This (Canadian) Globe and Mail article includes details of Beckstrom's recent statements against UN oversight of ICANN. (Sorry for the tinyurl indirect link, but otherwise my mail handler munges long URLs.) http://tinyurl.com/38m78m2 Summary: UN oversight would make ICANN "less nimble" according to Beckstrom. My opinion: could ICANN really be any less nimble given how glacial it is at introducing innovative ideas? Perhaps more international oversight could pressure ICANN into prioritising the real needs of users and less the concerns of staff which may or may not coincide with user needs. -- Professor Andrew A Adams [log in to unmask] Professor at Graduate School of Business Administration, and Deputy Director of the Centre for Business Information Ethics Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan