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

[Paul Lehto]

[For those seeking the most concise general statement of the problems
and ideas I'm writing about, the original post at bottom is probably
the best several paragraphs to show that.] Now follows a brief reply
to Jeffrey Williams reply:

The classic question of governance is:  What power will oversee the
exercise of Power?  And who oversees THAT power?

When Roman commanders informed their legionnaires that they had hired
guards to guard the chastity of their wives while they were away on
military campaigns, the legionnaire's howls of laughter were so loud
they can still be heard occasionally through the centuries of
intervening history: They couldn't stop laughing in response to the
question of their commanders:

"And who will guard the guards????"

How indeed to solve the question of ultimate power on a micro or macro scale?

The only way out of the box of having strong unaccountable power exist
is locating the ultimate power in as diffuse a way as possible, i.e.,
spread out over all those who are governed by that power on a one
person one vote basis amongst the people.

In my earlier post today, I pointed out various strong reasons why
governing in the name of the public interest requires the public to be
consulted for starters, but then to be meaningful those who hold power
must be accountable to actually execute actions in favor of the public
interest when and if necessary by some stronger power. The ultimate
power can only justly consist of all, voting on an equal basis.  This
creates a situation that sounds like a utopian impossible dream but is
in fact true when universal suffrage and real elections are present:
Each voter, each person is tied for being the #1 most powerful person
in the country, regardless of how rich, "wise" or powerful other
individuals may claim to be.  My voting power, for example, was
effectively declared to be equal to Bill Gates' voting power when I
voted in Washington state, where Gates lives, in the 2004 presidential
election. Of course, millions of others shared the same #1 status but
that's the point.

To deny folks this ability to be tied for the #1 most powerful person
via universage suffrage equality is to destroy human dignity by
setting up a system of upper classes and lower classes.

The lower classes are dehumanized in various ways as stupid, and the
upper classes are either corrupt (self-serving and self-aggrandizing
and openly so) or, if they claim the public interest mantle, they are
deluded into thinking they know what's in the public's interest
without seriously inquiring of the public, but if they seriously
inquire, the ultimate source of information about public interest
resides in the public itself, and thus it's foolhardy (in light of the
fact that power corrupts those who exercise it) for the public not to
be able to override its corrupt public leaders who fail or refus to
follow the public interest.

Paul Lehto, Juris Doctor

On 10/9/09, Jeffrey A. Williams <jwkckid1 at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> Paul and all,
>
>   ICANN has sense it's conception, and even before under the
> gTLD-MOU has been seeking the "Independance" as it defines it.
> Perhaps to some folks glee it has achieved that now or soon
> will given this ICANN/USG Affirmation.  But the comparison you
> IMO properly drew to an extent with the Sadam Hussain regime in
> IRAQ, now thankfully defunct, to ICANN's "Independance" is indeed
> shocking and audacious as well as very potentially dangerous as
> well in may obvious and not so obvious ways and end effects.
>
> -----Original Message-----
>>From: Paul Lehto <lehto.paul at gmail.com>
>>Sent: Oct 9, 2009 8:36 AM
>>To: governance at lists.cpsr.org, Roland Perry
>> <roland at internetpolicyagency.com>
>>Subject: [governance] ICANN/USG Affirmation; ICANN's Breathtaking Audacity
>> Illustrated
>>
>>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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>
> Jeffrey A. Williams
> Spokesman for INEGroup LLA. - (Over 294k members/stakeholders strong!)
> "Obedience of the law is the greatest freedom" -
>    Abraham Lincoln
>
> "Credit should go with the performance of duty and not with what is very
> often the accident of glory" - Theodore Roosevelt
>
> "If the probability be called P; the injury, L; and the burden, B; liability
> depends upon whether B is less than L multiplied by
> P: i.e., whether B is less than PL."
> United States v. Carroll Towing  (159 F.2d 169 [2d Cir. 1947]
> ===============================================================
> Updated 1/26/04
> CSO/DIR. Internet Network Eng. SR. Eng. Network data security IDNS. div. of
> Information Network Eng.  INEG. INC.
> ABA member in good standing member ID 01257402 E-Mail jwkckid1 at ix.netcom.com
> Phone: 214-244-4827
>
>


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