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Re: [kictanet] [ke-internetusers] Yes we should celebrate CCK?
by Walubengo J 23 Jul '09

23 Jul '09

eh Wainaina, I know CCK may have its blunders, but I want to believe the day they shutdown Citizen- that was NOT one of them. Citizen was actually bullying the competition - with impunity. CCK had to clamp down on them. At least until when Citizen pulled its weight from elsewhere... walu. --- On Thu, 7/23/09, Wainaina Mungai <wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org> wrote: From: Wainaina Mungai <wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org> Subject: Re: [kictanet] [ke-internetusers] Yes we should celebrate CCK? To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Thursday, July 23, 2009, 11:01 AM I recall the day CCK shut down Citizen Radio and TV. There were protests online and offline. CCK has come a long way, and for that, I dance a little. Although we may have CCK cocktail hangovers ;-) we shouldn't confuse improvement with perfection. The party is now over - but the journey is far from over. It's time to get back to work. Wainaina On 7/22/09, joseph james <jjngatia(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Alex and Friends, > > Yes we should celebrate CCK? But we should request for, and get more... > > I toured most (if not all) of the stands, its Kama kawaida...Good stuff. > There are lots solutions for display, some logical and others > out-of-this-world... I wont mention any, you better go, see and judge. > > I must say that I was most impressed by digital age institute stand and new > Zain zap features (send money across all other networks...including), but on > visiting the YU stand, the cute ladies could not comprehend anything like > that... I was telling them of whats new with Zap.. so poor communication on > those people there. > > At Safaricom, I blast the guys there, this attendant next to a merc could > answer my question straight... she had to look for some brochure behind > somewhere...what should I do to surf at Kshs.2.50 per MB... > > Why? I dont know... I will dig for more later > 1. Do you know that you must top up Kshs.2500 so that you can browse at > Kshs.2.50 per MB... otherwise you if you mistakenly use Kshs. 100 to top up > you will surf at Kshs.12.00. This has been on hidden print and never is > never communicated well like the rest of the stuff... Safaricom is able to > show all how... how go online (repeatedly) they do this on a daily basis, > and in full page ads.. but shy to tell you the real costs. I hope they > change this > > Let me not spoil your fun, but take yourself there... you will be proud of > what we have on display by kenyans... like the sega silcon valley, > electronic/engineering student display... and much more.... hey also pay a > visit to KDN (ushago idea is ver inviting) and Seacom stands... > > Although I did not know WHAT AND WHY KBC was displaying... they have some > priorities wrong, they should luanch online radio first instead of online > TV.. What do you think? > > *Personal though of the day > *I think that we are now headed for mergers, consolidation and synergistic > operations for internet and CCK's operators. What do you think about the 78 > or more Licensed operators by CCK? > > > > Kind regards, > > James J Ngatia > -- Sent from my mobile device --- http://www.bungesms.com http://www.madeinkenya.org _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: jwalu(a)yahoo.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com

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Fwd: [ke-internetusers] your opportunity own a laptop, , interest-free government facilitated loan
by Gakuru Alex 23 Jul '09

23 Jul '09

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Alex Gakuru <gakuru(a)gmail.com> Date: Thu, Jul 23, 2009 at 8:26 AM Subject: [ke-internetusers] your opportunity own a laptop, , interest-free government facilitated loan To: ke-users <ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net> Folks, I was at this meeting- a very good initiative. Proposed loan maximum 50,000/=. I requested that they be supplied unbundled - i.e. without Operating System or other software. Microsoft Windows costs 10,000/= Microsoft Office 17,000/= total cost 27,000/= (more than half the loan amount!!). That would mean that you would have to buy a low-spec laptop to accommodate proprietary software costs within 50K limit. Costs that would be done away with thus enable owners get highest specs laptops, if choose FOSS operating systems (such as www.ubuntu.com, www.pcbsd.org (Ken Kasina developed installer!!), www.fedoraproject.org, en.opensuse.org, www.redhat.com, etc). that all come with free OpenOffice. Give local IT youths installation contracts for these and MORE FOSS applicatications, at, say, 7,000/= per laptop. 1 million x 7,000 =????? :) talk about national software cost savings, youth empowerment, promoting local innovation, and taxes retentions... Obviously, not to exclude them, Microsoft are entitle to pitch sales too,, we see which makes business and national sense? Companies, organisations, associations can also get the interest-free the laptops loans for their employees, staff, members. Will keep you updated as events unfold. Enjoy, Alex ----- [Business Daily] State to guarantee loans for laptops By Okuttah Mark Thursday, July 23 2009 Organisations or individuals seeking to take advantage of this year’s budget stimulus package on laptops are free to negotiate with any banking institution, computer vendors or the telecommunication companies. This follows the announcement by the government through the Permanent Secretary for Information, Dr Bitange Ndemo. that the government will only facilitate the process but the negotiations will be done by interested parties on their own. The incentive was offered by Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta during this year’s budget and aims at accelerating computer access in the country. In the one million computer campaign, the government will guarantee money borrowed either by individuals or organisations to buy the laptop between now and June, next year. The government will also pay the interest on the loan. ... http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Company%20Industry/-/539550/628254/-/u8x… _______________________________________________ ke-internetusers mailing list ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers

