The Y2K Principle - "the fewer
the people who accurately understand the field, the greater the corruption(/waste/lies/panic-mongering...)".
The AUDA decision doesn't reflect as much on ICANN as on the fact that
there are many little "baby ICANNs" around the world.
Its
almost inevitable that - in any country - the potent mix of potential profits and
a general lack of public awareness will lead to similar scenarios.
As regards spot's "The only time I have ever seen such open bare faced corruption
is in the politics of some 3rd world countries." --- you ought to look around a bit
more! (By the way, many of the countries you call "third world" would resent that
title : eg. in Malaysia "World Corruption Champion of the Decade" 1970,1980,1990,2000,
they hate being called third-world).
Regards,
P.O. Concept