[DNS] domain name & governance news - 6 November

[DNS] domain name & governance news - 6 November

From: David Goldstein <goldstein_david§yahoo.com.au>
Date: Wed, 8 Nov 2006 03:40:08 -0800 (PST)
Check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the most recent edition
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The domain name news is supported by auDA.


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Why you should care about the Stern Review
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,39284493,00.htm

Island domains hijacked to send spam
http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?newsID=7243

us: Utube to sue YouTube amid site confusion
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1937561,00.html

Internet milestone: 100 million websites
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/11/02/1162339960096.html

World Internet summit ends with promise and concern for future (AP)
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/11/03/1162340014002.html

Amnesty calls on UN to help open internet (Reuters)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10408982

United Nations lauds internet's 'arranged marriage'
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/02/igf_meeting_ends/

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DOMAIN NAMES
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Island domains hijacked to send spam
Spammers are co-opting the top-level domains (TLDs) of obscure island nations as a new tactic to avoid spam filters, according to McAfee.
http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?newsID=7243
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=3442

us: Utube to sue YouTube amid site confusion
A company selling used tube machinery is to sue YouTube after its website - called utube.com - crashed repeatedly under the weight of millions of mistaken clicks.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1937561,00.html
http://out-law.com/page-7446

us: Utube sues YouTube (AP)
A US company that shut down its website because it was overwhelmed by millions of people looking for YouTube has sued the online video-sharing portal.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/11/02/1162339964137.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,227061,00.html

us: YouTube Sued Over Domain Use
An industrial equipment maker whose domain name is Utube.com is suing video-sharing site YouTube, saying user confusion has cost it business and forced it to invest in more robust servers for its Web site. Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment said it has been deluged by confused video searchers causing numerous crashes of its site.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/54053.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/11/03/wutube03.xml
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/?p=3968

Internet milestone: 100 million websites
The first website went online in August 1991 and, now 15 years later, the 100-million website mark has been cracked.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/11/02/1162339960096.html
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/11/01/100millionwebsites/
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-11/02/content_5280199.htm

The netheads and the outer limits
It's official: there are more than 100 million websites on the internet. It sounds impressive but that's a conservative figure. On one of those websites alone - MySpace.com - there's another 125 million subsites (at the time of writing), with 8500 new ones being added every hour.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/11/02/1162339988851.html

Netcraft November 2006 Web Server Survey
There are now more than 100 million web sites on the Internet, which gained 3.5 million sites last month to continue the dynamic growth seen throughout 2006. In the November 2006 survey we received responses from 101,435,253 sites, up from 97.9 million sites last month.
http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2006/11/01/november_2006_web_server_survey.html

Vietnamese domain names to be granted in Jan. 2007
From January 1 to 15, 2007, the Vietnam Network Information Centre (VNNIC) will grant second-grade Vietnamese domain names to organisations that had similar traditional domain names granted before December 31, 2006.
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/2006/11/628878/

Second submission to ICANN regarding its consultation on the Development of Transparency and Accountability Management Operating Principles (news release)
CIRA applauds ICANN's decision to extend the timeframe for consultation as well as the publication of the details of its process. CIRA seeks clarification on a number of points that are outlined in the news release.
http://cira.ca/news-releases/193.html

T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Conference Organizers Ready to Scale New Heights With Upcoming Florida Show 
The keyword will be "new" when the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. East domain conference is staged in Florida for the third time Oct. 24-28 at the posh Westin Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood. There will be a new venue, a new attendance record, a newly revamped live domain auction and a new conference agenda.
http://dnjournal.com/cover/2006/october.htm

Bee Gees evict cybersquatter
Disco legends the BEE GEES have successfully gained control of the internet domain name beegee.com after battling a cybersquatter.
http://contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/bee%20gees%20evict%20cybersquatter_1012686

VeriSign Unveils Egypt?s First Regional Internet Resolution Site for .com, .net Infrastructure (news release)
VeriSign announced the installation of a Regional Internet Resolution Server (RIRS) for .com and .net in Cairo, Egypt.  This installation, the first in Egypt, strengthens the Internet infrastructure by enhancing the global infrastructure of geographically-dispersed Internet resolution sites.  VeriSign worked closely with the Egyptian government to establish this site at Xceed, the hosting partner.
http://www.verisign.com/press_releases/pr/page_039908.html