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Re: [kictanet] [ke-internetusers] Yes we should celebrate CCK?
by Wainaina Mungai 23 Jul '09

23 Jul '09

I recall the day CCK shut down Citizen Radio and TV. There were protests online and offline. CCK has come a long way, and for that, I dance a little. Although we may have CCK cocktail hangovers ;-) we shouldn't confuse improvement with perfection. The party is now over - but the journey is far from over. It's time to get back to work. Wainaina On 7/22/09, joseph james <jjngatia(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Alex and Friends, > > Yes we should celebrate CCK? But we should request for, and get more... > > I toured most (if not all) of the stands, its Kama kawaida...Good stuff. > There are lots solutions for display, some logical and others > out-of-this-world... I wont mention any, you better go, see and judge. > > I must say that I was most impressed by digital age institute stand and new > Zain zap features (send money across all other networks...including), but on > visiting the YU stand, the cute ladies could not comprehend anything like > that... I was telling them of whats new with Zap.. so poor communication on > those people there. > > At Safaricom, I blast the guys there, this attendant next to a merc could > answer my question straight... she had to look for some brochure behind > somewhere...what should I do to surf at Kshs.2.50 per MB... > > Why? I dont know... I will dig for more later > 1. Do you know that you must top up Kshs.2500 so that you can browse at > Kshs.2.50 per MB... otherwise you if you mistakenly use Kshs. 100 to top up > you will surf at Kshs.12.00. This has been on hidden print and never is > never communicated well like the rest of the stuff... Safaricom is able to > show all how... how go online (repeatedly) they do this on a daily basis, > and in full page ads.. but shy to tell you the real costs. I hope they > change this > > Let me not spoil your fun, but take yourself there... you will be proud of > what we have on display by kenyans... like the sega silcon valley, > electronic/engineering student display... and much more.... hey also pay a > visit to KDN (ushago idea is ver inviting) and Seacom stands... > > Although I did not know WHAT AND WHY KBC was displaying... they have some > priorities wrong, they should luanch online radio first instead of online > TV.. What do you think? > > *Personal though of the day > *I think that we are now headed for mergers, consolidation and synergistic > operations for internet and CCK's operators. What do you think about the 78 > or more Licensed operators by CCK? > > > > Kind regards, > > James J Ngatia > -- Sent from my mobile device --- http://www.bungesms.com http://www.madeinkenya.org

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Radical Islamists Slip Easily Into Kenya: By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN, Published: July 21, 2009
by alice 22 Jul '09

