My Dear Friend Sergio: I believe you totally misunderstand my position in the teleconference of Summit WG1 yesterday. And it bothers me to be accused of discriminating against Spanish speakers. That is as far from the truth as you can get. But we can agree to disagree, agreeably. The question was whether it would be advantageous for the presiding officer - the Chair - of a Summit WG discussing the subject "*AT-Large Engagement in ICANN*" to be fluent multilingual, at least bilingual, in the major languages of discourse; Spanish, French and English. Every rational thought, experience - especially in ICANN meetings - and judgment that I have tells me YES, it would be an advantage for the Chair to be so disposed. I offered this as a criteria - one criteria - for selection of the Chairbecause in my opinion, this skill affords the Chair a facility to immediately access SOME of the cross-talk and side conversations that tells you more about the mood of the audience than any translator could possibly do, no matter how good they are. It makes sense in the context of a global group of participants from different language groups but usually having at least one of these language skills. It makes sense in the context of the globally-constituted WG organised with two Vice Chairs with no restrictions on language skills. It makes sense in the context of what might be a fast moving and contentious debate where nuance may elude the translation and cross-talk inevitable. Please don't forget that WG members are totally free to choose whomever they would wish to be Chair. I have but one vote to exercise. The irony in your suggestion of language discrimination is that from the beginning, I have worked diligently to be inclusive of Spanish speakers in an organisation that is relentlessly English-driven and at a time with very little vision as to why it should be multilingual at all levels. Save and except conscientious staff like Nick Ashton-Hart. The first meeting to organize LACRALO in Buenos Aires was conducted in Spanish. Caribbean nationals who are purely English speakers participated. The meeting that organized and voted the Operating Principles was conducted in Spanish with the official text in Spanish. Atlthough as the principal author, it was originally written in English. I believe without reservation in the unfettered right of everyone to exercise their cultural antecedents everywhere and everytime, including speaking your native language. My position *in that WG and for this purpose * was not aimed at any specific person but a principle that I have come to based on reason and my judgment. For it would be otherwise cruelly ironic since, no offense, my Spanish is about as fluent as your English. In the spirit of friendship, cooperation and common cause. Carlton On Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 6:19 AM, <presidencia@internauta.org.ar> wrote:

[[--Translated text (es -> en)--]]

Subject: Re: a supply of the novel -- to the supply of lanovela From: to presidencia@internauta.org.ar

My dear friend Sends, as you say well, yesterday nobody dear confronting, single is that he was the way as it were wanted to impose a candidate by on another one what I cause annoyances, in our region never step something thus, never nobody - by questions idiomáticas- was outside of being chosen not to speak the Ingles language, always to chosen thinking about the best thing for the group of which we are part. The Latins that we were there we are worried of which this transforms into policies of discrimination and qualification within ICANN, where single they have representation and they occupy definition places those that are English-speakers or do not find arrived at superior levels of education that finds to them allowed to learn but of a language, that you will include/understand it so that Dev Net works in subject of Digital Breach in favored sectors less, and you know that any man well of this planet can be representing of its pairs. I insist, this was not a problem inside of the ALS, if no, by outside we, cannot seat a precedent in ICANN thus, by the present that occupies to us and by the future of a true world-wide government of Internet.

Sergio Saline I carry