TELECOM Digest     Sat, 27 Aug 2005 00:51:00 EDT    Volume 24 : Issue 387

Inside This Issue:                             Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    High Costs of Low Value Fraud (IMB)
    Phishers and their Phake Banks (Artists Against 419)
    Alltel/AT&T/Cingular Scam in Oklahoma City Market Area (Wesrock@aol.com)
    Re: The Luncheon Meat Associated With Junk Email? (Wesrock@aol.com)
    Re: The Luncheon Meat Associated With Junk Email? (Lisa Hancock)
    Re: The Luncheon Meat Associated With Junk Email? (John Hines)
    Re: Don't Forget Peter Jennings'... Flaw (William Warren)
    Re: Broadband Competition Must Surely be Working (Neil McClain)
    Re: Broadband Competition Must Surely be Working (jmeissen@aracnet.com)
    Re: Broadband Competition Must Surely be Working (Garrett Wollman)
    Re: Is it Sp*m if They Are Offering to Set You Up as a Sp*mmer (Lichter)
    Re: Last Laugh! Turning the Tables on Nigeria's E-Mail Conmen (Lichter)

Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
Internet.  All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson and
the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other
journals or newsgroups, provided the writer's name and the Digest are
included in the fair use quote.  By using -any name or email address-
included herein for -any- reason other than responding to an article
herein, you agree to pay a hundred dollars to the recipients of the
email.

               ===========================

Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be
sold or given away without explicit written consent.  Chain letters,
viruses, porn, spam, and miscellaneous junk are definitely unwelcome.

We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we
are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because
we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands
against crime.   Geoffrey Welsh

               ===========================

See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details
and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest.  

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: IMB <imb@icc-ccs.org>
Subject: High Costs of Low Value Fraud
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 20:57:05 -0500


by Commercial Crime Services, a division of the ICC

London, 29 March 2005 

"Low value" commodity frauds by-pass checks by banks

The re-emergence of a financial fraud specializing in low value
commodities has the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) warning
banks to be on their guard.

IMB Assistant Director Michael Howlett stated: "This particular
internet scam typically pursues amounts of money small enough to fall
just below the threshold that triggers routine checks. Because the
amounts are smaller, banks do not perform the necessary checks and are
unlikely to spot these frauds."

While fraud involving small amounts may not seem like a large problem,
totals can add up quickly. The case of convicted fraudster Glenn
McCorquodale is a telling example. As reported in a 2003 edition of
the ICC newsletter Commercial Crime International, McCorquodale was
able to amass several million dollars by perpetrating numerous low
value fraud operations with non-existent agricultural or metal
shipments. McCorquodale ultimately received a four and a half year
jail term. The frauds he conducted are very similar to those many
banks may be currently facing.

IMB investigators were recently called upon to investigate a metal
shipment after a bank encountered documents that did not appear
authentic. The amount of money involved would ordinarily see the
consignee paid without question, but something about the documentation
led the bank to question their validity.

Examining the bill of lading, IMB quickly established that the vessel
named on the bill did not exist. They also found that while the noted
container numbers were genuine, their prefixes belonged to containers
owned by another company. The company name and address used had been
employed in a series of earlier frauds. Lastly, the commodity said to
be shipped metal from the UK at slightly below market value had also
been used in a number of recent frauds.

Mr Howlett commented: "The fraudsters operating these kinds of frauds
are counting on banks not to make the necessary checks.  In this
specific case, the fraudster was only seeking 193,000 pounds assuming
the bank would not investigate important elements of the
documentation. With IMB assistance, the bank was able to identify and
prevent this fraud."

The IMB is concerned that banks may be facing a series 
of such commodity frauds and the organization is urging financial
institutions to exercise caution if they are asked to confirm financial
documentation for non-customers. Banks concerned about documentation
related to commodities fraud or those that have recently encountered
similar suspicious activity are advised to contact the IMB for
assistance.

In particular, internet users who deal in commodities know well what
fraud is about, and how it has affected them through auction services
for example.  

For further information or interviews please contact
IMB Tel: +44 208 591 3000, Email: imb@icc-ccs.org

------------------------------

From: Artists Against 419 Fraud
Subject: Phake Banks and Websites: Ways to Shut Them Down
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 21:07:18 -0500


They call it 'phishing' or 'spoofing' and it is the fastest-growing
fraud on the web, netting cyber-criminals millions of pounds, dollars
and euros. Sophisticated gangs are setting up fake websites that
mimic well-established companies and banks.

See also: Fake banks and web sites in the news 2000 - 2003

     ===================

2005:
Mar 03 2005 - NBC Nightly News:

Fake banks lure customers online - At first glance, it looks much like
any other Internet bank. Pearl Atlantic Credit & Trust says it
offers loans, project financing and online banking, with deposits
insured by the FDIC. There are even pictures of a CEO, Victor
Bartruff, and other officers. [...] "Artists against 419," a
grassroots consumer group which targets these scams, says the fake
bank appears tied to an e-mail scam. "We probably find five or ten
more a day on average," says a woman who volunteers at the group and
asked that we not use her name. "We keep finding new ones."

Feb 11 2005 - zdnet.com.au:

Web vigilantes launch attacks -- Internet vigilantes have launched a
48-hour bandwidth attack against spammers who defraud people
online. The 419 Flash Mob, supported by Artists Against 419, has
declared war on criminals who host fake bank Web sites in the hope of
luring victims to deposit money there. The attacks began on
Wednesday. A Web site statement from Artists Against 419 said, "This
flash mob is in celebration of Chinese New Year ... Our aim is to shut
down eight fake bank web sites in less than 48 hours!" [...]

