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Texas Company's Legal Troubles Hold .iq In Limbo
aducore writes "According to The Inquirer, the (American) company running the Iraqi .iq domain name .iq is under criminal indictment and cannot transfer control. So no Iraqi organization can get a .iq domain name, including the government. Iraq's National Communications and Media Commission and the U.S. administrator in Iraq are trying to get ICANN to free up the domain."
So does this mean that the Iraqi BitTorrent trackers won't be up? Now how am I supposed to download the latest episodes of "This Old Palace"???
Keep the faith, share the code
That is very poor taste.
why is an american company running the iraqi tld?
eden.h4xx.com - whacky free for all image board
Why?
Why was a Texan company managing the .iq domains anyhow? Shouldn't have this been in the control of at least some kind of Iraqi authority in the first place?
The revolution will not be televised. It won't be on a friggin blog either
How about puppet.gov.iq
...at least for Iraq.
I am not quite sure what state the infrastructure of Iraq is in, but I guess that fresh water, electricity and roads comes higher on the priority list.
.iq!"
"Hey, someone is blocking
"Hey, someone is blocking our watersupply!"
when helpless Iraqi domain names need liberating??
It would show the true color of the current "independent" government.
If ICANN can remove control from Saddam and grant it to InfoCom, it can take it back as well..?
It's not as though they would have got permission to take it in the first place, so, why would they need it this time?
I've never shoed a horse, but I once told a donkey to piss off!
How can some yanks hold an entire country to ransom?
Oh wait, you call that Government in America.
InfoCom got control of the domain because they sell computers and services to the middle east, but they are in trouble because they sold computers to particular countries in the middle east. On an aside, I have to stop myself typing iRaq - you can tell than I use Macs :)
All your Domain are belong to US! Note the double-meaning on US, heh.
The InQuirer is reporting that the .iq domain should be released. Well played, journalists, well played...
Firstly, they were indicted shortly after 9/11... whether it was based on the fact that the US were targetting every possible arab owned company because of terrorist scares or whether they indeed committed crimes that included, (quote) "charges that they exported computer equipment to Libya and Syria and funneled money to a member of the Islamic extremist group Hamas. ", is a decision I leave up to you.. since there has been no progress or update on the case..
Second, "to a member of the Islamic extremist group Hamas" draws doubt to me. Ok, they were sending computer parts to Libya and Syria.. (oh no.. embargo.. and for, *GASP*, computer parts!) How is InfoCom supposed to know their customers background? How many customer(s) were involved in Hamas and how were they connected to InfoCom (if the money was funneled, why haven't we heard of any sort of medium or who/what the money was funneled through).. I mean.. an IT company based in Texas.. only just after 9/11 convicted of funding terrorists?
And why why why does the media never tell us the entire story? etc..
Again.. just my 2 cents.. and no.. i'm not unpatriotic.. I speak based on what I observe..
Its not the American government holding it up. If you actually RTFA (yeah, I know, too much to ask these days), America is trying to get the TLD back from ICANN.
Oh wait, this is what we called ignorance on Slashdot, where reading a simple article is too hard.
Why was a Texan company managing the .iq domains anyhow?
I'm guessing they somehow had ties to Bush.
Even I'm not sure if I'm trying to be funny!
...but I'm not sure exactly what...
ICANN needs an IQ check.
Because we're all PC candy asses now, don't you know?
The full text of this article from The Economist follows. The original content is subscriber-only; it is reproduced here in the hope and expectation that you will find it useful.
--
Rebuilding Iraq
Without peace, reconstruction stalls
May 13th 2004 | BAGHDAD
From The Economist print edition
Why it is proving so hard to rebuild the country
[Image]
IF THE Americans left Iraq today, their most obvious physical legacy, in the eyes of ordinary Iraqis, would be concrete blocks. The big slabs protecting administrators, soldiers and contractors from the 30-odd countries in the ruling coalition, which is due to be dissolved at the end of June in favour of an interim government run by Iraqis, jut into Baghdad's main roads and often reduce traffic in the capital to a standstill. Meanwhile, as the violence sputters on, the country's reconstruction--witness, for example, its communications system--is a shambles.
