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Tuesday, December 22, 2009
A Million Reasons to Be Thankful
Thank you so much for making 2009 such a special year. I've learned a whole lot from the people who have taken the time to comment and participate in the forums, and I can't thank you enough for making my time with this blog so enjoyable. Particularly since, well, let's face it, a side effect of my job is saying no to about 15,000 people a year, your generosity of spirit is inspiring and appreciated!
Here's hoping to many great manuscripts and successes and writerly camaraderie in the coming year.
78 comments:
- christicorbett said...
- December 22, 2009 at 11:41 AM
congrats and here's to the infinite abyss . . .
- December 22, 2009 at 11:45 AM
- Jeremy Robb said...
It's been a pleasure to visit your blog, and to hear all your key suggestions for those of us who struggle through the I Am Crazies. I'm looking forward to another year!
- December 22, 2009 at 11:46 AM
- Alli said...
Congrats! And thank you for providing the opportunity for a band of writers to learn and bond in what doesn't have to be a solitary pursuit. May 2010 be the year where many people fulfill their dreams and wishes.
- December 22, 2009 at 11:49 AM
- Lauren Barnholdt said...
Thanks for providing such a great resource..
- December 22, 2009 at 11:50 AM
- Matthew said...
Congratulations. I'm new to your blog and glad to be part of the milestone.
- December 22, 2009 at 11:52 AM
- Ann M said...
That's wonderful! I'm so glad that you enjoy working on this blog so much, and that so many people enjoy reading and participating! I know I've been both informed and entertained!
Thanks and happy holidays!
- December 22, 2009 at 12:07 PM
- T. Anne said...
I'd say you're worth at least a million. Here's something that'll make the both of us feel better. Don't say no to me next year. Have a wonderful Christmas and a great New year! Much love.
- December 22, 2009 at 12:07 PM
- Lisa and Laura said...
Congratulations Nathan! Your blog was our very first introduction to the real world of publishing. I'm pretty sure that you're the person who first defined the dreaded term "query" for us. Thank you for all of your hard work. Can't imagine where we'd be today if we hadn't stumbled upon the wealth of information we found over here.
- December 22, 2009 at 12:08 PM
- Tina Lynn said...
Congratulations! The informations is great and all, but it's your humor and wit that keeps me coming back. Thanks for being you:)
- December 22, 2009 at 12:18 PM
- Alicia A said...
Just keep doing what your doing Nathan, and we'll keep hanging on your every word. Congrats and Thanks.
- December 22, 2009 at 12:20 PM
- Richard said...
Here's hoping that I am the one millionth visitor to your outstanding blog! Thank you for your time and effort in sharing good, useful information to others! Merry Christmas!
- December 22, 2009 at 12:29 PM
- Steve & Sarah Travel the Long Way Round said...
Congrats! A nice holiday gift for all of your efforts.
- December 22, 2009 at 12:37 PM
- Lisa Schroeder said...
A million - wow!!!
Thanks for being such a great blog to read, Nathan.
Happy holidays!!
- December 22, 2009 at 12:38 PM
- Dara said...
Congrats on the soon-to-be-millionth unique visitor for the year!
And thank you for spending the time in making this blog such a valuable resource of information as well as a fun community.
- December 22, 2009 at 12:40 PM
- Emily White said...
One million people! Woohoo!
To be honest, I'm not at all surprised. This blog is top notch and it's a special treat that an agent such as yourself is willing to get to know so many prospective writers personally and to help them along their writing path. Thank you, Nathan! This milestone was well-earned! :)
- December 22, 2009 at 12:44 PM
- Marla Taviano said...
Congrats! I really enjoy your blog.
- December 22, 2009 at 12:59 PM
- D. G. Hudson said...
It's been a great year of reading your informative posts, but a busy one for me. Congrats on reaching the milestone when it arrives. I know I've told several writer friends about the site, as I'm sure others have.
It's your content, your interactions with the readers of your blog, and your attitude that keeps us coming back. There are enough snarky blogs, for those in the mood for abuse, but I prefer your 'San Fransciso' approach.
- December 22, 2009 at 12:59 PM
- Terry said...
Congratulations and thank you!
I've learned so much from this blog, from you and the other writers. The humor and general feeling of warmth and friendship here is a big plus. You keep it on a high level.
Here's to more millions!
- December 22, 2009 at 1:01 PM
- Kay Theodoratus said...