22 Jul '09

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/world/africa/22shabab.html?_r=2&hp Is this really true? or the usual Western propaganda? Alice <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/g/jeffrey_gettle…> Published: July 21, 2009 HULUGHO, Kenya <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/ke…> — A thin, dusty line is about the only thing separating Kenya, one of the Western world’s closest allies in Africa, from the Shabab <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/s/al-shab…>, a radical Islamist militia that has taken over much of southern Somalia <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/so…>, beheading detractors, stoning adulterers and threatening to kill any Americans or Europeans who get in their way. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/world/africa/22shabab.html?_r=2&hp#second…> <http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/07/22/world/20090722SHABAB_index.html> A sandstorm in a refugee camp in Kenya, near the Somali border. The Shabab have penetrated such camps, according to elders, luring away dozens of young men with promises of paradise — and $300 each. More Photos » <http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/07/22/world/20090722SHABAB_index.html> The New York Times Beyond the village of Hulugho lies Shabab country. More Photos > <http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/07/22/world/20090722SHABAB_index.html> Enlarge This Image <javascript:pop_me_up2('http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2009/07/22/world/22shabab_CA2.inlineB.rea…', '22shabab_CA2_inlineB_ready', 'width=720,height=600,scrollbars=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes')> <javascript:pop_me_up2('http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2009/07/22/world/22shabab_CA2.inlineB.rea…', '22shabab_CA2_inlineB_ready', 'width=720,height=600,scrollbars=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes')> Dominic Nahr for The New York Times A Kenyan police officer stood along the Somali border. Some fear the Shabab might infiltrate Kenya and attack Westerners. More Photos > <http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/07/22/world/20090722SHABAB_index.html> In most places this line, the official international border, is not even marked, let alone protected. In the village of Hulugho, there is simply a tattered Kenyan flag and a cinderblock schoolhouse with chicken-wire windows. Then a meadow of thorn trees and donkey dung. Then Shabab country. Kenya is widely seen as a frontline state against the Islamist extremism smoldering across the Horn of Africa. Few expect the Shabab to make good on its threats to march en masse across the border. But the creeping fear, the one that keeps the security staffs at Western embassies awake at night, is that the Shabab or its foreign jihadist allies will infiltrate Kenya and attack some of the tens of thousands of Westerners living in the country, possibly in a major strike like Al Qaeda <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/al_qaed…> did in 1998. Last month, Western counterterrorism experts in Kenya sent out text messages <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/t/text_messagi…> warning expatriates to stay away from malls in Nairobi, Kenya’s usually laid-back capital, because of possible suicide attacks by the Shabab. A few weeks later, the group threatened to destroy Nairobi’s “tall, glass buildings.” The Shabab has already penetrated refugee camps inside Kenya, according to camp elders, luring away dozens of young men with promises of paradise — and $300 each. It has carried out cross-border attacks, kidnapping an outspoken cleric in May from a refugee camp 50 miles inside Kenya. Last Wednesday, in one of its boldest cross-border moves yet, a squad of uniformed, heavily armed Shabab fighters stormed into a Kenyan school in a remote town, rounding up all the children and telling them to quit their classes and join the jihad. “If these guys can come in with their guns and uniforms in broad daylight,” said one of the teachers at the school, “they must be among us.” Then on Saturday it happened again: Somali gunmen, widely believed to be with the Shabab, stormed the offices of an aid organization and kidnapped three aid workers from a Kenyan border town before melting back into Somalia. American and British advisers are working closely with Kenyan counterterrorism teams, but the area along the Somali border is known to be a gaping hole. “The Kenyans don’t have the skills to close the border, even if they wanted to,” said one Western diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing diplomatic protocol. “People are very concerned. But on some level, we can’t defend Kenya’s border for them.” When asked to assess the level of security at the Somali border, the diplomat flatly stated, “There is no security.” The raging war in the country next door, between Somalia’s weak transitional government and the Shabab, is rapidly becoming a proxy war — with Western arms and money keeping the transitional government alive, while Arab and Pakistani jihadists with links to Al Qaeda fight for the Shabab. Late last month, American officials acknowledged that they had shipped 40 tons of weapons to Somalia’s transitional government, a disclosure that has only sharpened the Shabab’s anti-American sentiments. Kenyan security forces are now flooding into their borderlands, marching along the shimmering roads and across the unforgiving landscape, their assault rifles slung over their shoulders. But the 400-mile border is inevitably porous, and Somali-speaking nomads from both countries flow seamlessly back and forth in diaphanous shawls and worn-out wooden carts. And the biggest proverbial holes may be in the police officers’ pockets. Just this month, Transparency International listed Kenya <http://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases_nc/2009/20…> as the most corrupt nation in East Africa. The region’s most corrupt public institution? The Kenyan police. Even though the border is officially closed, Hassan Mohamed, a refugee who used to build houses in Somalia but got driven out by war, explained how thousands of Somali refugees find their way into Kenya each month. “It’s easy,” he said, rubbing his thumb and index finger together in the universal sign of a bribe. “If you pay, you can come in.” The cracked wooden shelves in the border-town markets are heaped with the telltale signs of a flourishing smuggling business: sacks of Pakistani sugar, foreign brands of sodas and soaps, cigarettes with Somali labels — all illegal imports from Somalia that somehow made it past the dozen police checkpoints on the Kenyan side. Abdi Dimbil Alan, an elder who lives in Alin Jugul, a town near the Somali border, says that nearly every night he witnesses the same Somali businessmen paying off the Kenyan police to allow consumer goods and even assault rifles to slip through the border. “These guys are so corrupt,” Mr. Abdi said, referring to the border police, “that if 100 Shabab pulled up with a truckload of weapons and said they were coming to Kenya to kill the president, the police would let them through — for the right price.” Erick Kipkorir, a district officer in Alin Jugul, said Kenyan forces were hard-working and honest. “We can’t say that nothing is coming in because, as you see, the border is very expansive,” he said. “But as for bribes, that has never happened.” Ever since Al Qaeda blew up the American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, killing more than 200 people and wounding thousands, American counterterrorism officials have been watching East Africa warily. But in the areas along the Kenya-Somalia border, it seems that anti-Americanism is still spreading, despite the millions of dollars the American government has spent on a hearts-and-minds campaign. Take an American-built well in the village of Raya. No one is using it, though Raya is desperately poor and dry. “The Americans wanted to finish us,” said one villager, Ibrahim Alin, convinced that the American water engineers who built the well had poisoned it to sterilize him. The Somali-speaking areas of Kenya have always been an uneasy fit, and Kenya has often responded brutally. This area tried to secede in the 1960s and join Somalia, leading to a guerrilla war. In 1984, Kenyan security forces imprisoned and then killed thousands of ethnic Somali men at a remote airstrip, according to Kenyan human rights groups. In recent weeks, Human Rights Watch <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/h/human_r…> accused <http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/06/29/kenya-bring-prosecutions-torture-nort…> Kenyan security services of raping women and smashing the testicles of men during a crackdown in northeastern Kenya in October.

