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.iq [ was: Re: Paul Vixie serving ORSN ]

  • From: Eric Brunner-Williams at a VSAT somewhere
  • Date: Fri Sep 30 17:19:36 2005

> it's enough for me that they're going to do it no matter what you (or i) say,
> and that they're doing it responsibly (without any namespace pollution).  if
> ORSN is afraid war is going to break out somewhere and that ICANN might delete
> the ccTLD's for countries that are part of the "axis of evil", then ORSN is
> probably just confused -- i don't think that's what would happen.  but as i've
> said, i'm indifferent to their reasons, since they only publish data that was
> at one time or another published by IANA.

I suppose I should mention that ICANN redelegated .iq for some mumble
reason, compare, .pn.

For those who care about excesses of zeal, the Elashi brothers (operators
as well as sponsor delagees of .iq) of someplace in Texas, were charged with  
giving money to Hamas or a charity linked to Hamas, and sending a PC to Syria,
and parts of a PC -- perhaps a mouse pad -- to Libya.

The latter acts nominally violate export regulations intended to prevent the
acquisition of supercomputers by several states for the purposes of preventing
nuclear proliferation, and the government obtained a conviction on the Syrian
export count. Export control violations universally result in fines, except
in the case of the Elashi brothers, who are still in Federal custody.

People who live in Damascus routinely drive to Beruit to buy computers, so
the rationality of all this is an exercise left to the reader.

It did result in the seizure of the .iq name servers, and has kept .iq dark
for three years.

No part of this was necessary, or could not have been solved by a trustee
pending the eventual outcome of the USG's complaints, and the possible
counter-complaints by the Elashis.


The US has not yet, after three years, brought the giving money to Hamas
issue to trial.

Not that it matters, but Hamas is the government of parts of Palestine,
no matter how much heartburn this gives some people, and the Elashis are
diaspora Palestinians.


Eric