[ga] Re: Letter to L.Touton

[Kent Crispin <kent@songbird.com>]

On Thu, Nov 18, 1999 at 02:43:23PM -0500, KathrynKL@aol.com wrote:
>I have sent the following letter to Louis Touton and wanted to share it with 
>you.

Kathy, I have carefully reviewed Joe Sims messages in the archives of
the NC list on this topic -- all *two* of them, one clearly labeled
as a legal opinion, and the other clearly labeled as a private
opinion -- and I must say that it appears to me that you are, to put
it mildly, overreacting.  Both letters are clear, calm, restrained,
and in no way give the appearance of strong advocacy that you
describe. 

I am somewhat dismayed by your letter, in fact.  Your
characterization of his contributions on this topic as "regular"
cannot be construed as anything other than misleading, and it really
looks as if you, a supposed staunch defender of free expression, are
deliberately trying to silence an opinion merely because it is
different than your own. 

Moreover, it is telling that you had to find someone to forward your 
letter to the GA list -- clearly you aren't even subscribed to that
list, and thus have no firsthand knowledge of the problems the GA 
has suffered.

I repeat my earlier point -- if you want to make the GA an effective 
body the place to do that is in the GA itself.  Once again, I urge 
you to join the unwashed masses you extol in theory, but disdain in 
practice.

> 
> Kathy Kleiman
> -------------------------
>   Mr. Louis Touton
>   General Counsel and Vice President of ICANN           
>   November 18, 1999
>  
>   Dear Mr. Touton: 
>   As you know, parties involved with ICANN are in the process of
>   debating the role and powers of the General Assembly.  This is an
>   important debate for all DNSO participants, but particularly
>   for the individuals and small businesses who feel largely
>   disenfranchised by the constituency process.  The debate we have
>   and the decisions we make will strongly shape the long-term
>   participation of smaller parties in the GA, the DNSO and ICANN.
>   
>   Much to my surprise, Joe Sims has been an active participant and
>   advocate in the Names Council debate on the General Assembly
>   issue.  In the past, Mr. Sims has played the more neutral role of
>   counsel to the Names Council, answering legal questions that we
>   raise regarding bylaws, procedures and deadlines.  On this issue, he
>   has turned into an active advocate regularly publishing messages to
>   the Names Council that outline his concerns about the directions of
>   the General Assembly and providing a roadmap for the Names
>   Council to take more control from the General Assembly.  I find
>   this advocacy role troubling. 
>   
>   As you know, Mr. Sims is a senior partner of the law firm of Jones
>   Day, one of the largest law firms in the world. This law firm
>   represents many of the most prominent corporations in the country,
>   and boasts on its website that it "acts as principle outside counsel
>   to, or provides significant legal representation for, more than half
>   of the Fortune 500 companies...."  This background naturally gives
>   rise to question of whether there are inherent conflicts between the
>   companies he/his firm represents and the large company vs. small
>   player disputes that are being played out in this names Council
>   debate.   
>   
>   While I recognize and value the contribution of Joe Sims to
>   ICANN, to the extent there are real or perceived conflicts, I believe
>   it is inappropriate that he play a continuing role in the
>   debates over the General Assembly.  Moreover, I question whether
>   it is appropriate for ICANN's outside counsel to be a participant 
>   in substantive debates.   I bring this matter to your attention and 
>   ask you to take the actions necessary to create a more
>   balanced and fair debate.  Thank you for your review. 
>   
>   Sincerely,
>   /s/ Kathryn Kleiman
>   Representative to the Names Council from the
>   Noncommercial Domain Name Holders Constituency
> 
> ---
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-- 
Kent Crispin                               "Do good, and you'll be
kent@songbird.com                           lonesome." -- Mark Twain