The insurgency, aimed at America's foreign and Iraqi contractors as much as the soldiers of occupation, is largely to blame. Last month 90 foreigners were kidnapped, prompting Russia, Portugal, Poland and France to urge their nationals to go home. Another bomb this week targeted a Baghdad hotel full of contractors. Kellogg Brown & Root, which has won the biggest building contracts in the new Iraq, has seen 34 of its staff killed, a higher toll than has been sustained by the military forces of any of America's allies bar Britain's.
Security squads and the protection of buildings, along with insurance and the soaring costs of transport on dangerous roads, account for as much as 30% of the costs of some of the companies trying to set up in business. The Californian building and engineering giant, Bechtel, which is handling contracts with the Agency for International Development (USAID) worth around $2 billion, has pulled half of its staff out to neighbouring Jordan and Kuwait and has assigned two Gurkha bodyguards to each of its 33 expatriates left in Baghdad. After last month's insurrections in Fallujah, to the west, and in Shia towns to the south, many of its key people have, for the time being, gone.
An official at the planning ministry, which oversees Iraq's reconstruction effort, says that productivity has slumped virtually to nil. When the militia of a rebel Shia firebrand, Muqtada al-Sadr, swooped through towns to the south of Baghdad, water, sewage-treatment and other projects were abandoned to scavengers, who stripped plants of machinery. Other than looters, the beneficiaries have been the 20,000-odd men working for security companies. They have blurred the lines between civilian and military contractors. Both are targets of the insurgents.
As the summer heat rises, many essentials are getting scarcer. The schools are still open and exams held on time. But after months of regular electricity at night, long power cuts have become frequent again, plunging the capital into darkness and increasing crime. Promises that by next month the country's output would have risen from 4,500 to 6,000 megawatts (the amount a biggish American town consumes) look unlikely to be kept, especially since all of Siemens's specialists and most of General Electric's have left. This week another Russian engineer was killed and two more kidnapped at a power plant, prompting a further flight of foreigners.
In their effort to achieve as smooth a handover as possible to Iraqis at the end of June, the American authorities are letting their generals make deals with the rebels to get the show back on the road. In Fallujah, the hottest cauldron of Sunni hostility, the marines have lifted their siege, leaving the insurgents to run the town's security; they have even staged a joint patrol. In Shia towns, including the holiest, Najaf, General Martin Dempsey has offered to tur
[...] the U.S. administrator in Iraq are trying to get ICANN to free up the domain.
I thought there no longer was a US Administrator in iRaq? I'm sure I saw him shaking hands with the interim-President and getting on a plane on the news yesterday.
All hail the severed head of Nicholas Berg!
I was as pissed as you were when goatse.cx was taken down. Especially since it was a fellow australian who complained. God some of my countrymen/women are such absolute assholes.
Think nothing is impossible? Try slamming a revolving door.
Your babelfish-translated german has a few spelling mistakes and lots and lots of typos. Plz fix k thx bye!
Think nothing is impossible? Try slamming a revolving door.
Can anybody else spot the result of what I can only assume was a neo-con education? He can't spell liberal, but he sure starts foaming at the mouth. I'm assuming it's a he of course....
Must be something in the water
I don't understand, so what the company has been indicted.
Just move the domain. They don't need to physically move anything, heck they claim that domain names aren't even property.
Which Hussein relative was in charge of the orginal .iq domain?
Come on... Saddam was nepotism incarnate. It had to be someone he was related to....
And to think, I remember when Infocom was the maker of some great text adventures...When did they get into the domain business?
Can anyone else see someone using ad-hominem? Using fresh coinages like "neo-con" to obfuscate any clear meaning as to what exactly he would be talking about (similar to Stalin's "wrecker.") This allows him to call anyone he disagrees with a "Neo-con" and sound intelligent and even coherent. Ah, yes the age old tactic of bringing up spelling and grammar when one is wrong.