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Policy Reponses to Copyright Infringment via Internet
by Leonard Aloo 22 Jul '09

22 Jul '09

Dear Listers, “ISOC Public Policy Working Group on policy responses to copyright infringement via the internet” (i) Seeks to Ascertain what specific policy responses to copyright infringement via the Internet have been implemented, adopted or proposed in various counties and identify relevant source documents; (ii) Some examples of policy responses are: cutting off internet access, filtering, setting monthly download limits, taxes etc A sub committee covers Africa and the Middle East. It is however difficult to obtain information regarding Africa. Please share any personal knowledge you have on any of these responses on the continent. If the moderators allow it could begin a debate on what policy position Kenya should take. Regards, Leonard Obura Aloo-Advocate Mwaura & Wachira Advocates Apt. 3, Furaha Apartments FKE Lane, Off Argwings Kodhek Road P.O. Box 51667-00200 Nairobi-Kenya

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May be of interest: IT-destination Africa
by Victor Gathara 20 Jul '09

20 Jul '09

Dear colleague, Many Dutch companies are currently investigating the advantages of offshore sourcing of IT-related projects. Although most of the work will be done in India or in Eastern Europe, there is also a growing interest for Africa. South-Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Uganda, Ghana and Nigeria are upcoming outsourcing destinations. The attached article: "The Next India" deals with this topic. A longer version of the article has just been placed on the website of The Broker: http://www.thebrokeronline.eu/en/articles/The-next-India <http://www.thebrokeronline.eu/en/articles/The-next-India> (and where comments can be added as well; a debate on IT and developing countries is being welcomed). The IT-promotion of Africa Most African nations are not yet well-known offshore destinations, and many promotional activities will be needed. Organizing business missions to Africa is an effective way to generate publicity. We are planning to organize an IT- and BPO-studytour to South-Africa (14 - 21 November 2009). The focus will be on software development, administrative and financial services and call centers. During this visit, we will also take part at an international outsourcing conference, organized by ITC (United Nations) and with delegations from various African countries. Information about these topics has been attached as well. It will be the first time for us to organize a public IT- and BPO-studytour to South-Africa, and we are inviting partners and sponsors to join us, in order to make this unique mission a successful event. With best regards, Paul Tjia (sr. consultant 'offshore sourcing') GPI Consultancy, P.O. Box 26151, 3002 ED Rotterdam, The Netherlands E-mail: paul(a)gpic.nl tel: +31-10-4254172 fax: +31-10-4254317 Website: www.gpic.nl N.B. Information about various topics, including the Dutch offshore market, can be found in my book: "Offshoring Information Technology - Sourcing and Outsourcing to a Global Workforce" (Cambridge University Press). The third print is now available: http://www.gpic.nl/bookTOC.pdf Our activities include: -the promotion of 'offshore IT sourcing' (through seminars, videofilms, publications and study tours) -consultancy (e.g. offshore strategy, feasibility study, country and partner selection, offshore transition) -intercultural training (e.g. 'how to deal with the Dutch business culture', 'how to deal with the Indian business culture') Please reply this message with the text 'Cancel' if you do not want to receive our E-mails DFID, the Department for International Development: leading the British Government's fight against world poverty. Find out more about the major global poverty challenges and get the facts on what DFID is doing to fight them: http://www.dfid.gov.uk ______________________________________________________________________ This e-mail has been scanned for all viruses by Peapod. The service is powered by MessageLabs. For more information on a proactive anti-virus service working around the clock, around the globe, visit: http://www.peapod.co.uk/cleanmail