Feb 09 2005 - Slashdot.org:

Artists Against 419 Releases Mugu Marauder -- An anonymous reader
writes "Similar in scope to the (now defunct) screensaver created by
Lycos that targeted spam sites, the newly-released Mugu Marauder is
intended to take fraudulent bank sites off the air by sponging up
their bandwidth.  Mugu Marauder can be downloaded at
http://www.aa419.org/mm/ It's currently only available for Windows,
though a Linux port is allegedly in the works."

2004:

Dec 31 2004 - Information Age infoconomy.com:

The lawless Internet -- Direct action -- Old Coaster, is a qualified
doctor, retired stockbroker and former bank board member (...) As part
of the group 'Artists Against 419', he is on a crusade to shut down
the fake bank sites that scammers use (...) After verifying that a
site has no legitimate status with a banking regulator, the activists
ask the web hoster to close it down. Most oblige but if not, the group
asks large numbers of associates to visit the offending site using a
downloadable tool, http://Lad Vampire.

Dec 09 2004 - AARP Bulletin (Switzerland):

Scam Alert - Can't Win for Losing The catch: No prize money is released
until the "winners" pay customs duties, taxes, or shipping and handling
fees, usually to a Western Union office in Canada. Swindlers can wreak 
even more damage if they can sell their victims on the convenience of
automatically withdrawing the fees from their bank accounts. Once they
have access, the con artists can deplete the account. Law enforcement 
officials say the Canadian lottery hoax is robbing Americans of about 
$120 million a year.

Nov 16 2004 - Ghanaweb.com:

Beware of White Collar Scams Others may be in the form of "spoof
banks" where there is supposedly money in your name already on
deposit; "paying" for a purchase with a check larger than the amount
required and asking for change to be advanced; fake lottery 419; and
ordering items and commodities off "trading" sites on the web and then
cheating the seller. The variations of Advance Fee Fraud (419) are
very creative and virtually endless.

Oct 30 2004 - The Times:

Scam baiting: They are the online jungle's lowlife -- eBay auction
scammers, Nigerian advance-fee fraudsters, fake bank website
"phishers" trawling for the next sucker. Their lucrative cons play on
human greed and naivety, yet they evade detection through the
anonymity of the web (...) But what if the fraudsters themselves could
be conned?

Sept 15 2004 - MSN Money:

Advance fee fraud: The UK's National Criminal Intelligence Agency says
150 million a year is reaped by variations of this fraud. (...) In
the last year, the NCIS says it has detected an increasing number of
frauds in which bogus bank websites are set up, and the victims are
provided with a PIN number and logon ID which apparently allows them to
see that the prize has already cleared into the account. The identities
of genuine companies are sometimes used to add an extra layer of
authenticity.

Aug 11 2004 - ABCNEWS:

Regulators Shut Down Phony Bedrock Bank Federal regulators shut down a
phony Internet bank claiming to be located in the tiny Colorado town of
Bedrock population 10 near the Utah state line.

Aug 13 2004 - Monterey County Herald, et al:

International email scams score billions with offer of millions "I had
one person last week who lost $40,000," said a college student who is a
member of Artists against 419, one of a growing number of Web sites
devoted to foiling advance-fee scams.
The college student, known online as Sister Mary Catherine..."

Aug 08 2004 - Guardian UK:

Only winners are con gangs: Log on to http://aa419.org and learn how
you can help to shut down fake lotteries. _You_ are invited and
encouraged to help put phishers and their phake banks out of business.
http://www.aa419.org will teach you how to obtain and use the tools to
do it.

Aug 08 2004 - This is Guernsey:

The Guernsey Financial Services Commission battles bogus Internet
banks Over the last three years, there had been an increase in
fraudsters setting up bogus bank websites. These look like a genuine
bank and claim to have a connection to a reputable jurisdiction such
as Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man. Victims are referred to the
sites by the fraudsters who say they are independent of the bogus
bank. Investors are encouraged to open accounts with a promise that
they will receive all, or a percentage, of a large sum of money. The
bogus bank asks for an initial deposit and, after paying, that is the
last the victim will see of it.

Aug 02 2004 - The Register:

Net vigilantes target 419 sites Artists Against 419 (AA419) has
organised a 48-hour online protest against Phishers and advanced fee
fraud, otherwise known as the 419 scam. The protest is an organised
version of the SlashDot effect whereby a huge number of visitors turn
up at a site, overwhelming its bandwidth allocation. The virtual flash
mob began at midnight on 1 August and has already taken down three of
its targets.

July 25 2004 - Mail on Sunday:

FINANCIAL Mail's list of fake banks to avoid has a new recruit: A call
to the tricksters on their website phone number 020 7060 0487 was
automatically transferred to an unknown destination where a man with a
heavy West African accent tried unsuccessfully to convince me he was a
banker.

July 20 2004 - BankInfoSecurity.com:

Social Engineering Offers Increased Threat to Banking Industry Please
be advised that the Web site is not operated by the OCC. It is a
fraudulent attempt to acquire personal confidential information from
users of the site for the purpose of identity theft.

July 16 2004 - News24:

419 scam hits SA cabinet Photos of the ministers who are unwittingly
being involved (under false names), are published on a website where
they are portrayed as directors or senior managers of First National
Bank (FNB).

July 12 2004 - The Register:

419 'bankers' back in business. As is the case with UMCIB, Trans-Atlantic
Private Bank is not registered with the Financial Services Authority.

July 12 2004 - Toronto Star:
Scambaiters lure fraudsters:  Artists Against 419 takes a different
approach ... against fake bank sites used by scammers. They teach you
how to respond to phishers; how to waste their time and money. 

July 11 2004 - Star-Telegram, Texas:

GETTING HOOKED Artists against 419 also conducts monthly "flash mobs," a
vigilante effort to shut down fraudulent bank sites.

July 09 2004 - Cape Cod Times:

Vacation getaway: Family taken in by phony Web site offering $3,500
Cape summer rental.

July 09 2004 - The Register:

Anatomy of a 419 scam: The following is an account of how one US
citizen recently lost $1,000 to a UK-based 419 outfit who used a
combination of plausible correspondence, phone calls and a fake bank
website to reel in their victim.

