council members and fully accepted them as part of ‘us’, the method of their section was wrong and is a slow wound to heal).</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 24.0px 0.0px; line-height: 24.0px"><font face="Georgia" size="5" color="#3b216d" style="font: 16.0px Georgia; color: #3b216d">That the non commercial constituency was singled out in the LSE report on the GNSO as the most diverse of constituencies was also not sufficient to put lie to the statement. And now the Staff makes the great lie even greater by including it in the Policy Staff’s briefing papers.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 24.0px 0.0px; line-height: 24.0px"><font face="Georgia" size="5" color="#3b216d" style="font: 16.0px Georgia; color: #3b216d">The Board often talks about avoiding capture. Capture has already occurred and it is the Policy Staff with its power to whisper lies into the ears of the Board that this capture is maintained and cemented. Decisions are being made based on false information.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 24.0px 0.0px; line-height: 24.0px"><font face="Georgia" size="5" color="#3b216d" style="font: 16.0px Georgia; color: #3b216d">How many lies about how many things would we find in a proper review of the Policy Briefings to the Board?</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 24.0px 0.0px; line-height: 24.0px"><font face="Georgia" size="5" color="#3b216d" style="font: 16.0px Georgia; color: #3b216d">How many decisions have been made based upon false information fed to the Board by the Policy Staff?</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 24.0px 0.0px; line-height: 24.0px"><font face="Georgia" size="5" color="#3b216d" style="font: 16.0px Georgia; color: #3b216d">This has to stop now!</font></p> <ul> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 24.0px"><font face="Georgia" size="5" color="#3b216d" style="font: 16.0px Georgia; color: #3b216d">All Board briefing except those on truly confidential matters, must be made public immediately.</font></li> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 24.0px"><font face="Georgia" size="5" color="#3b216d" style="font: 16.0px Georgia; color: #3b216d">All recent Board briefings on which the Board has based its decisions must be released immediately.</font></li> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 24.0px"><font face="Georgia" size="5" color="#3b216d" style="font: 16.0px Georgia; color: #3b216d">All future Board briefings must be released to the public at the same time they are distributed to the Board.</font></li> </ul><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 24.0px 0.0px; line-height: 24.0px"><font face="Georgia" size="5" color="#3b216d" style="font: 16.0px Georgia; color: #3b216d">Additionally, in its review of transparency I hope the AOC Review Panel takes this pernicious practice to task.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 24.0px 0.0px; line-height: 24.0px"><font face="Georgia" size="5" color="#3b216d" style="font: 16.0px Georgia; color: #3b216d">I understand that the ICANN Policy Staff has a new leader, and in my first brief meeting with David Olive, I have hope that things may change. Then again, when Rod Beckstrom first became CEO, I had hope that things would change.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 24.0px 0.0px; line-height: 24.0px"><font face="Georgia" size="5" color="#3b216d" style="font: 16.0px Georgia; color: #3b216d">And my hope is still waiting.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 24.0px 0.0px; line-height: 24.0px"><font face="Georgia" size="5" color="#3b216d" style="font: 16.0px Georgia; color: #3b216d">I have admitted my great affection/addiction for ICANN on numerous occasions, but I really do fear that ICANN’s soul has been captured by the Policy Staff and I worry that it may never recover unless some major changes happen real soon now.</font></p></span></font></div></div><div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "><div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div><div><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div><div>IP JUSTICE</div><div>Robin Gross, Executive Director</div><div>1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 USA</div><div>p: +1-415-553-6261 f: +1-415-462-6451</div><div>w: <a href="http://www.ipjustice.org">http://www.ipjustice.org</a> e: <a href="mailto:robin@ipjustice.org">robin@ipjustice.org</a></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"> </div><br></body></html>