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BungeSMS.com implements Ushahidi Engine
by Wainaina Mungai 20 Jul '09

20 Jul '09

Thanks to assistance from the team at Ushahidi, you can now view mapped BungeSMS messages from various constituencies on http://www.bungesms.com/reports/ The main thrust of the BungeSMS reports is devolved funds in constituencies. The reports shall be extended to the Agenda 4 process and peace building efforts. More on the developments will be communicated soon. Regards Wainaina --- http://www.bungesms.com http://www.madeinkenya.org -- --- http://www.bungesms.com http://www.madeinkenya.org

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Is ICANN Accountable to the Global Public Interest? ICANN Ignores Non-Commercial Users in Internet Policy Development Process
by Gakuru Alex 18 Jul '09

18 Jul '09

Dear All, This message is very important to every user. Please forward it as widely as possible to all end-users of the internet. Help steer ICANN away from it a path that threatens users online presence, globally. Send your comments to gnso-stakeholder-charters(a)icann.org today to remind ICANN who they work for. Act Now!! Deadline is next Tuesday 21 July, 2009 Regards, Alex Gakuru NCUC - Kenya --------- Below is a blog post on the tragedy of the ICANN NCSG charter situation. See numerous hyperlinks for further background reading at: http://ipjustice.org/ICANN/NCSG/NCUC-ICANN-Injustices.html ________________________ Is ICANN Accountable to the Global Public Interest? ICANN Ignores Non-Commercial Users in Internet Policy Development Process By Robin D. Gross, IP Justice 13 July 2009 ----------------------------------------- Everyone is a Noncommercial User of the Internet NCUC logoThe Non-Commercial Users Constituency (NCUC) is the home to noncommercial users in ICANN's GNSO policy development process. NCUC represents 109 members from more than 40 countries, and includes large organizations, small nonprofits and individuals committed to developing Internet policy that protects the rights of noncommercial users. NCUC is concerned with a broad range of issues including human rights such as freedom of expression and privacy protections, educational needs such as those of libraries or academic institutions, and concerns from community and religious organizations, consumer rights groups, and other noncommercial interests related to Internet governance. In today's world, everyone is a noncommercial user of the Internet at one point of their day or another. This noncommercial interest, is an important interest which we all share, regardless of what we do for a living or the fact that we also use the Internet for commercial purposes. We are also noncommercial users and want our ability and right to use the Internet for noncommercial purposes to be protected in ICANN policy negotiations. This objective is in everyone's interest, so it should be respected throughout ICANN's policy development process and governance structures. Restructuring ICANN's GNSO Policy Development Framework ICANN's Generic Names Supporting Organizations (GNSO) is the supposedly "bottom-up" process that allegedly provides ICANN with legitimacy to make and enforce Internet policy decisions. ICANN's GNSO is responsible for making policy recommendations to ICANN's Board of Directors regarding policies covering all generic top-level domains (such as .com, .edu, .org, .net). Presently GNSO policy recommendations are negotiated among competing interests or 6 distinct "constituencies". However, the GNSO is the process of restructuring and reforming its membership away from 6 arbitrary and out-dated "constituencies" and into 4 distinct "stakeholder groups": i) noncommercial users; ii) commercial users; iii) registrar companies; and iv) registry companies. Board Appointed (top-down) vs. Elected (bottom-up) Represent ion on GNSO Council Noncommercial users have been fighting for years to obtain parity with commercial users in the GNSO policy development process at ICANN. A 2006 report by the London School of Economics found ICANN undervalues noncommercial interests in the policy development process (5 specialized commercial constituencies vs. 1 noncommercial constituency to represent all noncommercial interests). In February 2008 the Board Governance Committee Report also recognized this imbalance and the need to address it in order to protect noncommercial interests in ICANN policy development. As a result, the ICANN Board approved a major shift for ICANN's GNSO by deciding noncommercial users should finally be given parity with commercial users in the GNSO policy development process. Specifically, beginning with the Seoul ICANN Meeting in October 2009, noncommercial users and commercial users are each supposed to have elected 6 representatives to the GNSO Council. However, as a result of back channel lobbying by the commercial constituencies who lost the advantage in numbers of councilors, the 3 new GNSO Council seats that should have gone up for election to noncommercial users, will instead become board appointments. Despite the lack of any support from ICANN, NCUC's membership has grown by more than 125% since 2008 when parity between commercial and noncommercial interests was established by the Board Governance Committee. Yet despite the significant increase in participation from noncommercial users, the "parity principle" has lost support from the board, who now may deny the new noncommercial membership elected representation on the GNSO Council. Development of Consensus for Charter for Noncommercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG) In April 2009 noncommercial users responded to ICANN's call for public comment on how to design a stakeholder group charter to maximize the effectiveness of noncommercial users in policy development and encourage the broadest range of participation from the most diverse viewpoints. The answer was clear: noncommercial users overwhelmingly supported a stakeholder group charter that encourages cooperation between constituencies, the charter proposed by the NCUC. NCUC's charter was developed by a multi-stakeholder process that involved months of open consultations, dozens of participants, numerous discussions with ICANN board and staff, At-Large members, existing noncommercial participants at ICANN and prospective noncommercial participants. NCUC's charter went through significant modifications in response to public feedback, including more than half a dozen distinct public drafts, before reaching a consensus on the final charter submitted for a Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG). In addition to NCUC's membership, ICANN's public comment period on the stakeholder group charters brought additional support to the NCUC charter, including support from over 63 organizations and dozens of individuals from all corners of the globe. Public Comment Against a Charter that Would Stranglehold Noncommercial Users Two competing proposals, vastly different in their substance and effect, were submitted to ICANN to charter the new Noncommercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG). In addition to the charter supported by civil society from NCUC, another proposal was submitted from CP80, an Internet pro-censorship group led by