I've stumbled on the most amazing blog direct from downtown New Orleans with a running journal from throughout the crisis. It reads like a real world version of the script from Omega Man.
Sigmund Solares is an internet entrepreneur (CEO and co-owner of DirectNIC) in New Orleans who runs a blog called The Interdictor. He and a group of friends, co-workers and customers have managed to keep their internet online and to provide ongoing coverage of the events in New Orleans using diesel generators and camping out in their offices. The site has first-hand reports of what's going on in the city, lots and lots of photographs, an IRC chat and even a couple of web cams showing live footage around their building.
I don't know much about these folks, and they're doing everything they can to keep their blogging a-political. It's hard to tell whether their survivalist mentality is something they had before the crisis or if it developed in response to the situation. Many of them seem to have military backgrounds, and they are remarkably well organized, with multiple teams seemingly formed around several related internet businesses which are performing basic services for each other and keeping the whole operation afloat. Yes, I have reason to believe they're conservative/libertarian types, but this shouldn't be about politics. It's history live on the internet.
They've also been doing good work for others at the same time. The National Guard actually came to them to borrow diesel tanks and communications equipment, and they were called in by the city government to help reestablish internet access in their offices. They've also helped out local people where they could, and attracted a lot of media attention to specific problems in the city that they've observed.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Dave Nalle
I just updated some of the info in the article. The original IRC link I had was not working - the new one is wanky too, but better. Might want to try it with an IRC client rather than a browser. I also added Sigmund Solares AIM address, but he's likely to be too busy to be on AIM much.
Dave
2 - Dave Nalle
Simund has just posted his most recent photos from NO at http://sigmund.biz/0906/. I mention them in a comment here because they are not linked into the main site yet.
They include photos of some of the many fires breaking out in the city and of what appears to be the USS Carrituck, a naval reserve seaplane tender carrying a bunch of helicopters. It's definitely not the hospital ship that has been reported as being in the area.
Dave
3 - Ronald C McKito
Great Blog, I'm glad I'm not the only one who is getting sick of hearing about who to blame. This sounds like some down to earth news. I'll be checking this out.
4 - Dave Nalle
It's really pretty amazing stuff. It takes a while to read through, but it's worth it for the eyewitness nature of it. I hope that my ISP has this kind of dedication if they are ever in an earthquake or other natural disaster.
Dave
5 - David T
I have been reading and looking at all the pictures off and on for the last couple of hours and I am always so amazed at how different of a picture blogs paint of any given situation compared to the media. Like reading a book and then seeing the movie. The whole situation seems much ,much worse from from what I have been reading and seeing. Not just no electricity, food, toiletries NO WATER It still amazes me people live in an area like this prone to natural disaster are given days notice and are not even really prepared for the power to go out for a day or two makes me think back to the old Boy Scout Motto Be Prepared or better yet an old bosses saying Lance Elwells "Prepare for the worst hope for the best."
We as Americans must PREPARE for Natural disasters and have sufficient water, food and emergency funds and plans set escape routes and meeting points for our families. I know since this disaster has developed I have been thinking about my own supplies and plans as a provider for a son and wife carrying my unborn child.
My prayers go out to all those affected by this horrible disaster may the extreme chaos come to an end.
6 - Dave Nalle
It's an amazing site, isn't it.
And I have to point out that these Sig and his guys were in that area and clearly WERE prepared for the disaster and found ways to stay up and functioning. And by all accounts - more coming out all the time - there are people on the very low end of the economic scale who also found ways to cope without going to a shelter or being evacuated. It's the difference between those who panicked and expected government to save them, and those who just figured out what they needed to do to survive.
Dave
7 - Dave Nalle
BTW, these folks have been given a special exemption from the mandatory evacuation and will be on site and continue to maintain their blog and webcams for the duration - I guess it pays to be the only source for high speed internet still operating in the powerless city.
Dave
8 - Cerulean
Interesting blog Dave but as far as people who expected the government to step up to the plate, they were far from unreasonable, even if they did grossly overestimate Shrub and his local counterparts.
