NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] ICANN, Bill Clinton, and Mr. Magoo
ICANN, Bill Clinton, and Mr. Magoo
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000806.html
Greetings. As I mentioned earlier today in another venue
( http://bit.ly/ehm5VD [Google Buzz] ), and as further explained here:
http://bit.ly/fYfHoQ (Kieren McCarthy), it now appears
likely that key ICANN decisions regarding their continuing TLD
Expansion Lunacy will be essentially bumped to their San Francisco
gala meeting in mid-March.
I realize it's tough to keep track of ICANN meetings these days.
Brussels at the end of February. Back to San Francisco two weeks
later. If ICANN ever (heaven forbid!) started using Skype or Google
Talk or even dedicated videoconferencing instead of so much
globetrotting, the airline industry would probably suffer a collective
nervous breakdown!
What you might have missed though is that ICANN won't be satisfied
with just digging into the crucial topics on the agenda, but
apparently has hired -- get this -- former President Bill Clinton to
keynote in SF! Yes, this well-known expert on Internet technology and
related Internet policy issues will ... no wait, that's someone else.
Anyway, Bill Clinton! Our Internet problems are solved!
Now, admittedly, some questions have been raised about this
arrangement ( http://bit.ly/hY2Emw [Domain News] ).
For example, there are concerns about disrupting the serious work of
the meeting with Clinton's "superstar" appearance. And what of the
cost? Rumor was that he was being paid half a megabucks. "Nonsense!"
says ICANN, "Clinton's fees are a matter of public record."
In fact, there's an article -- "Clinton's Golden Voice" -- from
The Washington Post in 2007, detailing the former President's
speaking fees between 2001 and 2005. $125K was common, sometimes
going as high as even 300K or 350K in several instances. Perhaps
there's been some inflation in the six years beyond the dates
and fees shown on this chart? ( http://bit.ly/gSWYCh [Washington Post] )
But whether it's 100K or 300K or even more, ICANN assures us that the
amount will be covered by "targeted sponsorships," not out of the
ICANN budget. Phew. Man, that's a relief. It's good to know that
ICANN sponsors aren't going to do something really nutty like donate
that money to charity or something similarly silly in these hard
economic times. After all, former Presidents need money too. And
buying favor with ICANN is a much better investment, of course -- as
Mr. Spock might say, "Highly logical."
But I do hope that someone at the meeting will take the opportunity to
ask Bill Clinton for his opinions on ICANN's gTLD flooding plans, use
of the DNS for censorship and government control, and ICANN's "policy"
procedures vs. the Department of Commerce and GAC. If there's any
spare time, Mr. Clinton's opinions on IPv4 address depletion and IPv6
deployment would certainly set the Internet user community at ease.
If there's one thing that we can say about ICANN as of late with some
degree of certainty, it's that the organization is definitely
consistent -- just like "Mr. Magoo" out for a Sunday drive!
( http://bit.ly/g1uwub [YouTube] )
"Road Hog!"
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Google Buzz: http://bit.ly/lauren-buzz
Quora: http://www.quora.com/Lauren-Weinstein
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com