Cheryl Preston, Ralph Yarro III (SCO Chairman), and Debra Peck out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Outside from the drafters of the CP80 petition, not a single public comment argued in support of the CP80 proposal or its governance model during ICANN's Public Comment Period. The lack of public support for the CP80 "constituency-based" voting model is not surprising since its provisions would stranglehold noncommercial users in endless competition among factionalized constituencies, constantly fighting over scarce resources and representation on ICANN's GNSO Council. NCUC's charter encourages noncommercial users to work together toward shared goals, while the CP80 model keeps noncommercial users constantly fighting over their differences, and ultimately ineffective at influencing policy decisions at ICANN. Noncommercial Organizations Unanimous in Favor of Joint Civil Society Proposal During ICANN's April 2009 Public Comment period, a total of 23 distinct comments from organizations and individuals were submitted on the topic of stakeholder group charters. Several of these comments were signed by dozens of noncommercial organizations and individuals, increasing public participation by much more than 23 comments would initially imply. However of these 23 comments, the only 2 to argue in favor of the CP80 proposal to hard-wire GNSO Council Seats to constituencies were the drafters of the proposal themselves. No one else. As many commentators noted, CP80's proposed "constituency-based" structure would stranglehold noncommercial users and discourage consensus building and cooperation among competing constituencies. The "constituency-based" voting it proposes creates a constant zero-sum struggle between noncommercial constituencies, rendering the entire Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group ineffective in ICANN policy development. In stark contrast to the lack of any support for the CP80 model, more than 63 organizations and 55 individuals submitted comments in favor of the joint civil society charter that provides for a democratic vote of all its membership to elect representatives to serve on the GNSO Council. Every single noncommercial organization who submitted a public comment on the topic argued against the stranglehold charter model proposed by CP80 and in favor of the cooperation charter submitted by noncommercial users and created through a consensus process. ICANN Defies Public Comment and Imposes Stranglehold Charter Model What did ICANN do in response to the public comment it received and the global consensus against the stranglehold charter model proposed by CP80? ICANN adopted the stranglehold charter model for noncommercial users, defying the unanimous public support expressed for the charter drafted by noncommercial users that was created through a consensus process. Welcome to "bottom-up" policy making at ICANN: where participants are invited to build a "consensus" among a broad range of interests, only to have that consensus discarded by ICANN as a result of relentless insider back-channel lobbying from special interests. Apparently we noncommercial users wasted our time building consensus among global civil society and participating in a public discussion forum, when we should have been lobbying ICANN board members and ICANN executive staffers -- since that seems to be the only channel of public input ICANN feels accountable to. Obviously, noncommercial users will never be able to effectively participate in a policy development forum that is predicated on and dominated by insider lobbying from entrenched commercial interests. ICANN's Board of Directors has a responsibility to the global public interest to ensure noncommercial interests can play a meaningful role in ICANN policy development despite its lack of economic backing. Unfortunately protection for noncommercial interests is systematically being squeezed-out of ICANN's policy development process by commercial interests. ICANN's Sneaky Move to Keep Plans Hidden On 23 June 2009, when ICANN finally released its proposed charter to noncommercial users, in addition to the charter being an entirely different different structure than the one created by the consensus process, ICANN's charter also omitted to include the most important section 5 which deals with management of the NCSG and in particular, representation on the GNSO Policy Council. Only after explicitly requesting to see the omitted section, was NCUC provided section 5 from ICANN with the understanding that it is staff's proposal for governing the NCSG. One will not find ICANN's proposed section 5 in its NCSG charter published on the ICANN website, but it can read be read here -- and it must be read together with the ICANN-drafted NCSG charter for it be clear what sneakiness is at play. Exactly the stranglehold governance structure that noncommercial users uniformly rejected in April, ICANN intends to march ahead with at full steam and impose on noncommercial users. But not transparently and not in a manner that conveys its clear intentions to the public so those effected may provide feedback. When asked at the 23 June 2009 ICANN meeting why didn't staff listen to non-commercial users in the public comment period about how they want to elect their GNSO Council Representatives, ICANN spokesman Ken Bour frankly said that ICANN staff adopted the constituency-based charter "because it is what staff wanted all along". Tell ICANN to Listen to Noncommercial Users and Protect the Public Interest The message is clear. ICANN has forgotten who it works for - us - Internet users - including noncommercial users. Now is the time to remind ICANN that it must be accountable to the global public interest or it has no business in Internet governance. Tell ICANN to listen to noncommercial users and not to impose the stranglehold charter on noncommercial users against our will. Send an email to gnso-stakeholder-charters(a)icann.org (until 21 July 2009) and ask that noncommercial voices be heard in Internet policy decisions. Send a copy of your comment to your local Congressman or Member of Parliament to keep them informed about ICANN injustices to noncommercial users. You can also file a complaint over ICANN injustices with the ombudsman, who is supposed to keep the organization accountable to the public. Thomas Jefferson noted that the exercise of political power without the consent of the governed is illegitimate. ICANN's attempt to impose a governance structure on noncommercial users against their will calls into question ICANN's legitimacy to govern; it undermines confidence in ICANN's commitment to democratic values; and it appears ICANN is unable to protect the broader public interest against commercial pressures. We must remind ICANN to protect the public interest and the rights of noncommercial users - all of us. Send a quick email to gnso-stakeholder-charters(a)icann.org today to remind ICANN who they work for. IP JUSTICE Robin Gross, Executive Director 1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 USA p: +1-415-553-6261 f: +1-415-462-6451 w: http://www.ipjustice.org e: robin(a)ipjustice.org _______________________________________________ ke-internetusers mailing list ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers

