[governance] ICANN/USG Affirmation; ICANN's Breathtaking Audacity Illustrated

[Paul Lehto]

The core claim of icann.org on its website is "independence" being
achieved.  Governments and regulators of all types are supposed to be
*servants* of the public, not independent at all. This is a very
important point, as shown in the following observations:

Even most dictators PURPORT and claim to have the support and consent
of the people through some process like a straw man opposition
election (a form of fake election) like Saddam Hussein receiving
something like 99% of the vote, election fraud generally, staged
demonstrations, real or doctored poll evidence -- something, anything
to reinforce that support from the people.  That authoritarians would
do this is not at all suprising give the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights stating that all legitimate political power comes only
from the people.  Non-democratic leaders do their best to fake this,
but everybody knows its a lie, at least outside the country in
question subject to usually intense propaganda.

But ICANN is openly stating something very remarkable. In contrast to
authoritarians who masquerade and go to pains to pretend that they
have the approval and consent of the public (in order to avoid real
elections) and thereby create the image without the reality of
political legitimacy, notice how ICANN contrasts sharply with that:

ICANN **openly** claims its "Independence," an "independence" that,
among other things, must mean independence from (1) any control by the
people of the US as well as (2) independence or freedom from any control by the
people of the entire globe as well.  Institutions of government can
only be "independent" of other arms of government for checks and
balances purposes, but never completely independent as ICANN clearly
appears to claim, having cut the remaining governmental ties and
requiring ICANN agreement to reinstate them.

This is breathtaking. Audacious.  It can't be understated.  More
courageous than most dictators, in a certain but important sense.

Even the present scope of ICANN activity, claimed to be narrow, is
subject to no restriction other than whatever ICANN can contract for,
purchase, fight for, or
fundraise for. Though unnecessary to my point of above, an independent
and free ICANN could become the Microsoft of the Internet, as just one
example.  King of the e-world, as it were.

-- 
Paul R Lehto, J.D.
P.O. Box #1
Ishpeming, MI  49849
lehto.paul at gmail.com
906-204-4026
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