9 - Dave Nalle
Cerulean, if you read the blog this article is about you'll find that in many areas the federal government came through like aces and almost all the failures were on the local level. FEMA certainly bears some responsibility, but the National Guard, the Navy, the Coast Guard and the regular army all did exemplary work once they had access to the city - which for the Navy and Coast Guard was almost immediate.
Dave
10 - nina
Don't be fooled: Sigmund Solares is a cybersquatter and this is my message for him:
I have an idea, Sigmund: show some decency, and close Kenyatech.com, the shady company you've been using to hide your cybersquatting activities.
The World Intellectual Property Organization has found you, on more than one occasion, guilty of registering domains "on bad faith" to try to make a buck, so I guess you thought you would hide under a fake address in Kenya. Too bad. We found you. Google "Sigmund Solares" and "cybersquatter" and you will find a tremendous amount of websites and boards that contain the unequivocal evidence: Sigmund Solares is a cybersquatter.
Cybersquatting is not cool, Sig (you obviously know this, otherwise you wouldn't feel the need to cover your activities under a fake company, like a thief with an alias). You've taken personal domains and business domains from thousands of people - most of whom simply don't have the hundreds of dollars that they will need to spend in arbitration and litigation to get their names back. You are affecting their livelihoods, their activities, their personal communications.
You are no better than the people who looted New Orleans. You are just better at it. Show some decency, Sigmund. Close Kenyatech, and let people get their domains back.
11 - Dave Nalle
So, you're saying that he's an intelligent businessman who has invested in speculative commodities and profited from them? That's legal here in America, even if some find it inconvenient. Good thing the World Intellectual Property Organization has no enforcement powers.
Dave
12 - Dave Nalle
To follow up, I'd like to know who YOU are, Nina. There seems to be someone going around the net posting the same comment - word for word - to any thread discussing Solares. Sounds like a smear campaign to me.
The main complaints against Solares and his company seem to be that they buy domain names that are not properly renewed as they become available. I agree that's opportunistic, but it's certainly not morally or legally objectionable. The error lies on those who own the domains and don't renew them when they should.
Dave
13 - Dave Nalle
BTW, the entry you've put on Wikipedia for Solares is a violation of their terms of use, which is why it keeps getting deleted.
Dave
14 - nina
Wow, David Nelle, you get so many of your facts wrong, it's hard to take you seriously, but for this time (and this time only) I'll reply to your message.
1. WIPO does indeed have enforcement powers. Every time people have used its arbitration services, "Kenyatech" and cybersquatter-in-chief Sigmund Solares have lost, and the domain has been returned to its "rightful owner." (WIPO's term, not mine). The only problem most people find is the expense: its arbitration services are costly, so a lot of Sigmund Solares' victims don't have the money to pay for them. The ones who did, won their cases.
2. Cybersquatting is both morally and legally objectionable. That's the reason there are organizations such as WIPO, which try to curb these activities.
Obviously, Sigmund Solares knows this. Otherwise, why would an entrepreneur from New Orleans feel compelled to use a fake firm in Kenya as a cover for his activities? After WIPO found him guilty of registering domains on "bad faith" and forced him to give them back to their rightful owner, he started hiding behind the Kenyatech cover. Again, why would he do that if what he's doing is morally and legally right?
3. I was not the one who wrote the entry on Wikipedia describing Sigmund Solares as a cybersquatter (although I wish I had, since it's the truth. BTY -I found the entry more than a week ago and I just checked, it's still there, so you are also wrong about it being deleted.) There are thousands of people whose domains have been taken by Sigmund Solares, so he has a lot of enemies. I'm just one of them. If you don't believe me, check out these websites:
www.kenyatech-cybersquatters.com
www.rootfest.net/squatters.html
www.blogdenovo.org/archives/000188.html
www.rederon.net/category/noldc
They are all devoted to Sigmund Solares shady activities. None of them is mine. I just found a blog where Solares boasted about his performance on Katrina and thought people deserved to know who Sigmund Solares really is: a cybersquatter.