July 08 2004 - Town Times:

The Better Business Bureau hopes to curtail 'phishing' Comprehensive
phishing resources are available on the Internet for consumers at
http://www.bbb.org/phishing http://www.califoraction.org 
http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft and http://www.visa.com/phishing

July 07 2004 - Amsterdam Weekly:

Having fun with 419 fraudsters: Well, you could 
always join that other global phenomenon, the 'flash mob', a new
technique against the 419 scam. Get tools to use at 
http://www.aa419.org

July 05 2004 - THE WASHINGTON TIMES:
Thieves target online bankers: A new threat against online banking
customers has emerged. Internet thieves are secretly downloading
software through pop-up ads to record keystrokes as people type. The
threat targeted users of Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

June 24 2004 - Khaleej Times, Dubai:
Beware of fraudulent companies: A recent example of this was the
uncovering of Saturn Jobs, a fraudulent recruitment company, which
operated from Britain, and duped thousands of Indians and Bangladeshis
of their money by promising them jobs in the Middle East.

June 23 2004 - Reuters:

How to outfox the email scammers: British police recently estimated that
phishing scams cost UK banks an estimated 60 million pounds last year.
The economic toll of phishing in the United States is much worse,
costing American banks and credit card companies $1.2 billion (660 
million pounds) in 2003, since so few internet users are willing to
cooperate in putting fraud web sites out of business. 

June 22 2004 - BBC:

How to avoid getting caught by the lottery fraudsters: Ultimate FI's
impressive-looking website was registered to a man in Amsterdam who had 
already been connected to other fake banking sites used in online scams.

June 22 2004 - Netcraft.com:

After months of rapid growth, the number of phishing attacks leveled
off in May, rising just 6 percent with a total of 1,197 unique
campaigns, according to new data from the Anti-Phishing Working Group
(APWG).

June 19 2004 - THE WASHINGTON TIMES:

The Federal Trade Commission has settled civil charges with two men
accused of stealing consumers' personal information by setting up fake
Web sites designed to look like those of legitimate companies.

June 17 2004 - THE NEW YORK TIMES:

E-mail Scammers Face Dose of Vigilante Justice: For instance, Karl
Dailey, the sheriff of Dawes County, Nebraska, has also joined the
effort. After local residents started asking him about the schemes, he
said, he got involved with the fraud-baiters at Artists Against 419
http://www.aa419.org and even helped take down a fake bank Web site.

May 11 2004 - The Register:

Lottery scams new flavour of the month: If victims do not want to pay
upfront fees, they can open an (online) account with a specified bank,
whose "policy" requires a deposit of around $3,000. This bank, however,
is fake, as are many banks with web sites and online 'services'. As
the folks at http://www.aa419.org find out about them, they immediatly
enlist the net to put the web site out of business.

May 2nd 2004 - Mail on Sunday:

Get on the web to hit the cheats: You don't need any technical knowledge
to help attack the crooks. Just go to artists against 419 Let's see how
many crooks we can kick off the internet in one day. This plan works
much like the Lycos Screen Saver which so many of the 'do-gooders' on
the net squalled about.

April 14 2004 - USA TODAY:

Hot Sites: This site can tell you all about it, but they're also doing
something fresh: Fighting back -- not just 'filtering'. Come here to
see how you can help mess with the bad guys' heads.

April 05 2004 - The Register:

Scambusters target 419 online 'banks': Since Artists against 419 started
operating, around 85 scam websites and phake banks have been removed.

Visa launches new channel to fight online fraud: In recent months Visa
has identified and shut down a number of spoofed websites around the
world.

March 23 2004 - The Sacramento Bee:

Scam alert: 'Deceased-relative' scam costs Sacramento-area man $27,000.
Phishers on the net con artists posing as London bankers from HSBC.

March 19 2004 - The Sydney Morning Herald:				   

Man faces court over $5m internet scam Nick Marinellis, the alleged
Australian mastermind behind a global internet scam has set up a
website to con victims into believing they could claim millions of
dollars through lottery winnings.

March 5 2004 - Lottery Post:

New Jersey man loses $41,000 in sweepstakes scam The con artists then
gave the victim the name and Web site of a bank that was supposed to be
in Barcelona, but police say it was a fraudulent Web site.


Feb 14 2004 - The Detroit News: FBI ties Internet scam increase to
organized crime, terrorist sympathizers: The Phishing scams and their
phake banks have become the single most prevalent crime on the
Internet, experts say. 

Jan 30 2004 - Cambridge News:

Mr. Fountain became the last victim of the Dutch lottery fraud: He
committed suicide by setting himself alight after he was cheated by an 
internet scam. Widow's warning after internet scam tragedy: "I'm not
unintelligent and neither was Leslie. We both worked at universities and
dealt with technology. _If we can be conned, anyone can._"

Jan 8 2004 - The Age:
Fake bank website spotted: A new wave of hoax emails targeting Australian
bank customers, and how netters are  _shutting them down forcibly_.

Related internal links:

http://www.419legal.org

Copyright 2005, Artists Against 419


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note:  Are you as sick as I am of the growing
number of frauds and spams on the net? Then do as I have done, and
join Blue Security and/or similar groups such as Artists Against 419
who use _deterrance_ instead of ineffectual filtering methods to run
the crooks out of town. It is moral, it is ethical, and do not let
anyone tell you otherwise. Don't expect ICANN or any so-called
'authorities' on the net to give you any help. If anything, assume
that ICANN will fight your efforts.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: Wesrock@aol.com
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 19:52:38 EDT
Subject: Alltel/AT&T/Cingular in Oklahoma City Market Area


       From the news stories indicated.

