more news on ICANN Ombudsman Frank Fowlie's air rage incident & cover-up attempt

[Carlos A. Afonso]

Gory details. :) What with Icann and its attraction to law enforcers? It 
took this case for us to discover that Mr Fowlie was a Canadian federal 
agent, and let us recall Mr Beckstrom's background as well. And Icann 
bringing FBI, Interpol etc to discuss the howtos of some absurd policy 
proposals...

What is it becoming? A new international law enforcement body overseen 
by the US gov?

--c.a.

On 07/28/2010 06:17 PM, Robin Gross wrote:
> ICANN Ombudsman Frank Fowlie's "air rage" incident & cover-up attempt
> have made the news in Canada's Globe & Mail.
>
> I've been told in the past from board members that "even though Fowlie
> embarrasses the organization every year or so, they haven't fired him
> because they think he's a nice guy and they like him". At some point,
> the board will have to put the best interests of the organization ahead
> of their personal friendship with the Ombudsman.
>
> Robin
>
>
> http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/internet-ombudsman-riled-by-disclosure-of-bad-behaviour-on-flight/article1652548/
>
> Internet ombudsman riled by disclosure of bad behaviour on flight
>
> Frank Fowlie wants his name removed from an online document released by
> the Canadian Transportation Agency
>
> Paul Waldie
>  From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
> Published on Monday, Jul. 26, 2010 8:24PM EDT
>
> As ombudsman for the agency that manages Internet domain names, Frank
> Fowlie is used to dealing with complaints related to the Web.
>
> But now Mr. Fowlie, a Canadian and a former RCMP officer, is pursuing
> his own complaint about the Internet and the disclosure online of some
> damning details about his bad behaviour during an Air Canada
> <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/internet-ombudsman-riled-by-disclosure-of-bad-behaviour-on-flight/article1652548/#>
> flight last year.
>
> Mr. Fowlie wants the Canadian Transportation Agency to remove his name
> from a decision the federal agency made in February involving a case he
> brought against Air Canada. In the five-page decision, posted on the
> CTA’s website, the agency not only ruled against Mr. Fowlie but
> questioned his credibility and concluded his behaviour during the flight
> was “abusive and offensive.” Mr. Fowlie says publication of the ruling
> on the website has made him the “target of media scrutiny” and
> undermined public confidence in his position as ombudsman for the
> Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN. The
> non-profit organization is based in California and co-ordinates the
> system for naming Internet addresses.
>
> The CTA has refused to take down his name. In a ruling released last
> week, it said his personal concerns don’t outweigh public access to
> agency rulings. The CTA also called his arguments “implausible” and
> questioned how someone in his position could make such claims.
>
> The saga began on March 22, 2009, when Mr. Fowlie flew on Air Canada
> from Paris to Montreal with a connection to Vancouver, where he is
> based. During the first flight, Mr. Fowlie didn’t get his meal choice
> and started shouting and swearing, according to CTA filings. When the
> flight’s service director tried to intervene, Mr. Fowlie became
> aggressive. After the plane landed in Montreal, he complained to the
> ground manager in an “intimidating” manner, according to the CTA. His
> behaviour was so unruly the pilot banned him from the Vancouver
> connection. That enraged Mr. Fowlie, who had to be escorted from the
> boarding area by airport security, the CTA said. He got to Vancouver the
> next day on another Air Canada flight.
>
> After returning home, Mr. Fowlie filed a complaint with the CTA about
> Air Canada’s conduct. The CTA dismissed the complaint. It didn’t help
> that Mr. Fowlie had altered notes he’d allegedly made at the time of the
> incident, putting his credibility into question, the CTA added.
>
> Mr. Fowlie didn’t stop. When the ruling came out, he gave an interview
> to the Ottawa Citizen and criticized the CTA and Air Canada, saying the
> airline “views customers as cattle.” Soon blogs and websites began
> commenting on the ruling and Mr. Fowlie’s remarks.
>
> Within weeks, Mr. Fowlie was back at the CTA, asking it to remove his
> name from the decision. He argued the publicity was damaging public
> perception about the ombudsman and could cost him his job, according to
> CTA filings. He also said he didn’t realize when he launched the
> complaint that publication of the ruling could have such an impact.
>
> The CTA dismissed the request and challenged Mr. Fowlie’s arguments. The
> agency said he had been told repeatedly that CTA rulings were publicly
> available online. It also didn’t buy his concerns about his job. Mr.
> Fowlie’s “allegation that he will lose his employment is merely
> speculative and not proven by evidence,” the CTA said.
>
> Mr. Fowlie, who has been ICANN ombudsman since 2004, was unavailable for
> comment.
>
>
>
>
>
> IP JUSTICE
> Robin Gross, Executive Director
> 1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 USA
> p: +1-415-553-6261 f: +1-415-462-6451
> w: http://www.ipjustice.org e: robin at ipjustice.org
> <mailto:robin at ipjustice.org>
>
>
>

-- 

Carlos A. Afonso
CGI.br (www.cgi.br)
Nupef (www.nupef.org.br)
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new/nuevo/novo e-mail: ca at cafonso.ca
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