A final suggestion (in case you are not Sigmund Solares himself - since he hides behind a "Kenyatech" cover, he might very well be using the name "David Nelle" as a cover): get your facts right before you speak (write) and become more selective about the people you defend. You are on the side of a man who has abused his position as CEO of two registrars to take the domains from thousands of their rightful owners, affecting their businesses and lives; a man who has chosen to hide behind a fake company in Kenya (probably to try to avoid class action suits).
Who are you going to defend next? The people who ran Enron?
15 - Dave Nalle
Amusing that you can't even spell my name correctly when it's on the top of the article you're responding to AND the comment you're responding to. That makes me wonder how seriously I should take any of this.
What I've been able to find on the web is a number of very similar postings and sites which are remarkably similar and all of which accuse Solares of 'cybersquatting', an activity which some find questionable, but which no responsible business owner should - at this point in history - be at any risk of. All of these attacks look suspiciously like they come from the same source or from a very small pool of activists.
>>1. WIPO does indeed have enforcement powers. Every time people have used its arbitration services, "Kenyatech" and cybersquatter-in-chief Sigmund Solares have lost, and the domain has been returned to its "rightful owner." (WIPO's term, not mine). The only problem most people find is the expense: its arbitration services are costly, so a lot of Sigmund Solares' victims don't have the money to pay for them. The ones who did, won their cases.<<
That's not enforcement, that's intimidation and extortion. Presumably Solares can't afford to defend himself either, so the plaintiff automatically wins. And as you suggest, there's no penalty to Solares besides the small cost of registering an abandonned domain name.
>>2. Cybersquatting is both morally and legally objectionable. That's the reason there are organizations such as WIPO, which try to curb these activities. <<
There is a very singificant difference between registering abandonned domain names - which seems to be what Solares does and registering domain names that match the names of existing companies in the hopes of extorting money from them to give up the domain names. The first is opportunistic and legal. The second is illegal in the US and overseas.
I'd like to see some links to specific case information on instances where Solares has been proven to have engaged in the former activity.
>>Obviously, Sigmund Solares knows this. Otherwise, why would an entrepreneur from New Orleans feel compelled to use a fake firm in Kenya as a cover for his activities?<<
No idea. You haven't prrovided any evidence to support this assertion, or even your real name so that you can be investigated. We know who Sigmund Solares is. Who are you?
>>After WIPO found him guilty of registering domains on "bad faith" and forced him to give them back to their rightful owner, he started hiding behind the Kenyatech cover. Again, why would he do that if what he's doing is morally and legally right?<<
I have no idea. However, it's not clear from what I've been able to find that anything about kenyatech is illegal. In addition, Solares company is the registrar for Kenyatech, but there's no indication that they own kenyatech. The WHOIS info suggests a real company in Kenya owns it. They even have a phone number there. Is it that these accusers don't know enough about domain registration to tell the difference between the registrar and the domain owner?
>>3. I was not the one who wrote the entry on Wikipedia describing Sigmund Solares as a cybersquatter (although I wish I had, since it's the truth. BTY -I found the entry more than a week ago and I just checked, it's still there, so you are also wrong about it being deleted.)<<
Try checking the history. It's been deleted and modified something like 1500 times.
>>There are thousands of people whose domains have been taken by Sigmund Solares, so he has a lot of enemies. I'm just one of them. If you don't believe me, check out these websites:<<
Odd, the sites you reference seem to have the same two or three people posting again and again, not 'thousands'.
>>They are all devoted to Sigmund Solares shady activities. None of them is mine. I just found a blog where Solares boasted about his performance on Katrina and thought people deserved to know who Sigmund Solares really is: a cybersquatter.<<
Solares hasn't posted one word on this blog. I've been trying to get hold of him for an interview, but with no luck.
>>A final suggestion (in case you are not Sigmund Solares himself - since he hides behind a "Kenyatech" cover, he might very well be using the name "David Nelle" as a cover): get your facts right before you speak (write) and become more selective about the people you defend. You are on the side of a man who has abused his position as CEO of two registrars to take the domains from thousands of their rightful owners, affecting their businesses and lives; a man who has chosen to hide behind a fake company in Kenya (probably to try to avoid class action suits). <<
Show me some evidence. Neither you nor the sites you reference have any clear info connecting Solares with Kenyatech through anything other than the fact that his company registers their domains, which is a big fat zero.