Can one spot the total lack of free thinking, programmed by Moore and others to believe the life he is leading is somehow substandard and planet earth owes one a better existence? Not only that, but everyone must be elevated. Programmed by the likes of Soros who sits as lord-on-high in his watchtower with his billions brokering the masses to think with him and not for themselves while bankrupting their currencies.
Ever feel like reaching around your back and looking for those marionette strings that you feel tugging away?
We should invade ICANN HQ with a squad of Marines!
Before the terrorist script kiddie launch DOS attacks.
"Now that no one buys our votes, the public has long since cast off its cares; the people that once bestowed commands, consulships, legions and all else, now meddles no more and longs eagerly for just two things - bread and circuses." - Juvenal
The first sentence seems somewhat less applicable in current times, however.
Meanwhile the new government, national institutions or regular Iraqis are having to register themselves as ".com," ".org" or ".net".
.us
Dagnabbit! Those domains belong to God's Blessed America! Not the international community! Give em a TLD of their own that won't infringe on our territory. Perhaps
"To lead the people, you must walk behind them"
I am waiting to register high.iq.
......Stephen Hawking
Hmmm, I wonder why they're going have to rebuild their country in the first place....could it be....oh never mind. What's the point. I don't even get a DA to file charges, whatever the fuck that means. Must be some inside joke they share at The Southern Baptist Church.
My Favourite Meme
it means if all the crap you and mike moore and other fucking lunatics like soros say is true, why arent people being indicted and arrested? huh? oh, its a VAST conspiracy, and there are NO clinton era judges or DAs left to enforce the law.
really, you liberals get away with libel/slander all day long. but the fact is, no matter how much accusing you do, no one ends up behind bars because everything you say is propaganda and lies.
Bush uses due process and law to do everything he does. He has not been indicted or impeached. Bin Laden does everything he does to attempt to illegally obtain control of Saudi Arabia in an undemocratic way, and he also sets out to murder civilians and innocents to get his way. He even uses the Palestinian/Jew conflict to further his cause and incite rage and terror. While the US considers innocents and civilians casualties as regrettable mistakes aka collateral damage, the al Qaeda and Islamofascists the Islamic world over seem to specifically target innocent people.
So who is the bigger terrorist? My vote is on Saddam (who murdered tens possible hundreds of thousands) and bin Laden, who orchestrated the death of mostly innocents and soft targets.
You are a warped pig that needs to go live in Lahore Pakistan. When you come back, you wont be talking any of this complete fucking bull you are talking now.
You're right on.
Hamas commit terrorist acts. But so do their enemies. Hamas at least helps the poor, too.
Slaugtering the leaders of group that fights oppression, let alone one that builds schools etc., is not going to pacify your enemies.
Extending the argument beyond Hamas, I think anti-US groups, including Al Quaeda, are more powerful now than before the US decided to attack their opponents. Aggression only gives rise to support of your enemies.
I am sad that my country sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. We have no business showing support for the aggressor. However, if we left it all to the USA, they might make it even worse. Not that I believe they would - I think the USA doesn't mean evil, they are just blinded by arrogance and ignorance.
Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
hrm. seems healthier to me to see lyndie pointing at the genetically inferior arab man penis (they have the "arab curse") as apposed to what you probably do for "pr0n", jack off to the Islamofacist beheading videos.
You think about plugging your dick into Berg, Johson, Kim, etc trachea whilst the body still is still warm? You going to neck fuck them in your dreams? Well, the communist shit you talk about make me sick, and it not only makes me think you could suck a gold ball through a garden hose, it makes me think you want to skull fuck my dead comrades. You make me sick.
I hope one of the arabs catches you, fucker. Youll be crying and begging for one of the people who took nude arab pics to come and rescue you.
screw the severed head, all hail his beheaded corpse
This is surprising, considering how smooth and flawless the rest of the Iraq operation has been.
Moron alert.