Wes Leatherock
wesrock@aol.com
wleathus@yahoo.com

 From The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, OK 8-24-05


Cellular users find themselves left holding the phone after company
changeovers

By Jim Stafford
The Oklahoman

Norman physician Joseph Leonard and Asher resident David Duszynski are
fellow travelers on a wireless telephone journey neither of them
wanted to make.

Leonard and Duszynski said they were left holding expensive, useless
telephone equipment when the sale of AT&T Wireless to rival Cingular
and the subsequent sale of Oklahoma City wireless assets to Alltel
Corp. was completed in April.

"It's kind of a scam," said Leonard, who said he paid $500 for a Palm
Treo Smartphone shortly before the sale was announced. Cingular was
forced by federal regulators to sell AT&T's Oklahoma City assets, and
the buyer was Alltel.

Leonard can't use the Treo on the Alltel network because it uses a
differenttechnology. And Cingular Wireless won't let new subscribers
bring their own phones even if they use the same digital network.

Cingular's wireless network uses the same GSM -- Global System for
Mobile Communications -- that the old AT&T Wireless network used.

"It appears they may have defrauded us," Leonard said. "Big business
is striking again at the little guy."

Leonard said he has spent hours on the phone with both telephone
companies and the Oklahoma attorney general's office, and has
registered a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission.

Bottom line: He can't port his Treo into either network. 

Cingular spokesman Frank Merriman said the company won't allow users
to bring telephones from other networks to ensure "quality remains the
same across the board" for its users.

"When someone upgrades from AT&T Wireless to Cingular, they need a new
phone, and the reason they need to upgrade is there is unique software
imbedded in the phone to enable it to work properly," Merriman
said. "The AT&T network is not functioning anymore, and there is no
way that equipment can operate on the system as it is."

As for Duszynski, he owns a pair of $129 GSM phones that he can't use
on the Alltel network. He said he contacted Alltel and was offered a
$50 discount to purchase new telephones.

"What Alltel has said is we have until Dec. 31 before we have to
decide what we are going to do," Duszynski said. "I'm going to take
advantage of that and see if I come across a better deal."

Alltel's Bill Oltean, vice president of retail services for the
Oklahoma City market, said the company offers a free-phone option for
former AT&T Wireless subscribers. The uncertainty wrought by the
wireless changeover has kept him busy trying to solve issues such as
those faced by Leonard and Duszynski.

Leonard said he finally "gave up," signed up for Cingular service and
bought a $200 Blackberry, which provides some of the features that his
Treo offered.  He assigns blame to everyone, the telephone companies
and federal regulators.  "It's kind of a vicious circle with no one
taking responsibility," he said.

      --------------------------------------------------------

 From The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, OK 8-26-05

By Jim Stafford
The Oklahoman

Business is booming for Jesse Fox of Oklahoma City. He "unlocks"
digital cell phones, such as those owned by former AT&T Wireless
subscribers to let them work on virtually any carrier's network.

Fox operates Eco-Tech on Northwest Expressway, and for $20 each he
will "unlock" the code that restricts a GSM -- Global System for
Mobile Computing -- phone to one network and allow its use on any
carrier's network that uses the GSM technology.

"This is a business that's been strong for years and years," Fox said.

The issue of "unlocking" a phones software codes to allow users to
port it from one network to another surfaced recently when Cingular
Wireless bought the former AT&T Wireless network.

Although federal regulators forced Cingular to sell the Oklahoma City
assets of AT&T Wireless, some former AT&T subscribers chose to migrate
to Cingular rather than stay with Alltel and use its CDMA -- Code
Division Multiple Access -- network.

But Cingular has said it won't accept cell phones from the AT&T
Wireless network, forcing subscribers to buy new equipment to operate
on its network. Fox provides a service that allows subscribers to do
just that.

"We just unlock the phone off the carrier so they can put a new SIM
card in," Fox said. "It's totally legal. It's just like owning a
Chrysler and putting a Ford motor into it."

A SIM card is a computer chip inserted into a cell phone that provides
user identity information.

"If you come down here, nine out of every 10 customers that come in
were sent to me by Cingular," Fox said. "I'm not sure it is the
corporate stores, because the corporate stores want to sell their
phones."

Oklahoma City resident Robert Orner is among those Cingular subscribers
who brought his own phones to his new wireless carrier. He bought
three digital phones before the AT&T Wireless buyout and wanted to
keep them rather than move to Alltel's service or buy new phones.

So, he paid Eco-Tech to "unlock" them and then took them to a Cingular
agent.

"I took it in and the lady programmed it right there and there was no
problem," Orner, 73, said. "So far, everything is fine. I'm talking to
you now on my Nokia 6200 GSM phone."

Several other Cingular subscribers, contacted by The Oklahoman, on
Wednesday shared similar experiences. Their phones were "unlocked" and
put in use on the Cingular network.

A Cingular spokesman responded by saying that the company does not
condone the practice.

"We do not unlock phones, nor do we recommend that people get their
phones unlocked," spokesman Frank Merriman said. "That's not something
that we authorize or perform. If they circumvent the system it can
cause problems. We make no guarantees about the performance of their
phones."


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Of course Cingular would not 'condone'
any practice which did not serve to rip off their customers even more
than they have been already. So what else is old news?  PAT]

------------------------------

From: Wesrock@aol.com
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 20:00:04 EDT
Subject: Re: The Luncheon Meat Associated With Junk Email?


In a message dated 25 Aug 2005 09:28:40 -0700, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
writes:

> There's a name given to junk email that is the same as a pork luncheon
> meat product produced by Hormel.  I don't think the Hormel company is
> too pleased about their product associated with something negative and
> undesirable, but the usage has become widespread.

> I was wondering if this word association has helped or hindered sales
> of the food product

The Hormel Company just reported a loss for the quarter, but reported
the loss would have been a good deal higher if it were not for a
substantial increase in sales of Spam.