Dave
16 - Kai
If you are going to criticize other people's spelling, I suggest you improve your own. In less than 500 words of text, you misspelled "significant," "provided" and "abandoned." In the last case, you twice wrote "abandonned" (sic) so it's obviously not a typo.
I guess you are one of those people who don't let facts get in the way of a good rant, but let me clarify a few things for the readers of this board:
Kenyatech itself boasts of having thousands of domains for sale. While it's impossible to get an exact number, a quick browse of their listings shows that "thousands" is probably correct. A very significant part of those domains -if not all of them- were previously owned, and many of the people who have lost their domains have taken to the Internet -besides studying legal courses of action- to let people know that Sigmund Solares is a cybersquatter. That's just a fact. I have seen many boards, and have contacted many of Solares' victims. You are wrong to assume there are only "a very small pool" of us.
WIPO offers arbitration services - that's neither intimidation nor extortion. Besides, the burden of payment is on the person who brings the case to the organization. For Solares, it's free, so your assumption that he "can't afford to defend himself" is ludicrous. Not that lawyers are needed at WIPO but even if they did, Solares wouldn't need to hire one, since he has a JD (or so he says in his bio.) Yet he has lost almost all the cases. There's a good reason for that: he's guilty of cybersquatting.
Cybersquatting is already illegal in the state of California and there are international laws against it - that is the reason WIPO has been able to give back their domains to many of their rightful owners. The system is far from perfect -it's expensive for those who wish to recover their domains, a flaw Solares has exploted- but it's advancing in the right direction.
But even if it weren't illegal, taking advantage of your position as CEO of two registrars to take people's domain names, and then demanding hundreds of dollars or more to give them back is morally repulsive. Sigmund Solares knows this. That's why he's hiding. There was a time when kidnapping wasn't illegal. That doesn't mean it was right.
Actually, we have established clear links between Kenyatech and the companies Solares runs. You either haven't read the websites mentioned above, or you just don't want to see.
You are wrong about several other things, but I can't spend any more time correcting your false statements. Don't bother replying either. I just found this website doing some research on Solares and while I care little about the opinions of someone as misinformed as you -and therefore have no intention of returning to this site-, I think people who read your postings deserve to know that you could not be more wrong.
Then again, you probably lost them at "abandonned."
KV
17 - Dave Nalle
>>Kenyatech itself boasts of having thousands of domains for sale. <<
You still have yet to establish a connection between Kenyatech and Solares aside from his company being their domain registrar. Until you do that your attacks will never be taken seriously.
>>many of the people who have lost their domains have taken to the Internet -besides studying legal courses of action- to let people know that Sigmund Solares is a cybersquatter. That's just a fact. I have seen many boards, and have contacted many of Solares' victims. You are wrong to assume there are only "a very small pool" of us. <<
I've been on every board I can find which addresses this issue and it is clearly the same 3 or 4 people posting over and over again and trying to stir up trouble.
>>WIPO offers arbitration services - that's neither intimidation nor extortion. Besides, the burden of payment is on the person who brings the case to the organization. For Solares, it's free, so your assumption that he "can't afford to defend himself" is ludicrous. Not that lawyers are needed at WIPO but even if they did, Solares wouldn't need to hire one, since he has a JD (or so he says in his bio.) Yet he has lost almost all the cases. There's a good reason for that: he's guilty of cybersquatting.<<
Can you provide a link to ANY evidence of these many cases against Solares? I haven't been able to find any record of them on the net.
>>Cybersquatting is already illegal in the state of California and there are international laws against it - that is the reason WIPO has been able to give back their domains to many of their rightful owners. The system is far from perfect -it's expensive for those who wish to recover their domains, a flaw Solares has exploted- but it's advancing in the right direction.
But even if it weren't illegal, taking advantage of your position as CEO of two registrars to take people's domain names, and then demanding hundreds of dollars or more to give them back is morally repulsive. Sigmund Solares knows this. That's why he's hiding. There was a time when kidnapping wasn't illegal. That doesn't mean it was right.<<
Again, he is not 'taking' peoples domain names. If they don't renew those names then the fault lies with them, not with Solares. It's not at terribly nice practice, but it shouldn't be illegal to take advantage of someone else's negligence.
