Fwd: Re: [ncdnhc-discuss] Esther Dyson on the Agenda Change

[Norbert Klein]

> Barbara Simmons wrote:
> > Are you by any chance going to be at the ICANN meeting
> > in LA?  If so, I think it would be really useful if you could
> > make a public statement on the points in your email.
> > If not, may I have permission to quote you in a public statement?
> 
> I hope to be there - but you and anybody else are welcome to use these
> data,
> or similar data from any other country.
> 
> When I spoke in the Yokohama ICANN plenary FOR e-mail as a means to
> register
> and participate in the At-Large-Membership drive and elections, and not
> WEB
> only as it is not available or too expensive for many, I got a lot of
> support
> from the floor from people from several countries in Africa, and from
> China.
> 
> > Of course it might turn out that ICANN refuses to have any
> > kind of public dialog on this issue, in which case those of us
> > who are upset about the ALSC report will need to figure out
> > some way to force them to listen to us ... if that's possible.
> > 
> > Barbara
> > 
> > Norbert Klein wrote:
> > 
> > > Barbara Simons wrote:
> > >
> > > > I agree.  Esther's article is also accepting of other outrageous
> > > > provisions of the ALSC report, such as requiring people
> > > > to have domain names in order to vote and charging them
> > > > "a small fee ($5 to $15) to cover the costs of registering
> > > > voters and running the election."  She then goes on to say that
> > > > they will try to find "outside organizations" to cover the fee for
> > > > those who can't afford it.  Yea, sure.
> > > >
> > > > In the Southern United States during the time that African
> > > > Americans were not allowed to vote, one of the techniques
> > > > used to disenfranchise them was a poll tax.  People had to
> > > > pay in order to be allowed to vote.  It's a terrific way to
> > > > prevent the poor from voting.
> > > >
> > > > Not only is $5 to $15 a significant sum of money for people
> > > > living in some countries, but the entire notion is poorly
> > > > thought through.  How does the ALSC propose that the
> > > > funds be collected?  Through credit card transactions?
> > > > How do they propose to deal with weak local currencies?
> > > >
> > >
> > > The monthly salary of a teacher in Cambodia is around US$30.
> > >
> > > Since the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications took over the DNS
> > > administration (which I had done for free) in 1998, the registration
> of
> > a
> > > domain under .kh cost $200, then "only" $160 for the first two years.
> > (And
> > > there were no international credit cards available in Cambodia to pay
> > the $70
> > > for a registration abroad.)
> > >
> > > Now, since you can get a domain for $8.95 from GoDaddy at .com etc.,
> the
> > DNS
> > > registration in Cambodia goes down since 1st of October to $70 for the
> > first
> > > two years.
> > >
> > > To get "assistance from outside (from whom?) organizations for those
> who
> > > cannot pay" - the administration of such an effort might cost more
> than
> > the
> > > costs. To cash a check in Cambodia coming from abroad costs often $20
> to
> > $25
> > > (even if the amount on the check is less).
> > >
> > > Just to share what this means for people in situations similar to
> ours.
> > >
> > > Norbert Klein
> > > Phnom Penh/Cambodia
> > >
> > > ====
> > >
> > > >
> > > > The ALSC committee was stacked by the conscious
> > > > decision not to include any strong supporter of
> > > > strengthening the voice of the At-Large through
> > > > representation (at least half of the ICANN Board
> > > > members should be elected by the At-Large) and
> > > > democratic elections.  The final report demonstrates
> > > > how very effective this stacking was.
> > > >
> > > > Barbara
> > > >
> > > > "Michael Froomkin - U.Miami School of Law" wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > Actually, the essay is really annoying: it presents the six
> > (basically a
> > > > > ratification of the decisions ED voted for when on the Board) as a
> > > > > COMPROMISE, when in fact it's siding with one side.
> > > > >
> > > > > On Mon, 8 Oct 2001, Milton Mueller wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > >From her newsletter:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > (I hope this is "fair use"!)
> > > > > >
> > > > > > ICANN has just announced that the agency's annual
> > > > > > meeting next month, which was supposed to include
> > > > > > a decision on the ALSC's recommendations, will focus
> > > > > > on security issues. That sounds very nice -- responsive
> > > > > > to current conditions and so forth -- but it ends up delaying
> > > > > > more pressing issues.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Security is important, and ICANN's member organization¯
> > > > > > -- technical developers, Internet service providers,
> > > > > > address and domain name registries and registrars -- should
> > > > > > certainly work together on security issues. But most of
> > > > > > what they need to do is fairly specific and beyond the
> > > > > > purview of a policy and standards body. ICANN and its
> > > > > > members do need to be aware of security issues, but the
> > > > > > details -- especially for ensuring the integrity of the root
> > > > > > servers, which are the foundation of the Domain Name
> > > > > > System probably should NOT be discussed in public.
> > > > > > Regardless,accomplishing these things requires staff and
> > > > > > technical expert time ¯ not a lot of discussion at the board
> > > > > > level.

-- 
Norbert Klein
Permanent Address: nhklein at gmx.net
Open Forum of Cambodia: www.forum.org.kh