Congrats on the coming millionth visitor. May they learn as much from you as I have.
- December 22, 2009 at 1:13 PM
- Phyllis said...
Congrats and thank you!
I have at least 789 reasons to be thankful for as that is the number of posts on your blog. I could add a gazillion interesting links, the forums, the interesting discussions in the comments, and all that stuff that can't be put in numerals: your dedication, the value of your advice, and the monkeys.
- December 22, 2009 at 1:27 PM
- Jamie said...
One million? Really? I am excited that I am almost up to 100 followers - wow - I'm in awe!!!
- December 22, 2009 at 1:37 PM
- Bane of Anubis said...
Thanks for all you do. May next year bring you 2 million visitors and 30,000 queries ;)
PS - of course, I expect you're especially thankful after the miraculous comeback last night. Tyreke Evans is looking like quite the stud.
- December 22, 2009 at 1:44 PM
- Nathan Bransford said...
That game was seriously unreal.
- December 22, 2009 at 1:45 PM
- Lisa Desrochers said...
That's one million people who have benefited from your generosity and expertise. We count ourselves as lucky that you're willing to share. =)
Congrats on the milestone!
- December 22, 2009 at 1:55 PM
- Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist! said...
many great wishes and congrats to you. Happy Holidays to everyone reading this!
- December 22, 2009 at 1:57 PM
- JohnO said...
You're a millionaire! Go and get yourself a smoking jacket, big guy.
- December 22, 2009 at 1:58 PM
- Paul Greci said...
Congrats Nathan,
Your blog is a great resource and a fun place to hang out and talk!
- December 22, 2009 at 1:59 PM
- L-Plate Author said...
All the best for the holiday season and the coming New Year, Nathan. Long may your posts continue.
Mel Sherratt x
- December 22, 2009 at 2:15 PM
- Kristi said...
Happy 1 million!! You deserve it as this blog is the best. Happy Holidays!
- December 22, 2009 at 2:25 PM
- Amalia T. said...
And thank you for being even more generous with your time and advice for writers!
- December 22, 2009 at 2:25 PM
- GhostFolk.com said...
Scroll copy (not a link, sorry):
For your Christmastime ponderings.
Congratulations on the milestone and to each of the million who contributed so many comments here keep me coming back.
- December 22, 2009 at 2:27 PM
- Vegas Linda Lou said...
A million unique visits! WOW! Congratulations!
- December 22, 2009 at 2:33 PM
- maine character said...
You mean there's forums? I just got here yesterday, and- ACK! There are forums! This is why I switched to reading blogs - I was spending too much time on forums. But I bet these forums are informative, helpful, and witty, and written by informative, helpful, witty people. ACK!
- December 22, 2009 at 2:39 PM
- Steve Fuller said...
And the one millionth visitor wins a...
- December 22, 2009 at 2:50 PM
- JFBookman said...
Congratulations, Nathan, and thanks for all the thoughtful and helpful writing you've done here. Even though I'm a newcomer, I don't plan to miss any of your posts in 2010.
- December 22, 2009 at 3:24 PM
- Shelli said...
holy crap! Where would we be without your advice
- December 22, 2009 at 3:25 PM
- Marilyn Peake said...
Congratulations, Nathan! Hope you have a wonderful Christmas, and a fantastic New Year!
- December 22, 2009 at 3:39 PM
- Mira said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- December 22, 2009 at 3:41 PM
- Mira said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- December 22, 2009 at 3:42 PM
- Mira said...
So, I took it down because everyone else has short posts, and maybe mine seemed like too much.
So, I'll just say I think your site is very fun, Nathan. Love your posts, the topics, the commentors and the discussions. :)
- December 22, 2009 at 3:49 PM
- Susan Quinn said...
Congrats! I'm going to go waaay out on a limb and predict that your 2010 is going to be even better - and you deserve it all for everything you give back to the community!
- December 22, 2009 at 4:00 PM
- Mira said...
Okay, I'm re-posting this because it didn't convey what I wanted it to - I need an edit button. Sorry, Nathan.
Okay, about the topic.
I think it's wonderful that you hit your 1 million visitor - congratulations!
But I think the real testament to the site is that people keep coming back - and they do. Lots and lots of them. :)
Happy Holidays, Nathan.
- December 22, 2009 at 4:12 PM
- Bron said...
One million unique visitors - that's insane. Congratulations! Hopefully they don't all query you or you'll be saying no to a lot more than 15,000 people!
