Never Forget

Federal Law Enforcement or Big Brother via Internet? You make the call.

From Yahoo News /Digital Trends earlier this year:

US gov't claims right to seize any .com domain

If your domain ends in .com, the United States government says it has the right to seize it from your control, reports Wired. The same goes for any URL that ends in .net, .cc, .tv, .name, and .org.
This troubling declaration of power comes after US authorities shutdown the online sports gambling site Bodog.com last week — even though the website was owned by a Canadian company, which many assumed put it outside of US jurisdiction. Not so, apparently. That’s because the only company allowed to issue new .com domains is VeriSign, which is based — you guessed it — in the US.
According to a spokesperson for the department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), anytime the US government wants to take down a .com, .net, .tv, or .name domain, all it has to do is issue a court order to VeriSign, which quickly complies. The same process applies to the Public Interest Registry, which controls the .org top-level domain.

In principle, if you're obeying the law, not using your .com (or dot-whatever) domain to violate US Federal law like online gambling, selling counterfeit or pirated merchandise, you won't have any trouble.  In short, the article clarifies that since the US invented the internet, the US makes the rules.  .com may be used worldwide but it is, at its core, an American domain issue and VeriSign is going to obey every last order to keep its federal contract to issue .com and .net domains.

If you're going to engage in activity that violates US federal law, you probably want to pick a different nation's domain.  I'm not recommending that, nor am I saying that's 100% protection either.

So how close are we to the line between "freedom of information" and prevention of abuse that harms law-abiding citizens?  Comments are wide open.

Welcome, Dunwoody Reporter readers. :-)

I noticed some new "faces" visiting the DWG after Melissa's article went up.  Welcome, thanks for visiting and I hope you find something interesting.

Bloggers stir things up, get people talking

In our conversation I learned from Melissa that Dunwoody is unique in the number of bloggers based inside city limits?  Who knew?  I never thought anything of it but I agree w/ Bob L that it's a good sign of civic involvement.

As I've said before, not everyone likes to post as publicly as this - that's OK.   There are other ways to state your opinions and suggestions on whatever the issue du jour is.  Email, phone, chatting over a beer next to the pool or the tennis court.  Make your own contribution to Dunwoody in your own way.

For example...  in current events....

Discussion over the "Village Master Plan" and Dunwoody Village Parkway is going to come to a head tonight at City Hall.  Bike lanes, sidewalks, trees, how many lanes, median, no median, and probably more issues will be aired tonight.  I have too many questions about this plan (or plans) to have an opinion yet.

Has anyone heard any official comment from Regency, the company that owns Dunwoody Village?  How about the Simpson Organization, that owns Dunwoody Plaza?  (Plaza = that shopping center across from "the Village" that is home to the 1420 Room, Dunwoody Pediatrics, and others.)  The only comment I heard in passing was that Regency barely stopped short of telling Dunwoody to take their Master Plan and shove it.  Like it or not, corporations are legally allowed to own and control their properties.  Unless we woke up in communist China this morning, they have rights too.  I would love to hear from one of their representatives at the meeting tonight during public comment, or otherwise see their POV represented in the discussion.

How about the tenants?  Ditto the questions above.  I've heard claims that part of the DVP redesign is to stimulate business.  Do the business owners with rent invested agree?  Are the opinions consistent between the branches of national chains vs. large local enterprises vs mom-and-pop outfits?  I'd like to hear those voices represented tonight too.

On a related tangent, the plans for area redevelopment (as well as the zoning code rewrite) make reference to "shared parking" and "right-sized" parking areas.  Meaning that someone, somewhere thinks there's "too many parking spaces" and all of the tenants should "share" them.  That isn't going to happen in Dunwoody Plaza.  Each entity (especially El Azteca, Enterprise, 1420 Room, and Dunwoody Pediatrics) has their own customer parking spaces marked with a sign or paint on the blacktop.  Some of them have a tow company on speed dial for violators.  I don't see "shared parking" happening in this sector any time soon.  Expect some resistance to that concept.  Plus, negotiations on purchasing land for a right-of-way will be tense.  

The original cost floated around for a DVP redesign was $500,000.  Now that number is 5 times that at $2.5 million.  Why?  If there's a good reason for the larger number somebody, please, say what it is.  (By "good reason" I do NOT mean "Well, the feds are offering a grant.")  Watching a cost inflate that much is enough to make any citizen worried no matter how good the intentions are or how brilliant the idea.

How much time will the redevelopment take?  It doesn't just matter for drivers, it's critical for the business owners.  All around Atlanta when there have been major street repairs, realignments, or construction, the local small businesses watched their customer base shrink to near-zero because of the inconvenience.  It's worse with weather delays or other extensions.  Some family-owned and other small businesses had to close altogether. You don't stimulate business in an area by making it impossible to function for an undefined period of time.   How will the businesses along DVP be protected during a project that will certainly affect their bottom lines?  

I'll have a better idea of what to think about this project when the above questions get answered.

In the mean time, here are a few other opinions.

Dunwoody Parkway

Bicycle Lanes in Dunwoody (trust me, it's related)

Dunwoody Village Parkway:  Stop the Talk and Pull the Trigger

A "Paul Harvey" Moment

Parkway Redux