Wes Leatherock
wesrock@aol.com

------------------------------

From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
Subject: Re: The Luncheon Meat Associated With Junk Email?
Date: 26 Aug 2005 18:27:09 -0700
Organization: http://groups.google.com


John Hines wrote:

> No, they have a policy these days, in summary, the word 'spam' has
> been added to the English vocabulary, while 'Spam' is still a
> registered trademark, and is to be used only in reference to their
> (Hormel AFAIK) product.

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: All well and good, but how does one
> pronounce an upper case /S/ differently than a lower case /s/ in order
> to avoid violating any trademarks?  ...

The "Columbia Journalism Review", a magazine for reporters, often has
ads by corporations reminding people about using trademarks as
everyday words.  I guess the most common example today is using
"Xerox" as a verb ("go xerox this letter") or a noun ("I'll send you a
xerox of the letter").  It is a trademark and is properly used to
describe a particular brand of copier machine or the company that
makes them: ("I'll run them off on our Xerox machine").

Another example is Lycra, which is a brand time of spandex -- spandex
is the generic term for that type of fabric.

An old time example is Jello, which is a brand name for gelatin.
Another is Band-Aid.  Another is Kleenex.

Years ago I heard people refer to phonographs as "Victrolas", which
were a particular brand.

Many companies don't want their trademark names to become commonplace.
They spend a lot of money promoting their particular brand.

In that sense, I can understand Xerox's position since the company
isn't doing so well and so many other brands of machines are in use.

As to various fuels, during the last energy price spike a lot of
people bought kerosene heaters for their home.  I never heard of
anyone using a gasoline heater, though another poster described
gasoline as a better fuel for that purpose.  I guess gasoline is
considered too dangerous, I don't think one is even allowed to store
it inside a building.  They expect high fuel costs this winter and I
wonder if the stoves will make a comeback.  I hope not, they were
smelly in apartment buildings.

But as to lighting, it was kerosene for lighting that made the
Rockefeller oil fortune.  Kerosene replaced whale oil and was a lot
cheaper (plus whales were becomming extinct from aggressive hunting).
Gasoline was mostly discarded until the auto came out.

Coal stoves also made a comeback to save money.  My mother told me
coal was a horrible way to heat because it was very dirty and labor
intensive.  Her family was able to switch to oil during the 1940s and
she said it was a world of improvement.  When coal stoves reappeared
she thought people were crazy.

BTW, gas lines in cities were originally used for lighting.  Cities
had factories that manufactured the gas from coal by a rather complex
process.  In the 1960s they converted to natural gas which became
available by pipelines.  The gas works came around and converted every
gas appliance in the house for natural gas.  We had gas cooking,
clothes dryer, heat, and hot water.  For a while the gas works was
pushing gas air conditioning, but that never caught on.  I grew up
with gas, but my apt now is all electric and frankly I don't miss gas;
I was always nervous about a leak.

In Walter Cronkite's memoirs, he described a story he covered early in
his career -- a horrible gas accident in a school that used leftover
gas from nearby oil wells.  Apparently the system wasn't too
controlled.

------------------------------

From: John Hines <jbhines@newsguy.com>
Subject: Re: The Luncheon Meat Associated With Junk Email?
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 16:23:18 -0500
Organization: www.jhines.org
Reply-To: john@jhines.org


John Hines <jbhines@newsguy.com> wrote:

> hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:

>> Regards the use of the term 'spam' for unwanted email, my impression
>> has always been that Hormel treats it like a joke.

> No, they have a policy these days, in summary, the word 'spam' has
> been added to the English vocabulary, while 'Spam' is still a
> registered trademark, and is to be used only in reference to their
> (Hormel AFAIK) product.

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: All well and good, but how does one
> pronounce an upper case /S/ differently than a lower case /s/ in order
> to avoid violating any trademarks?  Perhaps in verbalizing it we 
> could refer to 'upper Spam' and 'lower spam' but somehow I think
> that would be even more confusing; it would make it come out
> sounding like a country in Asia or something.  PAT]

Context, are we talking food or email?  Or use more words ("Hormel
Spam", "Spam luncheon meat", etc) in cases where there could be doubt.

How about using "Spam the ham"? <G>


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Then how would we deal with Spam King?
Does it refer to an experienced and effective spammer, or to some
fancy variation on the meat used in luncheon sandwhiches?   PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 19:05:44 -0400
From: William Warren <william_warren_nonoise@comcast.net>
Subject: Re: Don't Forget Peter Jennings'... Flaw


William Warren wrote:

> No matter what my opinion is of Mr. Jennings, the issue of gun "control" 
>   _deserves_ attention, and I'll ask you to ask yourself one question:

> Do you know someone who would be dangerous if they owned a gun?

> William
> (Filter noise from my email address for direct replies.)

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Define 'dangerous' in your context. As
> in taking _my_ life, for example? Is that supposed to be a major
> issue?  Anytime it is my turn to go, I can assure you I will; there is
> nothing to be afraid of. Death is actually the last thing I worry about.

No, I meant dangerous as in "This guy gives me the creeps and the
_least_ damaging thing he could do with a firearm is take his own
life".

The major issue is that we all have a fairly good sixth sense about
who is and isn't to be trusted with power -- and firearms are the
ultimate power trip -- and the point I was trying to make is that the
constitution has to rely on common sense to work. Some people
shouldn't have guns. I think the authors of the second amendment
_wanted_ us to be uncomfortable with any "universal" right to own one.

TELECOM Digest Editor continued noting:

> And your theory on the Second Amendment is good, and worth
> considering.  But I still want to know: the other nine (of the
> original ten 'basics') all address the protections given to _citizens_
> in this land. Why should number two be an exception, and given the
> government the 'right to bear arms' (if well-regulated militia is
> taken to mean Army, National Guard, etc). The citizens have the right
> to speak, to have the religion they want, to be free from being
> searched or seized in their homes, etc.  And then number two says 'the
> _government_ has the right to bear arms' ?  Personally, I do not think
> so.

