ICANN would send a terrible message to the world if it cancelled this meeting in Nairobi. Now is when the world is looking to ICANN to be more international and to open-up its processes away from only the small handful of privileged Western businessmen that have traditionally managed the org. I hope ICANN will not perpetuate these overblown fears about Nairobi and insult much of the world by canceling the mtg. because certain ($ $) people have been frightened by the media into staying home. If ICANN wants to be a truly international governance institution, it cannot be afraid of Africa. Time for ICANN to grow-up and go into Africa with or without the entourage of elite Western businessmen. My 2 cents, Robin On Jan 22, 2010, at 3:54 AM, Carlos A. Afonso wrote: > Right now São Paulo is under a wave of protests in the poor > communities > (which is more than 70% of that city of 11 million) against local > public > policies. This is motivated by the poor record of the local and state > government in handling sanitation, flood prevention and urban > development. Some communities are under water and sewage for more than > 40 days now. As expected, the local police reacts with the usual > stupidity and violence breaks up. But the big media is aligned with > the > state government, and nearly no news of these protests circulates, > except in the many alternative blogs. > > Since what happened in Nairobi involves a "fashionable" religious > conflict, big media blew it out of proportion, it seems. > > --c.a. > > McTim wrote: >> Bill, >> >> I haven't cross posted to ALAC or any other list, but want to give >> NCUC >> members a first hand perspective. >> >> Nairobi is no less safe now than when ICANN decided to hold its >> March 2010 >> meeting here. Last weeks violence happened because police banned a >> demonstration from happening after Friday prayers. The Jamaican >> cleric was >> deported last night. It was a very, very small scale skirmish. >> I've been in >> far worse riots in Washington D.C. >> >> It would be an over reaction IMHO to cancel or move the March >> meeting from >> Nairobi at this point. Kenyan and other African stakeholders who >> are >> looking forward to the meeting would be very annoyed indeed, and >> with good >> reason. >> > > -- > > Carlos A. Afonso > CGI.br (www.cgi.br) > Nupef (www.nupef.org.br) > ==================================== > new/nuevo/novo e-mail: [log in to unmask] > ==================================== IP JUSTICE Robin Gross, Executive Director 1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 USA p: +1-415-553-6261 f: +1-415-462-6451 w: http://www.ipjustice.org e: [log in to unmask]