Merry Christmas.
- December 22, 2009 at 4:31 PM
- Charlee Vale said...
Congratulations Nathan! 1 million of anything is something to be seriously proud of. You have no idea how much your insight has helped me and I look forward to all the wonderful things that will undoubtedly come on this blog next year!
- December 22, 2009 at 5:22 PM
- Moira Young said...
Congratulations, Nathan!
And thank *you* for keeping this blog. I've learned so much from it (and not just how much I want an e-book reader!), and it's great to read everyone's responses as they weigh in with their thoughts and experiences. I'm grateful for everything you've had to say.
Happy holidays to you and your family. You deserve a break!
- December 22, 2009 at 5:42 PM
- Lydia Sharp said...
Congrats! Looking forward to the new year. :)
- December 22, 2009 at 5:44 PM
- kathrynjankowski said...
A million visitors! Way to go!
Wishing you joyous holidays.
- December 22, 2009 at 5:45 PM
- Catenabi said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- December 22, 2009 at 6:31 PM
- Catenabi said...
Congratulations Nathan!
I'm very grateful to have discovered your blog this year and wish you all the best for 2010!
- December 22, 2009 at 6:34 PM
- Richard Lewis said...
And many thanks for your time and thoughts!
Dentists' favorite hymn: "Crown Him with Many Crowns."
Lit agents' favorite hymn: "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing"
- December 22, 2009 at 6:43 PM
- Sissy said...
I for one am so glad I discovered this blog. It has been so helpful as I try to navigate the publishing world and think about submitting my work. Each post has something to think about, and the sidebars are just what we need to know. Thank you, thank you.
- December 22, 2009 at 6:45 PM
- Haste yee back ;-) said...
So? You're 998,700 ahead of me. But I got tater sacks full of hang-in-thereness!
Haste yee back ;-)
- December 22, 2009 at 6:51 PM
- Heather Boyd said...
Well you haven't said no to me yet. Actually, I havent given you the chance, but thank you for posting such a great blog posts this year. I've really enjoyed reading your work. Merry Christmas.
- December 22, 2009 at 6:55 PM
- MzMannerz said...
Congrats - you deserve it, this is a great destination.
And I'm truly excited for you for Jacob Wonderbar. The fact that you went through the process to get your book published completely cast so many of your blog posts in a different light. I admittedly answered a few of them rather grumpily (that time you asked what made anyone call themselves a writer I was totally Babyface: taking it personally and like an insult - if you get that reference at all let me know).
Just goes to show I'm dumb as a box of rocks.
I'm glad you're blogging, and glad you're being published. :)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
- December 22, 2009 at 7:18 PM
- jongibbs said...
Congratulations :)
Though I feel you missed an opportunity here. You could have done the 'Thanks a Million' line :)
- December 22, 2009 at 7:26 PM
How do you determine "unique" visitors--different IP's? But don't ISP's these days use dynamic IPs so that your home PC IP is always change every 8 hours or so? So wouldn't that throw it off?
- December 22, 2009 at 7:35 PM
- D. G. Hudson said...
San Francisco, I meant. One of my favorite cities, so I should be able to spell it. San Francisco attitude. It's subtle.
- December 22, 2009 at 7:57 PM
- Donna Hole said...
Thanks for having this site, and for being willing to continue and expand.
You are appreciated also.
Have a great holiday!!
- December 22, 2009 at 8:50 PM
- Rick Daley said...
That's cool you have so many unique visitors. Many of us are kind of ordinary. I know I am a real homebody.
Really, those are high numbers. The total visits count must be staggering. I know because I count for at least 3,178,945 hits from refreshing the page the day I was a guest blogger.
Looking forward to following you through 2010! Have a safe holiday.
- December 22, 2009 at 8:52 PM
Kudos, Nathan!!!
Thanks for all your help and encouragement. I wish you every happiness for year 2010.
- December 22, 2009 at 8:58 PM
- Nathan Bransford said...
Yeah, it doesn't mean literally one million people, it's a mixture of actual people and return visitors who have different IP addresses. I use StatCounter to track the hits.
- December 22, 2009 at 9:49 PM
- Jaime said...
It's a daily competition between facebook and your blog for the first window in my browser (which, if you ask my husband, is a pretty high compliment given that FB and I are usually joined at the fingertips).
I love the honesty, hilarity and relevance of your topics. You've certainly built a great little community here, and now with the forums, I'll see less of my husband.