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GOVERNANCE
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World Internet summit ends with promise and concern for future (AP)
The first IGF ended with promise of breakthrough technologies to accelerate online access in developing countries and concerns of growing government interference globally. Key participants said Thursday that the four-day meeting had at least helped clarify differences between governments, industry and online groups ahead of the next Internet Governance Forum next year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/11/03/1162340014002.html
http://iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/02/business/EU_GEN_Greece_UN_Internet_Governance.php
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/15913311.htm

Amnesty calls on UN to help open internet (Reuters)
Amnesty International has called on the United Nations to help eliminate restrictions to internet access, which the rights watchdog said are a violation of basic human rights.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10408982

United Nations lauds internet's 'arranged marriage'
The closing day of the IGF has ended on a high note with attendees from across the world (from business, government, international organisations and civil society) all expressing their delight at the experimental forum.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/02/igf_meeting_ends/

IGF: The good, the bad and the psycho cleaners
The Greeks drove me to it. Last night, under the cover of conference quietness, I sneaked into the Apollon hotel store room and stole a waiter uniform. I?m not proud of it, but I am proudly wearing it today one for simple reason - I want my own coffee and water, and I don't want to have to wait 10 minutes for it to be served to me.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/02/igf_blog_wed/

ICANN: Workshop Report ? Towards a Multilingual Global Internet: Avoiding the Risk of Fragmentation
The workshop provided the framework for dialogue on the multiple aspects linked to the development of a multilingual cyberspace and on solutions for avoiding the fragmentation of the Internet. Speakers from governments and the private and academic sectors participated in the discussion on how to create a truly multilingual Internet both from the content and the technical point of views. The workshop was structured in four sessions.
http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-02nov06.htm

Cuba: We're forced to 'finance' the Internet
A Cuba government official told the IGF that the U.S. government was to blame for the poor Internet access that its citizens endure, arguing that, as a result, poorer countries are "financing" the Internet. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Fernandez to a high-level working group two years ago.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6131854.html

ITU meeting in Turkey will tackle key Internet issues (IDG)
Government officials will meet in Turkey for the next three weeks to discuss the future of the Internet and take action on key issues such as cybercrime and Internet oversight.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/110306-itu-meeting-in-turkey-will.html

Internet forum participants clash (IDG)
The IGF touched on a number of issues, such as Internet oversight and multilingualism, with government officials, Internet experts and many others taking the stage to voice their opinions -- which often clashed.
http://infoworld.com/article/06/11/02/HNnetforumclash_1.html

Global Internet Policy Initiative Highlighted at Internet Governance Forum
In presentations and workshops at the Internet Governance Forum this week, the Global Internet Policy Initiative (GIPI), a joint project of Internews Network and the Center for Democracy and Technology, was highlighted as a proven model for working locally to reform national laws and policies in order to foster expanded Internet access in developing countries.
http://internews.org/prs/2006/20061102_ict.shtm

United Nations Internet forum goes titsup
The website of the IGF has been suspended (or had been at the time of writing of this article) and replaced with a cartoon dog pulling wires out of a PC. The site at igf2006.info was taken down with 20 minutes left of the main speaking session after the hosts complained that demand from a collaborative website set up to elicit views from the wider Internet was overwhelming its server. It also brought down the main information site at intgovforum.org which was held on the same server.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/01/un_site_dies/

The IGF gossip issue
I got some good advice once. It was: "Make sure you never take yourself too seriously." That has stuck with me despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that it was delivered by an old French drunk sitting on a Paris bench facing a lit-up Notre Dame over the Seine at 2am.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/02/igd_blog_wed/

Microsoft restates China policy
Microsoft has restated its position on China following comments by one of its senior legal staff. Earlier this week, Microsoft senior counsel Fred Tipson said concerns about repression in China might make it reconsider its presence there.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6114846.stm

