Update On The Domain Name Wars

[Jay Fenello <Jay@Iperdome.com>]

"The notion that journalism can regularly produce a product 
that violates the fundamental interests of media owners and 
advertisers ... is absurd."
   --  Robert McChesney, journalist and author

"The corporate grip on opinion in the United States is one 
of the wonders of the Western world. No First World country 
has ever managed to eliminate so entirely from its media 
all objectivity - much less dissent. "
   --  Gore Vidal, novelist and critic


For weeks, I've documented the blatant media
blackout of the true story about ICANN.  At 
first, few believed that this was possible,
or that it was occurring.

But over time, thanks to the Internet's ability 
to monitor many news outlets simultaneously, most 
of the "rational" explanations for this blackout 
have been eliminated.

What remains is a documented historical record 
of the role the media has played in the takeover 
of the Internet.  This record is visible in the 
ICANN archives, and will be invaluable as the 
excesses of ICANN eventually begin to impact 
everyone using the Internet.

And while many of the largest media outlets 
(Reuters, ZiffDavis, News.com) have refused 
to tell their readers the "untold" story about 
ICANN, there have been a few brave publishers, 
editors, and reporters who have been willing 
to break ranks.

Here is the latest from InternetWeek, a
CMP publication:


Excerpts from:
    http://www.internetwk.com/columns/frezz092099.htm

At 12:06 PM 9/22/99 , Jay Fenello wrote:
>Update On The Domain Name Wars: Is ICANN Out Of Control?
>BILL FREZZA September 20, 1999
>
>What would you call a system of governance run by a cabal of unelected elites that pays lip service to the free market by leaving the means of production in private hands while arrogating to itself the power to banish anyone that disobeys its self-pronounced edicts? History calls it fascism. In cyberspace, we call it ICANN.
>
>Purportedly established to privatize the DNS registry previously administered under monopoly contract by Network Solutions Inc., ICANN has metastasized into a policy-making body that is but one step from achieving independence, armed with a charter that allows it to extend its mandate wherever it chooses.
>
>So what lies ahead? ICANN will probably be granted its tax revenue after agreeing to some nominal controls. But no matter how ICANN evolves, no matter who ends up directing it or its successor, the power to dictate the contents of the domain name root servers will eventually be abused. This is not a comment about the nature of the Internet but rather the nature of power.


Given the continuing support of this takeover by 
the media, by the world's largest multi-national 
corporations (www.gip.org), and by the academics 
at the Berkman Center, I must agree with Bill -- 
ICANN will probably get the go-ahead, and eventually, 
the glaring faults with ICANN will create a single, 
centralized power as the world has never known before.

In closing, here are some quotes that predict our
future better than I can:

"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the 
freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of 
those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."
   --  James Madison 

"Corporations have been enthroned .... An era of corruption
in high places will follow and the money power will endeavor 
to prolong its reign by working on the prejudices of the 
people... until wealth is aggregated in a few hands ... 
and the Republic is destroyed."
   --  Abraham Lincoln


Respectfully,

Jay Fenello
President, Iperdome, Inc.    770-392-9480
-----------------------------------------------
What's your .per(sm)?   http://www.iperdome.com 

"All truth passes through three stages.  First, it is 
ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, 
it is accepted as self-evident." (Arthur Schopenhauer)