Jay,
You wrote:
>Some Interesting Parallels . . .
> The White Paper <==> Declaration of Independence
> ICANN By-Laws <==> Articles of Confederation
> Supporting Orgs <==> State Governments
> Mike Roberts <==> John Hanson
The Declaration of Independence was product of a self-organizing
process to establish freedom from the tyranny of a government which was
attempting to exert its long arm to govern colonists who felt they had no
control, and they wanted it.
In our case, the U.S. government which has had total control has
been seeking to create another form of order, by skillfully trying to step
aside. It is as if, using the historical analogy, the King recognizes that
they need to get of the the business of taxing the colonies, so they
proclaim a group of representatives of the King (ICANN's Interim Board) to
presiding over handing over the government's offices to someone or some
thing under some new sort of charter (ICANN's By-Laws).
Who has the inside track? Those who have been lobbying to be the
governors since word first leaked out of the King's meetings in England,
his friends, and their friends, and their friends' friends, and those who
happen to have the sponsorship to fly around and attend the meetings.
Who are the colonists? The people who use the Net every day, one
at a time.
If the process was truly about independence, then it would look
less like a corporate takeover and more like a movement to eliminate
monopolization by encouraging freedom of choice, by encouraging
demonstrations of variety and choice, and real operational transition from
the controlled center, to the democratic edge.
Here's another way of looking at the situation:
> The White Paper <==> Edict from King Abdicting Interest in Taxing the
>Colonies
ICANN Interim Board<==> King's Representatives to the Colonies to broker
the deal
CORE/DNSO.ORG <==> Friends of the King's Representatives to the Colonies
> ICANN By-Laws <==> King's Articles of Confederation
> Supporting Orgs <==> Politically-connected Insiders jockeying for
>special interests
> Mike Roberts <==> Deal Maker wearing a powdered wig
>Welcome to our future history!
There are some elements missing for this to turn out well. I'll
leave those to play out or not to play out. Will history repeat itself?
Another part of it will, is my guess, and in time it will look something
like a Global Federal Reserve System for Names and Numbers:
Steve's Interesting Parallels . . .
> The White Paper <==> Policy of Exec Office of Pres of U.S. (walking
>away, looking over shoulder)
> ICANN By-Laws <==> New Global Federal Reserve Act, for Names and
>Numbers (Supported by IAB/IETF)
> Supporting Orgs <==> New Global Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC)
add: IANA <==> Global Federal Reserve Electronic Name/Number
Network (FedNet)
add: ARIN/APNIC/etc<=> Federal Reserve Banks of Names and Numbers
add: Registries <==> Member Name and Number Banks
> Mike Roberts <==> New Interim Global Alan Greenspan, controlling
>Name/Number Resources
The process that is occurring is about ****global
standardization**** (with no mention of freedom or independence of
individuals). It is about the allocation of scarce resources of domain of
names and numbers, managed by IANA, which has socio-politico-economic
implications worldwide. The economic implications are clear in the choice
of economically well-placed and geo-politically diverse Interim Board.
Although the process *is not* about independence, it affects the
independence of each and every person who may seek to protect and use the
products of their intellectual efforts, and use language for their own
purpose and benefit. That is why the INTA is so involved and wanting to
influence the process, because INTA policies which are inter-governmental
and political and economic in nature, and which are subject to change IF
the new rules do not completely synchronize with their present policies.
The ICANN name/number standardization process occurs partially in
view and partially behind closed doors, and it challenges every person,
involved or not, because of the massive wealth which is being created in
the last 3 months in the hands of a very few corporations. That process is
likely to continue. The casualties will be individual small business
owners, like independent bookstores, who have no place to turn, because
everywhere they look there are barriers: to having simple logical names (no
choice), to accessing capital (credit/accounting rules), to tapping the
public markets for capital (SEC rules). The system is getting more rigged
every day, and Wall Street knows it. Look at NSOL.
The U.S. government has set up barriers to entry like the SEC which
controls the pipeline of deals (the inventory) available to the stock
market worldwide, a market whose value is a function of a limited supply
and demand of available shares, and companies. Follow the money and one
can see much more clearly what is happening.
>These *are* exciting times.
That's derived from an ancient Chinese curse. Many people are
going to pay for what is going on, and some will benefit, but it all will
have a social, political, and economic ripple effect far into the future.
The economic pain being felt by the independent bookstore owners
because of the Amazon effect will have social consequences, no matter how
much political jockeys choose to ignore it. The economic pain caused by
maintaining the NSI monopoly has already hurt many, and will continue into
the foreseeable future, but it has no name, no face, so "outta sight, outta
mind, plow blindly forward".
If we want to seek common values, let's try not to recreate or
reinvent what already exists. Start with the U.N.'s Universal Declaration
for Human Rights, and modernize it to cyberspace (I've already done it and
submitted, check the archive), intersect with the Ten
Commandments/Koran/Torah/Buddha teachings (this will create a common
ethical framework like Rush suggests), and apply the principles of the
Hippocrattic Oath (first do no harm) to the process of trying to make a
"prescription" for the future. That should provide a solid compass-reading
for moving forward.
As in almost all history, we are our worst enemies, and it is
either through ignorance, huge ego, lust for power, greed, or a
combination, that prevents us from cooperating and doing the right thing.
Steve Page
Internet .a-.z Name Registry
T: 925-454-8624
(c) Copyright, 1999. Stephen J. Page. All Rights Reserved.
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