In message <[email protected]>, JORDI PALET MARTINEZ <[email protected]> wrote:
>Moreover, removing any posting from the mailing list archives is a clear >attack to this community. This is called censorship. If AFRINIC, as an >organization, is providing the service, it must be an open and transparent >service, and that includes not making any kind of censorship. I thank both Jordi and Mike Silber for their kind and constructive comments. I wish to say also that I personally am OK with having my prior posting here scrubbed from the mailing list archives. I understand that there is some concern, well placed or not, within AFRINIC that some of my comments may reflect badly on the organization itself and might possibly have some effect on either the already ongoing litigation or on potential future litigation... and I most certainly would not desire anything that I have said, as a private citizen, to have any negative effect upon AFRINIC's legal position. After being duly informed that further contributions from me would be moderated for a period of 30 days, I did some reading on this topic of this legal offense known as "Scandalizing the Court". I had to educate myself about that, because we quite certainly have nothing even remotely like that here in the U.S. What I learned, among other things, is that such an offense continued to exist, in England, Whales, and Scotland, until really quite recently, i.e. the 2012-2013 time frame, but that since that time it has been abolished in those judicial systems. I also learned that this offense continues to exist within many Commonwealth countries, apparently including Mauritius. It is not for me to opine on the question of whether my prior comments do or do not satisfy all of the various legal elements of the crime of "Scandalizing the Court", specifically as that crime is defined within the legal system of Mauritius. That question is most certainly not within my area of expertise. I would only offer the suggestion that my prior comments may possibly not rise to the level of satisfying the legal definition of that crime, and that even if they did, I would most certainly plead for some mitigation and leniency at my sentencing, based upon my ignorance of local law in this instance. (And in any event, as should be obvious, I cannot say that I am particularly worried that Mauritian authorities would seek to have me extradited from the U.S. to Mauritius, to face Mauritian justice for this particular crime, and even if that remote possibility suddenly became probable, I might simply choose to relocate myself to some national jurisdiction that appears to be immune, at present, to such inter-national extradition proceedings, e.g. someplace that appears on maps just to the left of Kenya.) With regards to my prior comments about individuals, I do apologize to the community if any of these might have any effect on AFRINIC's legal position. It is my hope and belief that they should not and will not. I speak only for myself. Furthermore, I am quite certainly subject to potential legal proceedings (e.g. for defamation) here in the United States of America... by far the most litigious country on earth... and I am thus cautious in what I say and how I say it. I have said no more about individuals than I believe could be justified in open court, based upon persuasive and abundant available hard evidence, much of which I have already shared here. Nontheless, I ask forgiveness from the community for my often intemperate manner of speech, forgiveness which I hope will be forthcoming, given the totality of the context. I have sought, for well more than a year and a half now, simply to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, at least with respect to the corruption of the WHOIS data base. Given this clear and abiding quest, who among you can still be entirely unsympathetic to the frustration that I feel, to still not know, even at this late date, either how the data base came to be corrupted, or any of the particulars about the one bit of actual litigation that has arisen from those still- mysterious events. My cup runneth over with a lack of information, and after such an extended period of time in this state, I ask to be excused for my more than ordinary lack of both temperance and patience. That having been said, I accept without reservation the actions taken in response to my recent comments, including both the removal of inflamatory (and perhaps prejuduicial) postings of mine from the archives as well as a 30-day moderation period. I take no personal offense at these actions, and they seem to me to be commensurate and proportional responses. I say this knowing, as I do, that as a citizen of the United States, I am generally free to be more vocal in my defense of AFRINIC and its interests, against both foreign interlopers and any possible lethargy on the part of the local judiciary than AFRINIC itself could prudently be. I only hope that my unconstrained opinions will be properly attributed to me alone. If AFRINIC finds it either necessary or convenient to take actions to further clarify the crisp dividing line between itself and me, then I am perfectly OK with that. Regards, rfg _______________________________________________ Community-Discuss mailing list [email protected] https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/community-discuss