Congrats, Nathan. Happy holidays.
- December 22, 2009 at 10:15 PM
- wendy said...
A million you say? 0.0
Well, you're a smart and sweet person - and that combination is enticing.
- December 22, 2009 at 10:48 PM
- Robena Grant said...
Congratulations! Like many others have said, I love this community, and I appreciate your humor and insight and read your blog daily. Haven't commented yet in the forums but have visited several times...maybe over the holidays.
Happy holidays to all, wishing everyone happiness in the New Year.
- December 22, 2009 at 10:55 PM
Congratulations, thanks for the blog and forums, Season's Greetings and all the best for 2010!
- December 22, 2009 at 11:42 PM
- Steve said...
As you probably know, I don't always agree with your views. Nonetheless, your blog is an invaluable service to the community of all those involved with the world of publishing "from the outside". You are among the leaders in creating a free resource that provides the kind of insight into the industry that is comparable or superior to that provided by educational programs costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Although there are others who do a noteworthy, even admirable job of this, your blog is outstanding in its energy and consistent quality. And, of course, this is win-win, as the service you provide enhances your own visibility among the target community.
You have competition, even close competition, but while recognizing the value of the efforts of others, I have to say that in my judgement, your blog simply rocks.
Thanks so much for all your efforts,
- December 23, 2009 at 3:20 AM
Nathan, thank you for being available, for answering questions, and for continuing to allow anonymous postings.
Here's to a much healthier publishing environment in 2010!
- December 23, 2009 at 4:10 AM
- Claude Forthomme said...
Congratulations...A well-deserved success!
All I can add is: many happy returns and looking forward to the second million of visitors...
- December 23, 2009 at 5:51 AM
- Technolustmaxx said...
Glad I could- potentially- help.
I'll check back in 2010.
- December 23, 2009 at 6:02 AM
That's awesome! Congratulations. :) And I know I've said it before, but thank you as well. You provide so much amazing information and take time out of your schedule, which gosh knows is busy, and you gives us such an amazing resource. And you're always positive and encouraging to boot. :)
- December 23, 2009 at 6:06 AM
- Marie said...
Congratulations! Thanks for a great blog.
Seasons Greetings and all the best for 2010.
- December 23, 2009 at 7:17 AM
- Meghan Ward said...
Yes, congratulations! You deserve it. It's a great blog.
- December 23, 2009 at 12:55 PM
Nathan, I read your blog every day but have yet to comment. This has been the spark I needed I suppose.
My name is Ashleigh
I'm from beautiful British Columbia Canada
My wish for 2010 is for the health of my friends and family (and to be free from the nasty bug known as writer's block)
Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday :)
- December 23, 2009 at 6:43 PM
- Kia said...
Yay. Congrats Nathan! That's bloody impressive.
Oh, and I'm accepting one of the million thank yous for mentioning the blog under 'Network' here.
Have a merry Christmas. See you on the other side.
- December 24, 2009 at 12:54 PM
- Kia said...
How come we're being modded? Do the crazies come out at Christmas or something?
- December 24, 2009 at 12:55 PM
- Nathan Bransford said...
Thanks, Kia!
Comments are being moderated to force myself to relax and not check comments/e-mail.
Which is, um, clearly not working at the moment as I'm still checking. Oh well!
- December 24, 2009 at 1:54 PM
- Michael Clutton said...
Continue to post informative, helpful info like you have been and that million will multiply rapidly!
All the best! Thanks for providing much-needed info to those of us out here struggling for just a small slice of the pie.
- December 27, 2009 at 4:02 PM


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I created this for Cheery Lynn Designs new release. All border, frame, flower and foliage dies are from Cheery Lynn Designs. I cut all the flowers and leaves from white cardstock and inked! Instructions and detail photos can be seen on my blog
Thank you so much for taking time to view my work!!!
$0.89 $0.67
$0.90 $0.62
$5.00 $3.49
$4.99 $2.99

subset: commoncrawl


text:
All four radar at Calcutta airport and two satellite-based surveillance systems malfunctioned simultaneously on Thursday evening, forcing pilots to bank entirely on verbal instructions for landing and take-off.
Three flights bound for Calcutta had to be diverted and at least 10 aircraft hovered over the city for 30 to 40 minutes, officials said.
"A power cut believed to have been caused by a cable fault triggered the systems failure. Air traffic control had to depend on voice communication to operate flights," a senior airport official said.