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Re: [kictanet] Of Presidential directives and policy
by Betty Ogange 17 Jul '09

17 Jul '09

Listers, I have read with great interest the directive by the President to the Ministry of Information and Communication to ‘come up with’ programmes for the training and development of the youth nationwide after the launch of the fibre optic cable. http://www.information.go.ke/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=478 This, he rightly says, will ‘catch the generation of truly digital Kenyans.’ I think it is a timely assertion coming from the Head of State. However, I have a feeling that if the directive had been aimed at the Ministry of Youth Affairs and the Ministry of Education, then the Ministry of ICT would play its default role of providing the infrastructural and related support to enable these two Ministries (and any other Ministries with similar programmes) to expand the training programmes that already exist and initiate new ones. I am not aware of the full structure of the Ministry of ICT but I suspect that taking full responsibility of initiating or co-ordinating youth training in ICT countrywide might overstretch its already crowded mandate. Again, if our accountability processes still hold, then the President will at some point expect to be briefed by the Ministry of ICT on how far the directive has progressed. At this point, I see some difficulties with agency and responsibility for outcomes. Which leads me to ask: How does a presidential directive convert to actionable policy? What has been the success level of such directives in the ICT sector? How might a directive like this one be actioned without power games coming into play? Any ideas? Betty

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Business Unusual at ICANN !!
by Gakuru Alex 15 Jul '09