>>Actually, we have established clear links between Kenyatech and the companies Solares runs. You either haven't read the websites mentioned above, or you just don't want to see.<<
Ok, tell me where that evidence is. I've been to the sites you refertenced earlier and there's not one bit of evidence that I can find.
>>You are wrong about several other things, but I can't spend any more time correcting your false statements. Don't bother replying either. I just found this website doing some research on Solares and while I care little about the opinions of someone as misinformed as you -and therefore have no intention of returning to this site-, I think people who read your postings deserve to know that you could not be more wrong. <<
I shouldn't have to remind you that my posting had nothing at all to do with Solares business activities, but was about what he was doing in New Orleans during the recent crisis there, and it's an entirely different topic, and interesting in its own right. This whole issue about Solares Cybersquatting was brought up by you, and I would truly like to know more about it, but you're incredibly hostile and completely unwilling to back up your claims so that I can do further investigation. I have no personal stake in Solares or his activities. If he's the scumbag you think he is I'd like to investigate it, but so far I haven't been able to get any evidence of it on my own. But if you don't care enough to help, that's your choice.
Dave
18 - the latest solares cybersquatting
All I can say is I don't know how Sigmund Solares sleeps at night.
'I Don't Know If It's A Scam Or A Crime, But It Hurts'
November 11, 2005
By KOMO Staff
SEATTLE - She started a Web site to honor her murdered toddler. But now, a local mother says the site has been hijacked, and the hijackers are demanding a steep ransom.
It's the heartbreaking consequences of something called "cyber-squatting".
Margot Wetzel just can't believe the Web site honoring her dead daughter is gone.
"I don't know if it's a scam or a crime, but it hurts," she said.
18-month-old Charlotte Wetzel was murdered by her daycare provider Robin Johnson 7 years ago.
CharlotteWetzel.com chronicled a mother's grief and offered tips on preventing abuse.
But when Margot tried to renew the domain name, she discovered that someone else beat her to it.
Then, she got an e-mail demanding she pay $15,000 to get it back.
"Well they're basically holding it for ransom, right?" she said. "It's like, 'yeah, you can use it but we need some cash.' "
PC World columnist Stuart Johnston says it's called "cyber-squatting". Usually, cybersquatters buy up the names of successful businesses and then try to sell them back.
But Johnston says he's never seen anything like this.
"I haven't seen anything that's quite this heinous of someone taking a domain name that's so close to someone's heart," Johnston said.
We found out who bought the domain name -- they're called New Orleans Leftover Data Centers. We tried calling them to find out just what they're up to, but every time we called, we got the answering machine.
We also sent the company several emails and got no response.
"They just want to make money off people, they don't really care what the Web site is all about," Margot said.
Charlottewetzel.com will be up for renewal again in 2006. Margot says she'll be ready, hoping to beat these cyber squatters to the punch.
There are federal laws against cyber-squatting, but experts tell us they only apply to cases where the Web site was trademarked.
(Actually, this last paragraph is wrong. The law also protects people's names, such as Charlotte's.)
19 - more on sig and kenyatech
Oh, yes, and before you start saying "there is no proof of a relationship between Kenyatech and Solares" - despite the fact that every single domain offered by "Kenyatech" has been registered through NOLDC, Intercosmos or Domain Contender (which are all run by Sigmund Solares), despite the fact that to buy a domain from Kenyatech you have to pay (surprise, surprise) NOLDC (I repeat: a Solares's company), despite the fact that the IP address for "Kenyatech" is not in Kenya but (where else?) in New Orleans (where Solares and all his companies are based) and despite a lot of other information discovered by Solares's victims and posted on the web - now it turns out that in Charlotte's case, the new "owner" (not just the registrar) is none other than NOLDC (your friend Sig!) - who's offering the domain for sale at Kenyatech!!
"There is no worse blind man than the one who doesn't want to see."