UN unsuited to control internet
The United Nations has called yet another great meeting, at another luxury site, to discuss its relentless campaign to gain control of the internet. This time, diplomats, UN officials and NGOs are on the expense account in pleasant Athens, where previous ''summits'' of Geneva and Tunis now have become an IGF.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/03Nov2006_news24.php
http://www.bangkokpost.com/031106_News/03Nov2006_news26.php

The End User: Content vs. control
Never mind who controls the Internet and whether the U.S. government has undue influence over domain names and root servers. If the question of control is about content, then the United States has a lock on the World Wide Web that looks unshakable. Of the top 30 most-visited Web sites, Asia is home to four and Europe has one, according to September statistics from comScore Networks, a U.S.-based market researcher. (And even the single European name, Lycos, has mixed U.S. parentage.)
http://iht.com/articles/2006/11/01/business/ptend02.php

Internet bill of rights proposed
A bill of rights for the internet age has been proposed at the IGF. The bill would update and restate rights that have been enshrined for centuries, said Robin Gross of civil liberties group IP Justice. 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6106452.stm

U.N. debate swirls around domain name power
Call it the Iran and Syria problem. In theory, the Bush administration could order that the domain names of allegedly hostile or terrorist-friendly nations be deleted from the Internet--a unique authority that troubles many developing nations and became a source of contention at the IGF.
http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6131746.html

Assault on State Censorship at the IGF by Milton Mueller
Knee-jerk UN haters in the US are fond of pointing horrified fingers at the presence of China, Syria and other authoritarian states whenever global governance is mentioned. See for example Declan McCullough?s slanted piece in CNET. They might be surprised to learn that the UN Internet Governance Forum has opened the opportunity for a major assault on Internet blocking and filtering, and put repressive governments on the defensive by heightening awareness of the practice and pressuring them to justify it or change it.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/assault_on_state_censorship_at_the_igf/

Tough talk on net language issue
More than 90% of the world's 6,000 languages are not represented on the internet. So what must be done to make the internet a truly global place?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6106048.stm

ICANN warns mistake on non-English Web addresses could 'permanently break Internet' (AP)
ICANN warned that a mistake in a creating more Web addresses using non-Latin letters could "permanently break the Internet."
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/11/02/1162339947135.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/11/02/1162339947135.html
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-11-01-icann-web_x.htm
http://www.komotv.com/news/tech/4541186.html
http://p2pnet.net/story/10308

ICANN runs tests for non-English domain names (AFP)
ICANN said it was running tests to determine whether countries can register Web addresses in their own language, an option expected to further boost the Internet's global appeal.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/worldbiz/archives/2006/11/03/2003334662
http://www.dawn.com/2006/11/03/int14.htm
http://www.mybroadband.co.za/nephp/?m=show&id=4775

Johnny Foreigner will break the Internet
ICANN said that if all these foreigners keep mistyping their nasty non-latin letters into browsers the internet could break.
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=35487

Is There Too Much English on the Web?
Attendees at the IGF call for linguistic diversity to guarantee global democratic oversight of the Net
http://businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/nov2006/gb20061102_790439.htm

ICANN Unveils IDN Progress
ICANN, yesterday announced a roadmap for the introduction of Internationalised Domain Names based on progress so far and future work.
http://webhosting.info/news/1/icann-unveils-idn-progress_1102062786.htm

ICANN: Internationalised Domain Names Roadmap ? Progress and Future
ICANN 1 November announced a clear roadmap for the introduction of Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) based on progress so far and future work.
http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-1-01nov06.htm

IGF produces anti-spam plan
Six of the world's largest anti-spam organisations have set up a new website aimed at killing the online menace. Timed to coincide with an anti-spam workshop at the IGF, the OECD has started StopSpamAlliance.org, along with Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC), the EU Contact Network for Spam enforcement Authorities (CNSA), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the London Action Plan for Spam Enforcement (LAP), and the Seoul-Melbourne MoU.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/01/oecd_anti_spam/

IGF: more free content for the Internet
As a counterpoint to ever more stringent copyright provisions an international treaty on Access to Knowledge (A2K) should be drawn up, a South African representative during a discussion on the openness of networks at the Internet Governance Forum has said. For some time now South Africa, a number of governments of newly industrialized countries as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been advertising the A2K Initiative toward the member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). "I consider such a treaty to be possible," Hanne Sophie Greve, a former judge at the European Court of Justice now at the Council of Europe, said.
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/80401