First off, Economist is devoid of poltical bull, an opiate for the masses. Poltics and religion are the same thing to the Economist. Economist goes out of its way to earmark things that are op-ed. Nothing that is "opinion" is allowed in situation analysis and reports.
Economist is a non-US publication, and its extremely pro global business. Youll learn more about the geopolitical landscape in one copy than you have learned to date. That is a promise.
Another thing. Making money requires facts and truthful analysis. The magazine would be worthless if it was to rag alone like the New York Times or the Washington Post. In fact, Japanes newspapers and The Economist get circulated the world over far more than the liberal rags you probably endose. Businessmen the world over need the fact, not ad hoc politial propaganda.
And if you had ever read Economist in your life, you would know that Bush gets pissed on quite often for various things.
Despite the criticism that Bush gets, quite fairly so, in the Economist, I seriously doubt that Kerry would be read as a fiscal boon for the US and World economy. My estimation is that if Kerry is elected world markets will not be pleased. Ketchup boy is hardly an inspiration.
Americans always think they own everything.
-> More Tolerance Is Less Extremism <-
Clearly, there's a lack of iq.
Perhaps you're right about Kerry (I happen to disagree), but The Economist certainly doesn't seem to mind him too much:
Hmm... I suppose that could be taken either way. Let me just put that in context by saying the rest of the article spends its inches fawning over Clinton's economic policy. See for yourself.
It seems to me that investigators could subpoena whatever hardware is necessary to make their case, while Iraq can start using the .iq legitimately.
It's not as if someone's going to walk into court with a plastic bag labeled "Exhibit A" with the letters ".iq" in it, right?
But actually it is not a star, rather it is drop of oil ;-)
Visit Tutorials & guides collection
You're mistaken on one count. I'm no frikkin' liberal. I'm right-of-centre. But that doesn't mean that Bush isn't a fucking idiot.
My Favourite Meme
I normally like to till the soil and screw the incumbent. Both of these idiots are way too tax and spend for my liking. And Kerry's "gun grabbing" past doesnt make him exactly shine in the civil rights department. The deconstruction of any constitutional right leads to the rest in a handbasket.
c iples.htm , check out the names at the bottom of list and the policies set forth in the documents.
The time is nigh where a real third party in the US needs to start forming. The US Government and the state governments are far, far to big. Not that they are useless, but neither candidate seems interested in culling the excess.
One of the biggest problems with Kerry is well established lying, Hanoi Jane ties and just as Bush is he is a 322 Skull and Bonesman from Yale which makes these races for President seem far more like an appointment than a real best man win contest.
Just for fun, check out this place, http://www.newamericancentury.org/statementofprin
yeah, but when blowing up ambulances, schools, bars, planes, nightclubs and busses you pretty much ensure civvie death. that is the favorite islamofascist and arab pastime, murdering innocents.
that's because clinton's economic policies were right of centre, very right. just as Kerry's are.
..a corrupt goverment which can capriciously seize your rights.
So can the U.S Government since the PATRIOT act was introduced and I don't see anyone making use of their 2nd Amendment rights to do anything about it.
I checked that one and (not?) surprisingly I was redirected to an advertising company... :-P
So at least some IQ domains have been registered.
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
...at least for Iraq
perhaps you have heard of THE INVASION OF IRAQ?
Bin Laden does everything he does to attempt to illegally obtain control of Saudi Arabia in an undemocratic way
While not commenting on the rest of what you wrote, it's probably worth pointing out that Bin Laden couldn't legally obtain control of Saudi Arabia in a democratic way. It's an autocratic kingdom.
Oh, and he wasn't in Iraq either. No one ever thought he was.
A squad, er, I mean a team, of highly trained federal agents will be appearing at your mom's basement to invite you to witness _their_ second amendment rights.
Don't you know that rights in america are only for the wealthy?
For instance, Dick Cheney can say "Go fuck yourself" because he's rich, but you can't hear it on free TV because you're poor.
Why doesn't the Iraqi government just use .gov? I mean, let's be realistic here...