20 - Dave Nalle
Ok, Solares is a 'cybersquatter'. What does that have to do with the topic of this post. Can I call you 'discussion hijackers'? Using this thread as a place to carry on your attacks on Solares may make you happy, but it's insulting to the author of the article - not that you care.
Dave
21 - MPhilips
Actually, Dave, you were the one who said you wanted information on Solares's links to cybersquatting.
I quote you:
"This whole issue about Solares Cybersquatting was brought up by you, and I would truly like to know more about it, but you're incredibly hostile and completely unwilling to back up your claims so that I can do further investigation. I have no personal stake in Solares or his activities. If he's the scumbag you think he is I'd like to investigate it."
Now, someone (not me, BTW) was nice enough to provide you with the information you said you wanted, and your response is to call that "insulting."
22 - Ron LeFew
You want proof that Sigmund is Guilty of Cybersquatting? How about a link to the Official WIPO site detailing the cases.
To find the evidence since you cannot read an entire article (and this one is big) do a search for Solares.
The connections of Sigmund to Kenyatech has already been explained.
I appreciate the article you wrote, however he didn't do this for the right reasons. He did what he did during Katrina to Showboat. He and his crew were the only people who were able to get in and out of New Orleans with ease. They were able to get all the fuel they needed. They went to all the media outlets they could to get their story out. And the media ate it up, not knowing how much of a criminal this person is.
Sigmund actually went out of his way to get publicity for the blog. Does that sound like someone who was doing it out of the kindness of his heart?
I suppose the real question is, is he a saint for his blog, which wasn't even run by him until after the hurricane was over with (look at the name of the poster) or is he a sinner for his years and years of criminal activities that have been increased since the hurricane?
Oh one more thing. The price of domains went up by about 1000% since Katrina. He needs more money to rebuild. The News Article in Washington should show that. Prices went from $350 to $15,000.
23 - mike
OHHH... this wont last for long.... read here:
here
here
here
here
THIS LOSER IS GOING DOWN. DONT EVEN TRY to stick up for him. Anyone that is close with him, they'll be torn down as well.
This is a promise - take it to the bank.
24 - mike
for Dave Nalle RE: post #11
Get a grip. What, are you sleeping with that Russian Mafia bastard Solares?
He's done. Its over. The IRS, FBI and DHS have been trailing him and are close to nabbing him. Him and his little wife along with all his cronies in FL, LA and the rest the world.
You'll see... Keep watching AL-JAZEERA for the latest. Uh... did I say that? Oooh sorry. Didnt mean to expose YOU as well.
25 - Dave Nalle
You want proof that Sigmund is Guilty of Cybersquatting? How about a link to the Official WIPO site detailing the cases.
That's a link to one case which I've seen before. There are others where he was found to be innocent as well.
I think it's well established that he's a cybersquatter. The only questions are whether cybersquatting is really such a terrible crime in a free enterprise environment, and whether it's at all germaine to the topic of this article.
BTW, I've tried to contact Solares numerous times to interview him about the New Orleans business and the cybersquatting issue - from a relatively open minded perspective and he's never responded in any way, which doesn't earn a lot of points with me.
I appreciate the article you wrote, however he didn't do this for the right reasons. He did what he did during Katrina to Showboat. He and his crew were the only people who were able to get in and out of New Orleans with ease. They were able to get all the fuel they needed. They went to all the media outlets they could to get their story out. And the media ate it up, not knowing how much of a criminal this person is.
Regardless of his motivations, he did do some good in New Orleans, and the value of that site and its coverage to those of us outside the crisis was enormous. It really didn't come off as that self-promoting.
Sigmund actually went out of his way to get publicity for the blog. Does that sound like someone who was doing it out of the kindness of his heart?
If I had a blog with something cool and unique going on with it I'd find ways to publicize it too. Wouldn't you?
I suppose the real question is, is he a saint for his blog, which wasn't even run by him until after the hurricane was over with (look at the name of the poster) or is he a sinner for his years and years of criminal activities that have been increased since the hurricane?
The criminality of his activities is still open to debate. I don't see cybersquatting as that outrageous, even though I've been the victim of it on a small scale. I found ways to deal with it.
Dave