If anyone has ever read just a few chapters of this great book of history, then their
perspectives on politics, business, religion, humanity, etc. probably have been irreversibly
changed forever. What this book highlights, amongst other things, is that absolute
power corrupts absolutely. At ICANN, we may again be witnessing another chapter
unfold of absolute power corrupting absolutely. We should all ask ourselves
just what will happen to the Board of Directors should they be found guilty of abusing
their priveleged rights to make the crucial selections this week. In my humble
opinion, not much. Will the court of law pierce the corporate veil and go after
each Board Member and press civil and/or criminal charges against them? Not
in your wildest dreams. The simple truth of the matter is that they are the
untouchables. After the decision is made, a few Board Members will leave and
others will stay behind. ICANN will bank on the fact that human retention on
such events will only be a few months at best. Thereafter, things will return
to normal. I think we all have a fairly good idea of the winners and losers
in this competition. Simply hiring supposed outside parties to evaluate applications
doesn't convince me that ICANN is acting fairly. Instead, I see ICANN standing
behind such parties in order to shield itself from all the ensuing lawsuits that
might be filed. Also, excusing oneself from voting does not excuse the fact
that various applicants have had an inside track to ICANN during the past several
weeks (if not several months). But those that have read "Tragedy and Hope"
would hardly find this surprising, only depressing since things haven't really changed
all that much over the past several hundred years. Finally, if you really want
irony in this whole picture, consider the fact that Clinton actually read "Tragedy
and Hope". What was he thinking when he set up ICANN? What was I thinking
when I voted for him? Stupid me! How unfortunate to think that I may
have contributed to history repeating itself yet one more time. Maybe the next
President will shake ICANN a little bit, only who might that be? What was that
song that Tina Turner sang about history? Don't bother responding to this message
because opposing views will not even be entertained!
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