Secret Board Briefings a Method of ICANN Capture

[Adam Peake]

One of the issues ALAC has been asking for in the 
discussions about improving transparency is 
briefing docs provided prior to board meetings 
(particularly on issues the board will be taking 
action on) must be made public.  With the usual 
exclusions for any documents confidential for 
legal, personal/personnel etc reasons.

Perhaps we could agree on this?

Adam


At 2:10 AM -0800 3/10/10, Robin Gross wrote:
>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.....
>
><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
>
>Secret Board Briefings a Method of ICANN Capture
>
>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 
>Staff¹s briefing report to the Board from across 
>the table (some of us read documents upside down 
>better the we read right side up.)
>
>In this case it was all they could do to refrain 
>themself from standing up and yelling ³the staff 
>lies.²   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.
>
>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 Board¹s 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 Œus¹, the method of 
>their section was wrong and is a slow wound to 
>heal).
>
>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 Staff¹s briefing 
>papers.
>
>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.
>
>How many lies about how many things would we 
>find in a proper review of the Policy Briefings 
>to the Board?
>
>How many decisions have been made based upon 
>false information fed to the Board by the Policy 
>Staff?
>
>This has to stop now!
>
>All Board briefing except those on truly 
>confidential matters, must be made public 
>immediately.
>All recent Board briefings on which the Board 
>has based its decisions must be released 
>immediately.
>All future Board briefings must be released to 
>the public at the same time they are distributed 
>to the Board.
>Additionally, in its review of transparency I 
>hope the AOC Review Panel takes this pernicious 
>practice to task.
>
>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.
>
>And my hope is still waiting.
>
>I have admitted my great affection/addiction for 
>ICANN on numerous occasions, but I really do 
>fear that ICANN¹s soul has been captured by the 
>Policy Staff and I worry that it may never 
>recover unless some major changes happen real 
>soon now.
>
>
>
>
>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>http://www.ipjustice.org 
> e: <mailto:robin at ipjustice.org>robin at ipjustice.org