The airport has power back-up for the radar but only for 30 minutes. On Thursday, the power failure occurred around 6.30pm and the radar went on the blink when supply could not be restored by 7pm, the official said.
The first of the four radar malfunctioned at 6.55pm. Power supply was fully restored at 8.45pm.
"One moment there were dots marking the flight positions in the air and the next moment there was nothing. The monitors went blank," an ATC official said.
"I was terrified for the entire duration landing was delayed," said a flier stepping out of the airport.
The airport has three surveillance radar for east, west and south and one for approach. There is also a surface-control radar to monitor the ground movement of aircraft.
The automatic dependent surveillance system and the controller-to-pilot data link system, both satellite-based, also malfunctioned. By 7pm, there was no visual surveillance of air traffic.
"We had to fall back entirely on voice communication, wherein the pilot of an aircraft gives his position and based on that, the course and speed of another aircraft is fixed," an official said.
The system is fraught with risks when traffic is high. "There is a chance of two aircraft being on a collision course," the official said.
In the manual system, the lateral separation between two aircraft is much more than that when ATC personnel can see flight positions on the radar.
Under normal circumstances, a five-nautical mile (9.26km) separation is used within a radius of 60 nautical miles (111km) of the airport. The separation is 10 nautical miles (18.52km) when two aircraft are beyond 60 nautical miles. The gap is extended to 80 nautical miles (148.16km) when surveillance is manual.
Jet Airways' flight from Mumbai was diverted to Dhaka and IndiGo's Patna flight to Bhubaneswar on Thursday evening. Air India's Bhubaneswar-Calcutta flight was sent back to base. Between 7 and 8pm, only three out of the 10 scheduled flights were allowed to take off.


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Melbourne Cup
|Group I race
|Melbourne Cup
Engraving of the finish line at the 1881 Cup
|Flemington Racecourse
Melbourne, Australia
|1861 (List of Melbourne Cup winners)
|Race type
|Thoroughbred - Flat racing
|Flemington Racecourse
|Race information
|3,200 metres (2 miles)
|Turf, left-handed
|Three-year-olds and up
|AUD$6 million (about USD$5.5 million)
|AUD$500,000 bonus to the owner for any horse that can win the Melbourne Cup and the Irish St. Leger at Curragh Racecourse in Ireland in the same year.
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Billed as The race that stops a nation, it is a race for three-year-olds and over, over a distance of 3,200 metres. It is the richest and most prestigious "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races in the world. The event is held at around 3 pm on the first Tuesday in November by the Victoria Racing Club, on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.
The race has been held since 1861 (see list of Melbourne Cup winners) and was originally held over two miles (about 3,218 metres) but following preparation for Australia's adoption of the metric system in the 1970s, the current race distance of 3,200 metres was established in 1972. This reduced the distance by 18.688 metres (61.31 ft), and Rain Lover's 1968 race record of 3min.19.1sec was accordingly adjusted to 3min.17.9sec. The present record holder is the 1990 winner Kingston Rule with a time of 3min 16.3sec. The world record of 3:13.4 over 3,200 metres is held by Japanese horse Deep Impact.
Qualifying and race conditions
The race is a quality handicap for horses 3 years old and over, run over a distance of 3,200 metres, on the first Tuesday in November at Flemington Racecourse. The minimum handicap weight is 49 kg. There is no maximum weight, but the top allocated weight must not be less than 57 kg. The weight allocated to each horse is declared by the VRC Handicapper in early September.
The Melbourne Cup race is a handicap contest in which the weight of the jockey and riding gear is adjusted with ballast to a nominated figure. Older horses carry more weight than younger ones, and weights are adjusted further according to the horse's previous results.
Weight were theoretically calculated to give each horse an equal winning chance in the past, but in recent years the rules were adjusted to a "quality handicap" formula where superior horses are given less severe weight penalties than under pure handicap rules.
Weight penalties
After the declaration of weights for the Melbourne Cup, the winner of any handicap flat race of the advertised value of AUD$60,000 or over to the winner, or an internationally recognised Listed, Group, or Graded handicap flat race, shall carry such additional weight (if any), for each win, as the VRC Handicapper shall determine.
