FYI:
To: The PDNHA Membership
From: Jay Fenello <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Thu, 08 Jul 1999 12:56:05 -0400
Subject: PDNHA Monthly Newsletter
PDNHA Monthly Newsletter
The road to Internet Governance, always
bumpy, has just hit a brick wall.
The recent ICANN Board meeting in Berlin
removed all doubt as to the captured and
biased nature of this new organization.
Instead of ensuring fair processes in the
establishment of the DNSO, the ICANN Board
was a party to gaming the process so that
a very narrow cast of characters could
control it.
The original plan, as outlined on the PDNHA
home pages, had seven constituencies defined.
Out of those seven, only the Non-Commercial
Domain Name Holders Constituency would have
given individuals and organizations like the
PDNHA a voice in the legislative branch of
ICANN.
Instead, ICANN only approved constituencies
that represented commercial interests. Those
that they did approve, were also gamed. For
example, many of these constituencies already
had "voted" for their representatives for the
Names Council, even before they were recognized.
And many of these "elected" representatives were
members of the same organizations, in violation
of the ICANN by-laws.
To add insult to injury, the ICANN Board then
directed this new biased and captured DNSO to
approve the WIPO recommendations on a fast track
process. The WIPO recommendations have been
widely criticized as being favorable to big
business, at the expense of individuals and
small businesses.
This travesty was most apparent at the first
meeting of the DNSO Names Council. In violation
of the ICANN by-laws, this meeting was held as a
closed meeting, and several people entitled to
attend were arbitrarily removed without their
consent.
ICANN's President and Chief Legal Counsel were
both present, yet neither intervened as their
fiduciary responsibility as officers of ICANN
required.
It is for these reasons that the PDNHA declares
ICANN a fraud, and is currently asking Congress
to review the formation and ongoing activities
of ICANN.
The PDNHA is also suggesting that its members
call, write (no email), or fax their Congressman
and ask them to hold hearings and investigate
this bogus process.
For more information on your representatives,
please enter your zip code at:
<http://congress.org/congdir.html>
The PDNHA is an organization working towards
the ideals inherent in the White Paper, with a
specific emphasis on fair and open processes,
the protection of minority interests, and most
importantly, the protection of civil liberties.
To find out more about the PDNHA, please see:
http://www.pdnha.org
Respectfully,
Jay Fenello
Executive Director, PDNHA
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Be somebody - join the PDNHA! http://www.pdnha.org