Nor I: the government, by definition, has the right to use
firearms. The amendment refers to a "militia", and I submit that it's
impossible to have a militia of one, and therefore that the
amendment's authors intended that it apply to _groups_ of citizens,
not to individuals _or_ the government. "Well regulated" is left open
to interpretation, and I feel that was the intent as well, since
someone else's "well regulated militia" might be my "dangerous mob".

> I have heard these folks who say (in a real pissy, whimpering tone of
> voice) "Well, we citizens do not have to bear arms, that is what the
> National Guard and Army is for." Usually I tell those folks "well, in
> that case we do not need free speech either; we have the New York
> Times and the Washington Post and Katherine Graham's News Weak
> magazine, and TELECOM Digest to do our speeches. Why do you need the
> right to speak also?"

If there's one reason for the resiliency and stability of our
government, it's that we are allowed, encouraged, and cursed to
endlessly debate what the constitution means. It means whatever the
current body politic agrees it does, and still has room to protect
individuals from that same force that defines it.

> And regards the 'final argument of Kings' that is also the final
> argument of the government is it not? Oh, we do not see them most 
> days, and we 'voluntarily' do as we are told by the government, but
> the final solution, the gun, is back there waiting, is it not? And
> as needed, it will be produced and used. PAT] 

Of course: policemen wear them, but always remind each other that
having to "break leather" is a sign of poor planning: they're in the
business of keeping a lid on an always-simmering melting pot, and the
weapon is more a _symbol_ of their authority (or, perhaps, of the
state's) than an everyday tool.

I was a cop once, and we used to tell the new recruits that "Surgeons
carry bone saws in their bags to remind themselves what happens if
they screw up. We carry weapons to remind the public of what happens
if _we_ screw up."

Policemen and politicians are in the same business, you know: it's
just the scale that's different. Both must convince citizens that its
better to talk than to fight.

FWIW. YMMV, and I think it should ;-).

William

(Filter noise from my address for direct replies).

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 23:33:47 -0500
From: Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com>
Reply-To: nmclain@annsgarden.com
Subject: Re: Broadband Competition Must Surely be Working


Garrett Wollman wrote:

> Because the market for residential communications services cannot
> support what economists call "effective competition".  The barriers
> to entry in "local loop" services are so high that allowing bundling
> stifles competition on the services built on top.

hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com responded:

> I don't agree about the barriers.  As I mentioned, our local cable
> company, while still a small independent outfit, managed to go through
> and wire us with coax and then come back and use fibre optic.

I agree with Garrett.  Your local cable company HAD to build a
separate network in order to carry NTSC television signals.  A cable
network is vastly different from the telephone network: it has to
carry much higher frequencies (by about 14 octaves), and it serves an
entirely different market.

The barriers that Garrett describes have largely prevented
construction of competitive networks of either type.

> Granted, their work methods were far cheaper than other utilities ...

Huh?  That's news to me.  CATV plant uses essentially the same "work
methods" as telcos: same poles, same pole hardware, same type of
supporting strand, same trenches, same pedestals, same rights-of-way,
same easements, same construction methods.  Often the same conduits
and manholes.  Of course, the topology is very different (tree-and-
branch rather than star); the signal-carrying cable is different 
(coax rather than multipair copper); and the electronic devices are
different.  But these differences don't make CATV networks "far
cheaper."

In fact, CATV constructions cost were often higher.  Because most CATV
networks were built half-a-century after telco networks, construction
costs in existing neighborhoods were often substantially higher than new
construction would have been.  But these differences resulted from
having to work around existing facilities, not from different "work
methods."

On the other hand, CATV labor costs were often lower than telco's
because CATV companies were usually non-union.  Furthermore, a CATV
headend costs less than a telephone central office, but that doesn't
affect the construction cost of the outside-plant network.

hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com continued:

> but they managed to build a network.  Today they offer competition
> for both telephone and broadband computer connections.

Telephone service over CATV networks wasn't realistically possible
until VOIP came along (some would say it still isn't).

> Somehow the cable TV industry managed to break through those
> "barriers" and build itself up from little cooperatives to major
> corporations.

The cable TV industry built networks to carry NTSC television signals,
not local-loop services.  The "barriers to entry in 'local loop'
services" that Garrett describes don't apply to networks that aren't
designed to provide local loops.

Garrett Wollman:

> The barriers to entry in "local loop" services are so high ...

hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com:

> If that is true -- local loop is so hard to build -- why wasn't the
> Bell System assigned the task of providing CATV service?  After all, it
> already had the natural monopoly local loop plant already in place.

Because local loop plant won't carry NTSC television signals.  The only
way a telco could/can provide CATV is by building a coax (or, nowadays,
HFC or all-fiber) network.

And because, under federal law, the telcos' "natural monopoly" didn't
apply to CATV service.  Any telco that wanted to offer CATV still had to
get a franchise from every LFA.

As it happens, a few Bell companies did just that.  SNET obtained a
state-wide franchise for Connecticut, and Ameritech built several cable
systems in its territory, mostly in Ohio.  But SBC shut them all down
after it bought the companies.

Bell Canada built numerous CATV systems in its territory.  In most
cases, it overlashed the coax cable onto its existing telco strand
(cheaper construction, but a real maintenance headache).

In the early days of the CATV industry, GTE built many CATV networks on
a "leaseback" basis: GTE financed, built, and owned the network, and
leased it to a franchised cable operator.

> The answer is that the barrier isn't so high and cable companies were
> able to surmount it.

Cable companies surmounted it by building an entirely different kind
of network.