Entries for the Melbourne Cup usually close during the first week of August. The initial entry fee is $600 per horse. Around 300 to 400 horses are nominated each year, but the final field is limited to 24 starters. Following the allocation of weights, the owner of each horse must on four occasions before the race in November, declare the horse as an acceptor and pay a fee. First acceptance is $960, second acceptance is $1,450 and third acceptance is $2,420. The final acceptance fee, on the Saturday prior to the race, is $45,375. Should a horse be balloted out of the final field, the final declaration fee is refunded.
Balloting conditions
The race Directors retain the absolute discretion to exclude any horse from the race, or exempt any horse from the ballot on the race, but in order to reduce the field to the safety limit of 24, horses are balloted out based on a number of factors which include:
- prizemoney earned in the previous two years,
- wins or placings in certain lead-up races
- allocated handicap weight
The winner of the following races are exempt from any ballot:[1] [2]
- Lexus Stakes (formerly Saab Quality)
- Doncaster Cup (UK)
- Irish St. Leger (IRE)
- Tenno Sho (Spring) (JPN)
- Sankei Sho All Comers (JPN)
- Arlington Million (USA)
- Australian Stayers Challenge [3]
International horses (New Zealand not included), which are entered for the Melbourne Cup, must undergo quarantine in an approved premises in their own country for a minimum period of 14 days before travelling to Australia. The premises must meet the Australian Government Standards[4].
Prizemoney and trophies
Prize money
The total prize money for the 2010 race will be AUD$6 million, plus trophies valued at $125,000[5] . The first 10 past the post receive prizemoney, with the winner being paid $3.3 million, down to tenth place which receives $115,000.[6] Prizemoney is distributed to the connections of each horse in the ratio of 85% to the owner, 10% to the trainer and 5% to the jockey.
The 1985 Melbourne Cup became the first race run in Australia with prize money of $1 million, this was won by "What a Nuisance". The Prince and Princess of Wales (Charles and Diana) attended that year's Cup race meeting, arriving by boat via the Maribyrnong River.
The Cup currently carries a $500,000 bonus to the owner of the winning horse from the group one Irish St. Leger, run in September, if it then wins the Melbourne Cup in November.
The present trophy is made of 34 pieces of gold metal hand beaten for over 200 hours. Close inspection of the inside of the Cup will reveal small hammer imprints. As of 2008, the trophy values were increased and the Cup now contains 1.65 kg of 18-carat gold valuing the trophy at $125,000 dollars.
The trophy awarded since 1919 is a three-handled gold loving cup. The winning trainer and jockey also receive a miniature replica of the cup (a practice which commenced in 1973) and the strapper is awarded the Tommy Woodcock Trophy, named after the strapper of Phar Lap.
The trophy has changed in appearance greatly over the years since the first trophy was awarded in 1861, with several of them featuring model horses. The first trophy was a gold watch, until a silver bowl manufactured in England, with two ornate handles with a horse and rider on top, was introduced in 1865. The following year an ornate silver cup depicting Alexander taming the horse was presented. There was then a period where a trophy wasn't presented, until 1876 when Edward Fischer an immigrant from Austria produced the first Australian-made gold trophy. It had two handles and an engraving of a horse race set at Flemington.
A silver plated base sporting three silver horses was added in 1888, but in 1891 the prize changed to being a 15 inch high, 24 inch long trophy showing a Victory figure offering an olive wreath to a jockey. From 1899 the trophy was in the form of silver galloping horse embossed on a three foot long plaque, although it was said to look like a greyhound by some people.
In the Second World War years (1942, 43 and 44) the winning owner received war bonds valued at 200 pounds. A new trophy is struck each year and becomes the property of the winning owner. In the event of a dead heat a second cup is on hand. A few years ago an annual tour was initiated to foster further interest in the event. A replica of the cup is taken to locations locally and internationally which have some connection to the Cup. Areas to which the Cup has been taken include the Middle East, New Zealand, United Kingdom and US.
The last Melbourne Cup trophy manufactured in England was made for the 1914 event. It was a chalice centred on a long base which had a horse at each end. A large rose bowl trophy was presented 1915-1918 and the current loving cup design was introduced in 1919.
Early years
Seventeen horses contested the first Melbourne Cup on Thursday 7 November 1861, racing for the modest prize of 710 gold sovereigns (£710) cash and a hand-beaten gold watch, winner takes all[7][8]. The prize was not, as some have suggested, the largest purse up to that time.