Bush uses due process and law to do everything he does.
Except when he declares that he doesn't have to. Remember that memo released recently which stated that the White House was permitted to authorise torture (if they thought it was really necessary), and Congress had no right to prevent this?!
That's not just ignoring international law - it's saying that the President is above US law as well!
Due process my ass. Bush does whatever the fuck he feels like, and if the due process and law don't let him he either changes them or ignores them. I'm not for a moment suggesting that he's anywhere near as bad as Saddam or bin Laden, because compared to them he's practically Mother Theresa, but you don't do yourself any favors by pretending he's perfect when he isn't.
Bush uses due process and law to do everything he does.
That must explain why the Supreme Court has had to intervene and rule that the prisioners in Gitmo should get a fair trial, instead of some jumped up military tribunal. It must also be why Bush thinks the Geneva Convention doesn't need to apply to him ("Hello, this is your Higher Moral Standard calling!")
Apart from that you're right; Bush isn't a terrorist, but bin Laden certainly is.
Bin Laden does everything he does to attempt to illegally obtain control of Saudi Arabia in an undemocratic way..
See if he was smart about it, bin Laden would have cosied on upto the U.S years ago and started an internal conflict within Saudi. Then all he had to do was wait for the U.S to intervene and install him as a "friendly" dictator. It worked for plenty of other non-democratic despots!
I think he is a RINO ass. He may try to test the limits of the executive branch, but that doesnt make him a lawbreaker or a criminal. Effective and truthful criticism will kill this guy.
Now if he was dangerous, he would suspend the court, dissolve the congress, etc.
This has got to be one the least of the problems the new Iraqi government is facing right now.
.org domain somewhere instead of .iq
Let's see: the new gov has a legitimity problem, a lot of people want to blow them up, neighbours are considering making things even harder, they have to justify a continued US presence to a skeptical population, they have to organize free elections in a country racked by terrorism, and hmm, oh yes, their web site is on a
Jeez, which problem should they tackle first?
Im aware the house Saud is not elected, nor is it legit. The British appointed the anointed.
What I'm saying is that bin Laden doesnt want to usher in a new age of rule in the heartland of Islam, he wants to rule it in a similar fashion.
No one claimed UBL was in Iraq in this thread. However, now that the vaccuum of power is a problem at the moment, Al Queda operatives are working out of Iraq now.
I'm really irked by the glorification of bin Laden. He is a rich brat who is engaged in a family fued Jihad. If it wasnt for Al Zawahari, he would have been roast long ago. But lets face it, bin Laden is not a freedom fighter for Islam, he may have been a CIA trianed mujihideen, but he is certainly not concerned with anything important in terms of ideaology.
At least there's some comfort in knowing that ICANN's incompetence transcends political, economic and social barriers.
testing the limits of executive power and having congress or the supreme court correct you isnt abusive. declaring states of emergency or dissolving the congress and courts would be a serious thing. thats what happened in germany after the reichstag, there were sweeping changes - this is just manipulations and political grandstanding laden with hypocrisy.
now about bin Laden, yes, if he had only played his hand abit better he could have very well have had his very own despotic feifdom underwritten by the taxpayers of the USA.
...did it HAVE to be Texas?
All it takes is to change one record in the root DNS servers. It can be done in a few minutes and will propagate in 72 hrs max.
It is a political, or more correctly, a legal rather than a technical problem. ICANN has contractual obligations toward ccTLD operators (including the current .iq operator) and can't just do that without exposing themselves to liabilities.
IANAL, but can't the US DoC and DoJ cooperate to get a quick warrant from a judge, ordering ICANN to transfer the domain to another ccTLD operator? Or ICANN could even manage the .iq domain themselves, until the Iraqi government appoints their own ccTLD?
cpghost at Cordula's Web.
Methinks they should get a new domain: .tiq for "transitional iraq"...
Or .qi for Iraq, written from right to left the arabic way. After all, they are iraqi domains.
cpghost at Cordula's Web.