> John Levine wrote:

> Because the telecom provider is a monopoly, or now maybe a duopoly.
> The only companies with wires into everyone's house are the phone
> company and the cable company, and that is as true now as it was 20
> years ago.  The first mover advantage is insurmountable, and although
> it would be legal for someone to raise $100 billion and overbuild a
> new phone infrastructure alongside the one we have, it'll never
> happen.

hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com:

> I don't agree at all.  See my other post about cable construction; they
> were able to do it.

I agree with John.  See my post about new-plant construction costs at
http://tinyurl.com/cm29d .

Neal McLain

------------------------------

From: jmeissen@aracnet.com
Subject: Re: Broadband Competition Must Surely be Working
Date: 26 Aug 2005 23:53:15 GMT
Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com


In article <telecom24.386.13@telecom-digest.org>,
 <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:

> jmeissen@aracnet.com wrote:







>> We've seen the effects of that many times. And each time it involved a
>> monopoly (or near-monopoly) the results were bad enough to get the
>> government involved. For instance, in the old days you HAD to use IBM
>> software and peripherals with your IBM mainframe. It was called
>> "bundling", and the government eventually stepped in and forced them
>> to unbundle their products and services.

> Actually, IBM chose to unbundle on its own, the government was not
> involved at that time.

Actually, the government WAS involved. The feds filed an antitrust
lawsuit against IBM in 1969. They fought in the courts for 13 years.
I don't recall exactly when during that period IBM unbundled, but I'm
sure the lawsuit had something to do with it :-)

> Remember that customers who wished to buy the full IBM product were
> still able to do so -- customers could go a la carte or take the
> traditional offering. 

Not before they unbundled. Until then, if you attached any non-IBM
hardware to your system they would refuse to honor any warranty or
service agreement. Which, given the failure rates back then, was a
very big deal.

Maybe you forgot already that Microsoft almost went the way of the
Bell system, also over bundling issues. The courts had already ordered
a breakup, until the Bush administration stepped in. Even so, it was
only the remedy that was modified, not the court findings.

> When telecom deregulated -- supposedly to give consumers "more"
> choice -- we consumers actually had LESS choice.  If my local Bell
> company wanted to sell me long distance, they were forbidden to do
> so (until very recently).  I note that now I get my long distance
> from them and dealing with one provider is so much better than
> multiple, plus they give me a good deal.

So you'd prefer being forced to buy long distance service from your
local phone company? My local provider keeps trying to sell me a
package, too, but somehow it's never a very good deal compared to what
I've got now with a 3rd-party.

Excluding the local carrier from selling the service while allowing
multiple competitors didn't give you less choice, it gave you more
(but different) choices. While it may not have been entirely fair,
having N (where N is greater than one) providers is not less than one.

> Saying a company should be a carrier only is like saying IBM can only
> sell hardware and we must buy our software from someone else, even if
> we like IBM's software.  

You're not listening. What we're saying is not that they shouldn't be
able to provide their own service on top of the carrier business, but
that they should provide EQUAL ACCESS to others who ALSO want to
provide such a service.

This was the original framework that the phone companies had to
operate within. For quite some time Verizon was required to operate
the Data Services Division (which provided the DSL circuits) as a
separate business unit which had to sell their product back to Verizon
Online at the same rates they charged everyone else.

> Allowing independent manufacturers to hook up their peripherals to IBM
> mainframes had its problems as well, which people forget.  If IBM
> enhanced its mainframes, the peripheral makers had to follow suit, but
> sometimes such improvements would be enough to kill them off.  If a
> peripheral had trouble, there would be finger-pointing between
> vendors.

Such issues were resolved quickly. Proper troubleshooting techniques
identify the problems fairly accurately.

>> Most of the "examples" you cited aren't valid analogies. In almost
>> every case the "bundles" are value-added services or features that
>> might make using one service slightly mor attractive than using a
>> competing one.  The Verizon "bundling" is much more like the sporting
>> event, where you're FORCED to use and pay for the parking facilities
>> associated with the event.

> The line between "value added" and forced bundling is blurry.  In any
> event, carriers should be allowed to offer their own bundled package
> and not isolated into a narrow niche.

Not at all. For instance, to use one of your examples, I'm certainly
free to bring my own magazines to the doctor's office. And no one is
saying the carrier shouldn't be allowed to offer their own bundle.
What we're saying is that they shouldn't be allowed to exclude others
from offering similar services.

> Sorry, but outsiders are attempting to dictate to me -- as a consumer
> -- what business arrangements I want to make.  You people claim it
> will be "better" for me if you do so.

Ha! You couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, it is the phone
company that is trying to dictate to you, and me, what business
arrangements we'll be ALLOWED to make.


John Meissen                                  jmeissen@aracnet.com

------------------------------

From: wollman@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman)
Subject:  Re: Broadband Competition Must Surely be Working
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 20:37:48 UTC
Organization:  MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory


In article <telecom24.386.13@telecom-digest.org>,
 <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:

> I don't agree about the barriers.  As I mentioned, our local cable
> company, while still a small independent outfit, managed to go through
> and wire us with coax and then come back and use fibre optic.

Your local cable company was granted a monopoly on cable TV service in
exchange for wiring your community.  Such monopolies are now
forbidden.

> Two years ago we had a massive blackout thanks to this "new model".

Completely false.  You had a massive blackout because the (regulated)
power distribution companies were not held to an appropriate standard
of reliability and capital investment.  Competitive power generation
did not cause the blackout.

> Today the national grid is carrying far more power than
> it was designed to

There is no "national grid", unless you're referring to the
distribution company National Grid.  Even allowing for what you
probably meant, it's still not true, and still a red herring: power
distribution is still regulated, both by the states and by the Federal
Energy Commission.

>> The barriers to entry in "local loop" services are so high ...

> If that is true -- local loop is so hard to build -- why wasn't the
> Bell System assigned the task of providing CATV service?  After all, it
> already had the natural monopoly local loop plant already in place.

