BC member departs due to concerns about their charter

[Rebecca MacKinnon]

Somebody just posted this on twitter
http://forum.icann.org/lists/bc-gnso/msg00596.html

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[bc-gnso] Parting is such sweet sorrow

   - *To*: BC gnso <bc-gnso at xxxxxxxxx>
   - *Subject*: [bc-gnso] Parting is such sweet sorrow
   - *From*: George Kirikos <icann at xxxxxxxx>
   - *Date*: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:31:42 -0400

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Hi folks,

After much thought, I've concluded my company is better off leaving
the BC. Please remove my company from the BC members list, mailing
list, and myself from the Responsibilies page of the website.

It's clear that the charter that will be adopted will not reflect our
views. Staying within the BC would simply give the impression that the
BC and its officers has our continuing support, which is not the case.

The BC cannot legitimately represent the views of businesses when it
is captured, top-down, anti-democratic, and actively discourages
participation. For example (and not limited to these):

(1) Look at how many times the words "appoint" continue to appear in

the charter, despite this being the 18th revision, and despite the
demand for more elected and thus accountable leaders (both on the list
and  during the conference call).

(2) Look at how 7.4 changes the percentages for a required vote from

10% to 25% -- we saw that even when there was actual 10% division over
the IRT, there was no actual vote. This will institutionalize that
negative trend.

(3) The categories of members has not been modified, despite repeated

assurances that this would be done when the charter was reformed.

In other words, it'll be business as usual, and indeed in a worse direction.

I estimate that my company's pro-rata share of the existing BC reserve

amounts to approximately USD $2,500. I request that these funds be
donated in full to the United Way of Toronto --
http://www.unitedwaytoronto.com/ .

It's been a pleasure working with some of you.

Try not to miss me too much.

Sincerely,

George Kirikos
416-588-0269
http://www.leap.com/



--
IMPORTANT: My Hong Kong University e-mail (rmack at hku.hk) will stop working
in January. Please use my gmail instead (see below).

Rebecca MacKinnon
Open Society Fellow | Co-founder, GlobalVoicesOnline.org
Assistant Professor, Journalism & Media Studies Centre, University of Hong
Kong

UK: +44-7759-863406
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