<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi<div><br><div><div>On May 24, 2009, at 5:11 PM, Milton L Mueller wrote:</div><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="address"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="Street"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"><div class="Section1"><div style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: blue; border-left-width: 1.5pt; padding-top: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 4pt; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 5pt; margin-bottom: 5pt; "><div style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size: 12pt; "><br> <br>IGC BELIEVES THAT THE SECURITY OF THE INTERNET DNS CAN ONLY BE ENSURED BY INTERNATIONAL AND TRANSATIONAL CO-OPERATION. THAT CO-OPERATION WILL BE ENHANCED BY TRANSITION BEYOND THE JPA TO A SITUATION WHERE ALL COUNTRIES, AS WELL AS OTHER STAKEHOLDERS, FEEL THEY HAVE EQUITABLE ARRANGEMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION<font color="navy"><span style="color: navy; "><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy; "><o:p> </o:p></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy; ">MM: These comments don’t really address the rather radical question posed: is the model the right one? What are possible alternatives? If it is the right one, is ICANN ready to execute it without<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>oversight? However you answer this, we must make it clear that ICANN is a governance or economic-regulatory body, not a business or an industry association, and appropriate standards should apply.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></font></div></blockquote></div></div></o:smarttagtype></o:smarttagtype></o:smarttagtype></o:smarttagtype></div></span></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Further to Milton's point, ICANN's existential status is an issue that might merit discussion if IGC files a comment. It seems that despite all the international political debates of the past six years, a substantial percentage of the key individuals and orgs still see ICANN as essentially a business designed to create and capture profit making opportunities, rather than as a international institution with wider socio-political roles and responsibilities. This was captured nicely in an exchange during the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: -webkit-monospace; white-space: pre; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal; "> Joint AC/SO meeting </span></font><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; white-space: normal; ">Mexico City. When panelists were asked by the moderator to describe how they see policy development processes, a leading member of the business constituency and of the GNSO Council replied that policy was about making better contracts, full stop, a view that was echoed by others. In response, Bertrand suggested that policy was about advancing the global public interest, to which some others replied that they didn't know what the term could really mean. And this orientation is arguably reflected in a lot of other data points, e.g. the criteria being used to recruit a new CEO, the reactions to GAC proposals from various groupings, the design of various current policy initiatives, etc. Others may disagree, but to me there seems to be a pretty deep and problematic disconnect between the internal culture and priorities and the external environment.</span></span></div></div><div> <blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="address"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="Street"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"><div class="Section1"><div style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: blue; border-left-width: 1.5pt; padding-top: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 4pt; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 5pt; margin-bottom: 5pt; "><div style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy; ">ICANN still lacks adequate accountability. Its bottom up processes can be ignored, bypassed or dictated top-down by its Board, or manipulated by its policy staff. Its Independent Review Process is inadequate. Its relationship to international law ambiguous. The rights of people to challenge its actions on the basis of established law unclear.</span></font></div></blockquote></div></div></o:smarttagtype></o:smarttagtype></o:smarttagtype></o:smarttagtype></div></span></blockquote><div><br></div>Yup<blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="address"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="Street"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"><div class="Section1"><div style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: blue; border-left-width: 1.5pt; padding-top: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 4pt; "><blockquote style="margin-top: 5pt; margin-bottom: 5pt; "><div style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "> <br>IGC BELIEVES THAT SUFFICIENT PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE IN THESE AREAS FOR THIS TRANSITION TO<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">TAKE PLACE</st1:address></st1:street>.<font color="navy"><span style="color: navy; "><o:p></o:p></span></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy; ">MM: I am beginning to question this.</span></font><br><br></div></blockquote></div></div></o:smarttagtype></o:smarttagtype></o:smarttagtype></o:smarttagtype></div></span></blockquote>As am I. Assuming that the present internal trajectory would continue unabated and that there will not be any prior agreement on some sort of new ms/global model of external review and accountability, one does wonder about the potential unintended consequences of setting it loose in the wild. We could end up with increasing capture and policy narrowness coupled with increasing agitation elsewhere for (inter)governmental responses. At a minimum, one would hope to see a more systematic elaboration of the potential costs/benefits of the alternatives than has been advanced so far.</div><div><br></div><div>Cheers,</div><div><br></div><div>Bill</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><br></div></body></html>