"Everyone Knew" that you couldn't carry even 100 MHz of television
spectrum over telephone wiring, and of course many people had
perfectly good antennas, so why would telephone subscribers have been
forced to subsidize the construction of cable television networks?

> my local Bell company wanted to sell me long distance, they were
> forbidden to do so (until very recently).  I note that now I get my
> long distance from them and dealing with one provider is so much
> better than multiple, plus they give me a good deal.

You don't believe, I hope, that they give you "a good deal" out of the
goodness of their hearts ... They give you "a good deal" becase
there's a competitive marketplace for long-distance communications
services, and (unlike local service, until very recently) you have a
choice of carriers.

> Who gets to decide what is a "natural monopoly"?

The economy does.  I don't have the definition available off the top
of my head, but any microeconomics textbook will give you a set of
objective criteria, which when applied retrospectively to observations
of an existing marketplace will tell you if it's a natural monopoly.

> MY phone rates went up to pay for a new telco building to house
> switchgear for external companies so that someone ELSE would benefit.

What makes you think you didn't benefit from having that choice?

-GAWollman

--
Garrett A. Wollman    | As the Constitution endures, persons in every
wollman@csail.mit.edu | generation can invoke its principles in their own
Opinions not those    | search for greater freedom.
of MIT or CSAIL.      | - A. Kennedy, Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003)

------------------------------

From: Steven Lichter <shlichter@diespammers.com>
Reply-To: Die@spammers.com
Organization: I Kill Spammers, Inc.  (c) 2005 A Rot in Hell Co.
Subject: Re: Is it Sp*m if They Are Offering to Set You Up as a Sp*mmer?
Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2005 00:32:26 GMT


Hudson Leighton wrote:

> Received the following email today, names and address removed to protect 
> the guilty.

> ******

> BulletProof server:

> Fresh IPs
> 1024MB RAM 
> P4 CPU
> 72GB SCSI
> Dedicated 100M fiber
> Unlimited Data Transfer
> Any software
> Based in China
> US$599.00 for per month

> May use the server for:

> Bulk Hosting
> Direct Mailing

> We also supply Target list according to your 
> order and sending out your message for you. 

> *****

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I've been thinking I should write a
> note to those people and ask them how many netters take them up on
> their offer to 'rent their server' for direct mail purposes. If
> they can get $599 per customer/month it would pay me to discontinue
> this Digest and turn my computer totally into a 'bullet proof' direct
> spam -- err, I mean, mail server. Even just one customer per month 
> would pay off better for me than this Digest does at $599 each.  PAT]

Problem is we know where you live and what you look like. Remember the 
guy is Russia!!!!


The only good spammer is a dead one!!  Have you hunted one down today?
(c) 2005  I Kill Spammers, Inc.  A Rot in Hell Co.


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That you do know about me. I still do
not understand why ICANN does not do a re-alignment of the general
domain naming system, to put things more in line with where they
really are: Suggested TLDs would be '.sex, .scam,' and '.spam' to make
a full transition to the kind of internet Vint Cerf and Esther Dyson
have always dreamed of having.  PAT]
 
------------------------------

From: Steven Lichter <shlichter@diespammers.com>
Reply-To: Die@spammers.com
Organization: I Kill Spammers, Inc.  (c) 2005 A Rot in Hell Co.
Subject: Re: Last Laugh! Turning the Tables on Nigeria's E-Mail Conmen
Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2005 00:43:06 GMT


Michael Quinn wrote:

> This BBC News article about getting back at the senders of "get rich
> quick" scam messages may amuse some Telecom Digest readers.  The
> pictures alone are hilarious.

> Regards,
> Mike

> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3887493.stm

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks for passing this along. The
> pictures are funny. PAT]

The other day on a local TV station; reported that a Hollywood
producer called a friend and said he was being chased by people, it
was also reported that he had just gotten some money from people
involved in one of the 419 scams.  That was the last time anyone had
heard from him.

It sounds like it could be pretty dangerous.  The other day I got one
and gave a friends work phone number to them, he is with the FBI, I
let him know before I did it.  Now to see what happens.


The only good spammer is a dead one!!  Have you hunted one down today?
(c) 2005  I Kill Spammers, Inc.  A Rot in Hell Co.



[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It _is_ a very dangerous area to be in.
The archenemy of all phishers and their phake banks,
http://www.aa419.org says rather plainly on their web site that
deterring (through time-wasting emails, etc) phishers and their phony
banks is _not_ a task for the faint hearted. In their forum for users,
the members fall into a few categories including newbie-baiters,
elite- baters and master-baiters, and all 'baiters' (their term for
the now thousands of internet users who play games with the 419
crooks) are asked to try and improve their skills, but _never, never
ever_ provide any real, accurate information about yourself, for good
reason, and always use a throw-away email address when you work at
nuking their web sites, etc. A couple of the real experts (known on
their 419.org site as 'master-baiters') have actually convinced a
couple of the Nigerian conmen to _send them money_ instead of the way
the Nigerians had it planned. They have a monthly 'laugh at the 419
phishers day' each month, but they tell everyone to take much care
against getting in 'too deep' with those people. I guess they have
shut down dozens of web sites run by those fools, but the job never
seems to end. They are always looking for new players to both run that
bot thing of theirs which always goes around attacking phisher web
sites 24-7 and the phake banks the phishers set up to 'prove' to you
that they are okay, should you ask for credentials about the 'bank'
holding your lottery money or your late Uncle's (the one killed in the
aeroplane crash leaving no relatives) money. They have various dummy
email accounts set up waiting for a phisher to abuse the 'bait',
(which is what you would be if you wished to play along) and although
you would start as a novice or newbie, the other guys there in the
user forum would teach you how to become a master baiter soon enough,
and maybe get some phisher to send you money in order for your bank
to 'cut a check' as has been done, just a few minutes before they
decided to nuke that particular 419 scammer out of business.  PAT]

------------------------------


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End of TELECOM Digest V24 #387
******************************