Web inventor fears for the future
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the British developer of the world wide web, says he is worried about the way it could be used to spread "misinformation and "undemocratic forces".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6108578.stm

China forced to face its critics over internet censorship
This time there was no hiding place. Countries accused of turning the internet into a tool of repression - and the companies accused of helping them do it - were confronted with the full force of international condemnation at a special United Nations conference in Athens last week.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1939801,00.html

Microsoft And The China Question
Microsoft is denying a report from the BBC that the company was considering withdrawing from China due to the hard-line government's repressive treatment of technology users.
http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3642001

Internet for social justice and sustainable development
The internet is a global public space that must be open, affordable and accessible to all. As more and more people gain access to this space, many remain excluded. Like the process of globalisation with which it has been closely intertwined, the spread of internet access takes place with uneven results and often exacerbates social and economic inequalities. However, the internet and other information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be a powerful tool for social mobilisation and development, resistance to injustices and expression of difference and creativity.
http://rights.apc.org/charter.shtml

APC puts up the fight for an open access, equal opportunity and educative internet
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan convenes a new "forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue" on the future of the internet. The inaugural meeting of the IGF, which APC is viewing as a "vitally important event" will be held in Athens from October 30 to November 2.
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5041512

Latin America makes noise at the Forum on Internet Governance
Latin America makes noise at the Forum on Internet Governance. What priorities is Latin America carrying around in its briefcase for this first Forum on Internet Governance? How are all the sectors participating in a pioneer event in this format? APCNews spoke to Ra?l Echeberr?a, LACNIC executive director, the Latin America and the Caribbean internet address registry.
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5043143

Single country won't be allowed to govern Internet: Seminar calls for unity among poor nations
A single country will not be allowed to govern the Internet, speakers at a national seminar vowed adding expectation of the poor countries should be addressed in the upcoming IGF meet.
http://bangladeshictpolicy.bytesforall.net/?q=node/222

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OTHER INTERNET NEWS
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China forced to face its critics over internet censorship
This time there was no hiding place. Countries accused of turning the internet into a tool of repression - and the companies accused of helping them do it - were confronted with the full force of international condemnation at a special United Nations conference in Athens last week.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1939801,00.html

Cyber bullying rises in S Korea
South Korea is one of the most connected places on earth, but as Dan Simmons reports, spending so much time online has created a whole new set of social problems.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/6112754.stm

Blatant censorship is one thing. But who controls the controllers?
Blatant censorship is fine. But who controls the controllers? What about the more subtle forms of control and blockages, that often can work in the more brutal ways of the unseen hand? APC member-organisation RITS's Carlos Afonso, made this point strongly at the Internet Governance Forum in Athens.
http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5043104

Good or bad? Harmful or not? Legal or illegal? ? the challenge of regulating internet content
What is harmful content? What constitutes illegal content? What is pornography? Should content be regulated? These were some of the key questions addressed by the participants at today?s panel discussion ?Content regulations from gender and development perspective? organized by the Association for Progressive Communications - Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP) in the ongoing IGF.
http://www.genderit.org/en/index.shtml?apc=f--e94984-1&x=94984

uk: How to hide in a connected world
As we enter a more connected world, where devices talk to each other and make sense of the masses of data we create, the issue of how much control we have over this process becomes more important.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6107764.stm

uk: Spy planes, clothes scanners and secret cameras: Britain's surveillance future
It sounds like a scene from the Tom Cruise futuristic thriller Minority Report. A teenager enters a record shop and a scanner hidden in the doorway instantly reads data secreted in electronic tags embedded in his clothes. The scanner clocks the brand of clothing and where it was purchased, flashing to a database which analyses what type of person would have bought that line of clothing and predicts what other products that person would like to buy. In an instant, adverts for those products are beamed to eye-level billboards for the teenager to see.
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1937102,00.html

Who's watching as we watch ourselves?
Last week, footage of a girl being badly bullied in a New Zealand school playground had to be take down from YouTube, the hugely successful video hosting site now owned by Google. It was rightly removed because in a perverse act of glorification it had been uploaded by the gang that had committed the offence. But it could easily have been taken by an onlooker and used as evidence against the gang. Surveillance is now expanding too fast for its effects to be fully understood.
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1936679,00.html