Yeah, because the French, Germans, and the UN wanted to keep a murdering thug in power so they could control the oil...
One really does wonder what you consider the Wall Street Journal.
until real Iraqi sovereignty is restored via elections.
If it were done when 'tis done, then t'were well it were done quickly... MacBeth
do you write for the NY Times?
if not, you should
"... the (American) company running the Iraqi .iq domain name..."
Huh??? The tld ".iq" is NOT Iraqi (yet). I agree they "should" get it, but it is not theirs yet. Saying it is so is jumping the gun.
This is like saying John Q. Citizen is guilty of XYZ before his trial, rather than saying "alleged" first. The internet suffix ".iq" remains under the control of InfoCom (albeit by litigation only) until ICANN is able to rule otherwise.
It would have been a lot more accurate to say "presumptive tld recipient" or something like that.
end wordsmithing rant.
.
uR iGn0ranc3, Their Power
You screw the severed head, I'll screw the beheaded corpse. If you count his esophagus, windpipe, arteries and veins, there's SEVERAL more orifices with which to "get off" as the kids say these days.
You can also spell Iraq --> Irak
.iq and use .ik instead?
So why don't they just drop the
.tk?
Well now hold on a second... dangerous path, or common sense ?
Hicksville, population:2000.
A woman gets raped.
The police, after a long investigation, are at a loss.
They decide to run a wide-scale voluntary DNA test (can't force them anyway, at least not here).
700 of the men fit in the age group that the woman could at least identify the rapist into.
699 cooperate and have a DNA sample taken.
1 does not cooperate.
No matter what excuse this 1 person comes up with (civil liberties, slippery slope, dangerous path, yadda yadda), please tell me how the police should just say "Okiedoke, your fair right" and not have a closer look and see if maybe there's a different/another reason for him not to cooperate ?
And that is the police, who at least have to live by some form of rules, however arbitrary they may seem sometimes.
In the case of people saying "We shouldn't block websites that are arbitrarily judged to be child pornography websites", you better understand that a vast majority of the population is going to at least raise an eyebrow. It is in the best interest of those people to state that they explicitly don't condone child pornography, and are only trying to point out that there will be unjust collateral damage. Though that will only offer a partial redemption.
And it doesn't help that people like Hugh Russ Campbell have used these same arguments before, and then get convicted (on a guilty plead) of not only owning and distributing child pornography, but creating it as well.
With such circumstances - well, I'm sorry, but I too would be suspicious of such people.
The difference between suspecting a person and doing something about it is the 'vigilante' aspect. If one is worried about vigilantes, deal with them - but you can't blame a person for having a pretty reasonable opinion for this day and age.
Just my 2 cents.
Seeing how they've never used the .iq domain, why can't TPTB make a new domain for them like say, .iraq?
New government, new domain. Problem solved.
Former Texas Governer holds country of Iraq in limbo.
Screw that. The entire state needs a good Baghdading.
and if anyone doesn't like it, they can set up their own DNS.
Cheers,
Craig
Corollary to Clarke's Third Law: Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
Corruption on the part of one group does not excuse corruption on the part of that group's successor. In fact, since the successor was run by the United States -- which represents and is accountable to me -- I hold it up to higher standards than something run by the UN, which is accountable to nobody.
Finding God in a Dog
Is any aspect of our modern world free of the taint of the Evil Empire pulsating between America and Mexico?
--
make install -not war
.... sounds like the USA, now doesn't it.
In other news, the next installment in the Zork series has been delayed.
You see, the US hasn't beheaded any iraqis on TV. So the US automatically has the higher ground.
Oh, you meant the US must be 100% flawless...yah...sure...
Blar.
no.iq
LOAD "SIG",8,1
LOADING...
READY.
RUN
(sorry, somebody had to make that reference, grin..)
I don't like Kerry either, but the whole Jane Fonda thing is bullshit. All he did was appear at the same rally as her, and at the time, he had no way of knowing she was gonna go do the Hanoi thing two years later.
