Somebody just posted this on twitter http://forum.icann.org/lists/bc-gnso/msg00596.html ------------------------------ <<< <http://forum.icann.org/lists/bc-gnso/msg00595.html> Chronological Index <http://forum.icann.org/lists/bc-gnso/index.html#00596> >>><http://forum.icann.org/lists/bc-gnso/msg00597.html> <<< <http://forum.icann.org/lists/bc-gnso/msg00594.html> Thread Index<http://forum.icann.org/lists/bc-gnso/thrd10.html#00596> >>> <http://forum.icann.org/lists/bc-gnso/msg00597.html> ------------------------------ [bc-gnso] Parting is such sweet sorrow - *To*: BC gnso <bc-gnso@xxxxxxxxx> - *Subject*: [bc-gnso] Parting is such sweet sorrow - *From*: George Kirikos <icann@xxxxxxxx> - *Date*: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:31:42 -0400 ------------------------------ Hi folks, After much thought, I've concluded my company is better off leaving the BC. Please remove my company from the BC members list, mailing list, and myself from the Responsibilies page of the website. It's clear that the charter that will be adopted will not reflect our views. Staying within the BC would simply give the impression that the BC and its officers has our continuing support, which is not the case. The BC cannot legitimately represent the views of businesses when it is captured, top-down, anti-democratic, and actively discourages participation. For example (and not limited to these): (1) Look at how many times the words "appoint" continue to appear in the charter, despite this being the 18th revision, and despite the demand for more elected and thus accountable leaders (both on the list and during the conference call). (2) Look at how 7.4 changes the percentages for a required vote from 10% to 25% -- we saw that even when there was actual 10% division over the IRT, there was no actual vote. This will institutionalize that negative trend. (3) The categories of members has not been modified, despite repeated assurances that this would be done when the charter was reformed. In other words, it'll be business as usual, and indeed in a worse direction. I estimate that my company's pro-rata share of the existing BC reserve amounts to approximately USD $2,500. I request that these funds be donated in full to the United Way of Toronto -- http://www.unitedwaytoronto.com/ . It's been a pleasure working with some of you. Try not to miss me too much. Sincerely, George Kirikos 416-588-0269 http://www.leap.com/ -- IMPORTANT: My Hong Kong University e-mail ([log in to unmask]) will stop working in January. Please use my gmail instead (see below). Rebecca MacKinnon Open Society Fellow | Co-founder, GlobalVoicesOnline.org Assistant Professor, Journalism & Media Studies Centre, University of Hong Kong UK: +44-7759-863406 USA: +1-617-939-3493 HK: +852-6334-8843 Mainland China: +86-13710820364 E-mail: [log in to unmask] Blog: http://RConversation.blogs.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/rmack Friendfeed: http://friendfeed.com/rebeccamack