15 Jul '09

[Excuse this long message. The issue is very important and I wanted to give as much relevant background information as possible. Alex] Four issues covered on this message: - 1. Disclosure within ICANN: 2. Commercial Stakeholders are going to allow any of the existing members of the IPR, ISP, and Commercial Constituencies VETO any board vote creating a new commercial constituency in the CSG. 3. Proved: ICANN ignored own bottom-up Policy Development Process ( or PDP) 4. Subject: ICANN and Free Speech Thank you for reading and your action is needed Alex Gakuru ICT Consumers Association of Kenya Non-Commercial Users Constituency - Kenya -------- 1. Disclosure within ICANN: [Of big brand owners and 'Intellectual Property" industry oiling ICANN domain name policy making process - to the detriment of people like us, in Kenya, and Africa. Countries that do not have well established digital IP laws, "Famous Marks" registries, and poor, if any, software and IT innovations patent system. If just continue sitting back and allow ICANN be influenced by wealthy IP interests, then expect those IP interests to patent/copyright even our traditional languages such that we cannot have our cultures nor use languages over the internet. Who knows, even using vernacular language on email could become 'copyright infringement' We already know the kiondo and Kikoy examples. Alex Gakuru] ---- The US government requires lobbying efforts to be documented, figures of dollars spent per industry are broken down by sector. This is because of the right of people to know who is spending what when policy is being made. Domain name law, such as it is, is being written as we watch. A large number of people are spending a lot of money to do this. Marilyn Cade spoke and wasn't exacly forthright that she represented the intellectual property interests of AT&T or that AT&T was the #1 "heavy hitter" for lobbying the government, something Marilyn has done since 1996. And it's no coincidence the Department of Commerce that oversees ICANN is the fourth most lobbied agency in the US government. The amount the trademark lobby spend on preventing new TLDs since 1996 is staggering IBM admitted to spending $30M/yr in 1998 and 1999 but we have no other figures. There is not now, full disclosure of lobbying efforts on behalf of the trademark lobby Or known how much big business spending this year to lobby against the creation of new top level domains. Question part 1: Is full disclosure of lobbying not consistent with ICANN's "open and transparent" US Government mandate? Question part 2: Would anybody care to estimate what they think this figure might be this year lobbying ICANN and what has WIPO spent doing this since the 1995 OECD meeting where they first publically ventured into this issue? Can these figures be published sometime before the end of this quarter for both WIPO and the business community as a intrest group in this consultation under this current monopoly procedure that could create thousands of jobs? For more information, see http://docs.vrx.net/dns/timeline/20/09/nyc_irt/ 2. Commercial Stakeholders Group are going to allow any of the existing members of the IPR, ISP, and Commercial Constituencies VETO any board vote creating a new commercial constituency in the CSG. We (noncommercial users) have really been asleep at the wheel over the last year while the ICANN Board of Directors had their heads filled with mis-representations about NCUC by relentless back-door lobbying. They get it from the commercial/IPR crowd and they get it from staff, neither of whom want to see noncommercial users effective in policy development. The fact that we haven't engaged in backdoor lobbying the way our critics do is coming back to haunt us by ICANN trying to take away our newly won 3 elected council seats for noncommercial users and staff imposing its "stranglehold" charter while ignoring all of work we did to develop one that was supported by global civil society (63 organizations + dozens of individuals in public comments). In particular, under the SIC approved charter<http://gnso.icann.org/en/improvements/csg-proposed-petition-charter-22jun09…>for the CSG, they are going to allow any of the existing members of the IPR, ISP, and Commercial Constituencies VETO any board vote creating a new commercial constituency in the CSG. Amazing! The press should be having a field day with this level of incompetence and favoritism. "4.2 Membership shall also be open to any additional constituency recognised by ICANN’s Board under its by-laws, provided that such constituency, as determined by the unanimous consent of the signatories to this charter, is representative of commercial user interests which for the purposes of definition are distinct from and exclude registry and prospective registry, registrar, re-seller or other domain name supplier interests." We must push-back against ICANN injustice to get them to listen to noncommercial users and to stop developing policy through backdoor negotiations while ignoring the expressed will of the public and a bottom-up process. ICANN is accepting public comments until 21 July on their imposed charter, so we have to weigh in loudly on their failure to follow bottom-up processes and allow noncommercial users to govern themselves. More info on comment period: http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/#stakeholder --- 3. Proved: *ICANN ignored own bottom-up Policy Development Process ( or PDP) * Attached find two documents:- The first is a set of comments describing our procedural concerns about the way the IRT Committee was constituted and much fairer ways to proceed forward. The second is s set of detailed comments with our deep substantive concerns re: the IRT Report, and particularly the problems of the Globally Protected Marks List, the URSP system (a displacement of the UDRP), the IP Clearinghouse and the Thick Whois. Your action needed: Send your comments to ICANN under Non-Commercial Users Constituency (“Internet Users”) Attachments: 1. NCUC Procedural Comments on IRT Final Report.pdf 84K 2. NCUC Substantive Comments on IRT Final Report.pdf 116K ---forwarded message--- *4. Subject: **ICANN and Free Speech* For what it's worth I wrote a post on my blog about ICANN free speech issues and the importance of including non-commercial voices, aimed at people who know little or nothing about the IRT, NCUC, or how ICANN works. http://rconversation.blogs.com/rconversation/2009/07/icann-and-free-speech.… Best, Rebecca Rebecca MacKinnon Open Society Fellow | Co-founder, GlobalVoicesOnline.org Assistant Professor, Journalism & Media Studies Centre, University of Hong Kong

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