The link you provided is a real eye-opener. Sure, I always knew that those guys were interested in ruling the world, but I had NO IDEA they were so open about it...
Can't we just invade ICANN?
clarence thomas (a judge hated by left leaners) ruled very clearly against this. it seems in this SCOTUS opinion that forfeiture is limited by the 8th amendment.
I like how you link to a website last updated in 1997 when an opinion relavent to the material was posted in 1998.
United States v. Bajakajian
96-1487 SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
June 22, 1998
In a nutshell: The question in this case is whether forfeiture of the entire $357,144 that respondent failed to declare would violate the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment. We hold that it would, because full forfeiture of respondent's currency would be grossly disproportional to the gravity of his offense.
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
Syllabus
After customs inspectors found respondent and his family preparing to board an international flight carrying $357,144, he was charged with, inter alia, attempting to leave the United States without reporting, as required by 31 U.S.C. * 5316(a)(1)(A), that he was transporting more than $10,000 in currency. The Government also sought forfeiture of the $357,144 under 18 U.S.C. * 982(a)(1), which provides that a person convicted of willfully violating *5316 shall forfeit "any property * involved in such an offense." Respondent pleaded guilty to the failure to report and elected to have a bench trial on the forfeiture. The District Court found, among other things, that the entire $357,144 was subject to forfeiture because it was "involved in" the offense, that the funds were not connected to any other crime, and that respondent was transporting the money to repay a lawful debt. Concluding that full forfeiture would be grossly disproportional to the offense in question and would therefore violate the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment, the court ordered forfeiture of $15,000, in addition to three years' probation and the maximum fine of $5,000 under the Sentencing Guidelines. The Ninth Circuit affirmed, holding that a forfeiture must fulfill two conditions to satisfy the Clause: The property forfeited must be an "instrumentality" of the crime committed, and the property's value must be proportional to its owner's culpability. The court determined that respondent's currency was not an "instrumentality" of the crime of failure to report, which involves the withholding of information rather than the possession or transportation of money; that, therefore, *982(a)(1) could never satisfy the Clause in a currency forfeiture case; that it was unnecessary to apply the "proportionality" prong of the test; and that the Clause did not permit forfeiture of any of the unreported currency, but that the court lacked jurisdiction to set the $15,000 forfeiture aside because respondent had not cross-appealed to challenge it.
Held: Full forfeiture of respondent's $357,144 would violate the Excessive Fines Clause. Pp. 5-21.
(a) The forfeiture at issue is a "fine" within the meaning of the Clause, which provides that "excessive fines [shall not be] imposed." The Clause limits the Government's power to extract payments, whether in cash or in kind, as punishment for some offense. Austin v. United States, 509 U.S. 602, 609-610. Forfeitures--payments in kind--are thus "fines" if they constitute punishment for an offense. Section *982(a)(1) currency forfeitures do so. The statute directs a court to order forfeiture as an additional sanction when "imposing sentence on a person convicted of" a willful violation of *5316's reporting requirement. The forfeiture is thus imposed at the culmination of a criminal proceeding and requires conviction of an underlying felony, and it cannot be imposed upon an innocent owner of unreported currency. Cf. id., at 619. The Court rejects the Government's argument that such forfeitures serve important remedial purposes-by deterring illicit movements of cash and giving the Government valuable information to investigate and detect criminal activities associated with that c
Maybe the US government could set up a web site to get things going. I recommend that it be called, "allyourbasebelongto.us". It's easy to remember & it reflects the history of the country, so why not?
testing out my trending skills
___
Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
The Iraq chapter of Mensa is going to have a real field day.
There are currently more american soldiers present in Iraq than ever before. You call that "the americans left"?
HA!
welcome our new Texas internet overlords.
I dont see what the problem is. They dont deserve to get it back, unless it for the sole reason of making it easier to track down the terrosits. They got there country back thats enough, when they learn to stop killing people we will talk. Peace. Oh I can feel the replies already,lol. Peace
This must be the part of the internet and ICANN's domain holder/owner scheme that is "robust".