Google in talks over content
Google is holding negotiations with media companies to try to persuade them to supply content to YouTube, the video website it bought last month for $1.65 billion (?865 million).
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-2436146,00.html

Google in bid to halt YouTube legal threat
Google executives have met CBS, Viacom, Time Warner, NBC Universal, News Corp and others in a frantic round of negotiations, offering tens of millions of dollars in upfront payments for the right to broadcast their video content legally on YouTube.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0cf8ea76-6aa2-11db-83d9-0000779e2340.html

Google would be wise to avoid making enemies
Google is poised to become the dominant force in British advertising. In 2008, if ITV cannot sort itself out, the internet search engine could be the biggest recipient of advertising pounds in the country.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-2434885,00.html

U.S. government fines adware company US$3 million for invading user computers
An online media and advertising company accused of unfairly and deceptively downloading its software onto consumers' computers has agreed to pay a US$3 million fine to the Federal Trade Commission.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Technology/articles/2006/11/04/1162340083392.html

us: Police blotter: Child porn blamed on computer virus
A former Georgia teacher blames computer viruses for altering his Web sites and uploading child porn images.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6130218.html

Will The Web We Wove Protect Us From Evil?
The Internet, which began as a U.S. military construct for global communications, quickly became the international communications utility. Today it is the globe-eating spider-web of consumerism, expression (free and otherwise), love, hate, politics and religion. Perhaps it will be a protector of free expression and defense against closed, authoritarian governments and oligarchies. Or it will be another force for censorship and control.
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/11/04/110146.php

Berners-Lee to head web research project
The influence the internet has on the way we socialise and live our lives is to become the focus of a new field of study under the leadership of the inventor of the world wide web, Tim Berners-Lee.
http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/research/story/0,,1937955,00.html

Web inventor fears for the future
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the British developer of the world wide web, says he is worried about the way it could be used to spread "misinformation and "undemocratic forces".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6108578.stm

Back to the future, with a Victorian flavour
There's a line of thought which argues that the internet will liberate the masses and allow us to achieve self-actualisation. "With technology," the proponents exclaim, "economies will spiral upwards, national boundaries will dissolve and people will work only for self-enlightenment!" And today's mighty panacea, often referred to as "user-generated content", will bring joy to the world and peace to us all.
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1936560,00.html

How to make the web go worldwide  
Only one billion people out of the six billion-strong world population have internet access. So what is being done to connect up all the world's citizens?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6109008.stm

nz: ISPs not satisfying customers
Internet companies are being told they are over-promising and under-delivering. The results of an annual consumer survey of more than 10,000 Internet Service Providers are being described as shocking by the Consumers Institute.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/488120/877770

Why you should care about the Stern Review
Sir Nicholas Stern, former World Bank chief economist, lobbed a bombshell into the heart of the climate change debate on Monday. His report, compiled at the behest of the Chancellor, laid out in stark terms the measures needed to stop global warming. Its conclusions are not pretty, and have major implications for businesses and IT professionals.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,39284493,00.htm

Google Moving Fast to Curb YouTube Copyright Concerns
Google is reportedly offering media companies millions of dollars in upfront payments if those outlets allow their content to be shared on the YouTube video sharing site that Google has agreed to buy. Reports say Google CEO Eric Schmidt is leading an effort to convince media companies to allow users of YouTube to share video clips of their television shows and movies.
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/54083.html

ca: Undercover Internet Operation Leads to Pedophile's Arrest
A man who was sexually abusing a young girl in his home was arrested after he transmitted images of the assault via the Internet to an undercover detective, police said Thursday. The girl, a preschooler, was rescued two hours later in what Toronto police's child exploitation unit said was its first case of observing a live assault.
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/54075.html

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Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>.

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(c) David Goldstein 2006
 
--------- 
David Goldstein
 address: 4/3 Abbott Street
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           AUSTRALIA
 email: Goldstein_David &#167;yahoo.com.au
 phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home)
 
"Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery




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Received on Wed Nov 08 2006 - 11:40:08 UTC

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