Cheers,
Craig
Corollary to Clarke's Third Law: Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
Pardon my ignorance, but why would ICANN have anything to do with this? Aren't the international domains handled by IANA? Last I checked, they were not the same organization.
This signature has Super Cow Powers
Business losses are all that matter.
Go back to 1917, commie.
What we call folk wisdom is often no more than a kind of expedient stupidity.-Edward Abbey
Not on the list:
high.iq
low.iq
When it comes back up, I'm so registering those. (Also hi.iq and lo.iq, for the spelling-impaired.)
"A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy." --Theodore Roosevelt
...they should all use .them as their TLD.
w .them
foreigner.them
other.them
outsider.them
scre
getridof.them
idontwanttohearabout.them
And so on.
"A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy." --Theodore Roosevelt
I SUSPECT Saddam the INFIDEL is involved.
Have you not being reading the news lately? Or are you intentionally ignoring them?
The Coalition Provincial Authority cannot account for a few billion dollars worth of oil revenues since Iraq resumed production right after the invasion.
Michael Moore did not invent that ...
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This is the same company that at one time hosted many Arab or Muslim web sites, including:
And other sites too.
Just before September 11, 2001, the FBI confiscated the servers that hosted all those sites, causing them to go offline for days. This was covered on Slashdot at the time, finding the link is left as an exercise to the reader :-) Later, the servers were returned, but most of the above customers have already switched to other hosting firms to host their web sites. Al Jazeera was one of those.
Then, Ashcroft caused the Holy Land Fund assets to be frozen, claiming they are funding terrorism. A court battle wass underway to challenge that decision. Don't know what the status is right now.
Then the owners of Infocom (all of Palestinian origin, all Muslims) were personally charged for shipping computer parts to countries under embargo, so they are put out of business
This is the background that leads to, and keeps, the .iq TLD in limbo.
Here are some articles:
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The Coalition Provincial Authority cannot account for a few billion dollars worth of oil revenues
Well, the EU can't account for a few billion here and there either. That's the nature of government. There's zero evidence that any of that money went to the military (which was the original point I disputed). More likely it went on bribes to UN people.
I didn't say that 500 people matching a vague profile meant they would be under suspicion of guilt.
If the police decides to go a voluntary DNA test, and invites 500 people who fit the vague profile (seeing as how testing a woman, geriatric and toddlers are most likely ruled out, along with whatever other information they may have to rule people out), and only 1 refuses, then I would suspect them.
Your points about reasons to not do so are all fine - but don't detract from myself (and I would imagine a vast majory of people) thinking it a bit suspicious that they declined when 499 others did not. And I do believe the police should then have a closer look at this person through other means. Otherwise we run the riskkof some of the reasons you mentioned becoming a safe-haven.
Thanks for replying.
There are clear differences between the two cases: the EU may be missing some money under its own control. This happens in many governments, passively, or actively. Passively due to lack of accountability, or actively because of corruption, embezzelment, ... etc. In Canada, there was the HRDC scandal a few years back. That part is normal.
However, in Iraq, the situation is different: The US has actively sought to occupy an oil rich country at a time where world oil reserves are limited or declining. Iraq's oil production was very limited for 12 years after the UN sanctions spearheaded by USA and UK. Once the country was occupied, oil wells and pipelines were operating at full capacity again within weeks.
The funds were supposed to go to a fund. That fund was controlled by the US CPA. The US Administration keeps asking Congress for more money to stay there (was it 4 billion a month?). Both Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz never wanted to pin down a figure when pressured to come up with one. It would be really convenient to get hold of some of that money, and not have to beg the Congress for money every now and then. Or, you can compare that with the Iran-Contra scandal: The Pentagon and/or the Administration get money under the table and funnel it under the table.
This is to say nothing about Cheney, Halliburton, et al, which are motivated by greed, and are a major supporter of this war, out of financial gain.
I think this goes far beyond a simple misplacement of funds.
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