In order to attract a bigger crowd to the fledgling Cup, the first secretary of the Victorian Racing Club, Robert Bagot (c. 1828-1881) decided to issue members with two ladies tickets, calculating that "where ladies went, men would follow".[9] A large crowd of 4,000 men and women watched the race, although it has been suggested this was less than expected because of news reaching Melbourne of the death of explorers Burke and Wills[10] five days earlier on 2 November. Nevertheless the attendance was the largest at Flemington on any day for the past two years, with the exception of the recently run Two Thousand Guinea Stakes.[7]
The winner of this first Melbourne Cup race was a 16.3 hand bay stallion by the name of Archer in a time of 3.52.00, ridden by John Cutts, trained by Etienne de Mestre, and leased (and consequently raced in his own name) by de Mestre. As a lessee de Mestre "owned" and was fully responsible for Archer during the lease. Archer was leased from the "Exeter Farm" of Jembaicumbene near Braidwood, New South Wales. His owners were Thomas John "Tom" Roberts (a good school-friend of de Mestre's), Rowland H. Hassall (Roberts' brother-in-law), and Edmund Molyneux Royds and William Edward Royds (Roberts' nephews).[11][12][13].
The inaugural Melbourne Cup of 1861 was an eventful affair when one horse bolted before the start, and three of the seventeen starters fell during the race, two of which died. Archer, a Sydney "outsider" who drew scant favor in the betting, spread-eagled the field and defeated the favourite, and Victorian champion, Mormon by six lengths. Dismissed by the bookies, Archer took a lot of money away from Melbourne, 'refuelling interstate rivalry' and adding to the excitement of the Cup.[14] The next day, Archer was raced in and won another 2 mile long distance race, the Melbourne Town Plate.
It has become legend that Archer walked over 800 km (over 500 miles) to Flemington from de Mestre's stable at "Terara" near Nowra, New South Wales. However, newspaper archives of the day reveal that he had travelled south from Sydney to Melbourne on the steamboat City Of Melbourne, together with de Mestre, and two of de Mestre's other horses Exeter and Inheritor. Before being winched aboard the steamboat for the trip to Melbourne, the horses had arrived in Sydney in September 1861.[7][15]
Archer travelled to Melbourne by steamboat again the following year (1862) to run in the second Melbourne Cup. This time he won 810 gold sovereigns (£810) cash and a gold watch before a crowd of 7000, nearly twice the size of the previous years large crowd[16] in a time of 3.47.00, taking to two the number of Melbourne Cup wins by this horse. Archer had already won the 1862 AJC Queen Elizabeth Stakes in Randwick, Sydney, and returned to win his second Melbourne Cup carrying 10 stone 2 pounds. He defeated a field of twenty starters by eight lengths, a record that has never been beaten, and that was not matched for over 100 years. Mormon again running second. Winning the Melbourne Cup twice was a feat not repeated until more than seventy years later when Peter Pan won the race in 1932 and 1934, and winning the Melbourne Cup two years in a row was a feat not repeated until more than 100 years later when Rain Lover won in 1968 and 1969.
Archer travelled to Melbourne by steamboat yet again the next year (1863). Despite his weight of 11 stone 4 pounds, Archer would have contested the third cup in 1863, but due to a Victorian public holiday trainer Etienne de Mestre's telegraphed acceptance form arrived late, and Archer was scratched on a technicality. In protest of this decision and in a show of solidarity, many of de Mestre's owners boycotted the third race and scratched their horses in sympathy.[17] As a result the Melbourne Cup of that year ran with only 7 starters, the smallest number in the history of the Cup.
In 1865, Adam Lindsay Gordon wrote a verse in which the Melbourne Cup winner was called Tim Whiffler. Two years later in 1867 two horses with the name Tim Whiffler ran in the Melbourne Cup. (The year before in 1866 two horses with the same name, Falcon, also ran in the Melbourne Cup.) To distinguish between the two Tim Whifflers they were called "Sydney" Tim Whiffler and "Melbourne" Tim Whiffler. "Sydney" Tim Whiffler actually won the Cup.[18][19] He was trained by Etienne de Mestre, and like Archer before him raced in de Mestre's name but was leased from the "Exeter Farm".[12][13]
The Melbourne Cup was first run on a Tuesday in 1875, the first Tuesday in that month.
On 7 November 1876 the running of the Melbourne Cup on the first Tuesday in November saw the three-year-old filly, Briseis, owned and trained by James Wilson Snr., win in a time of 3.36.25. Briseis then went on to creat a record that is never likely to be equalled, winning the VRC Derby, the Melbourne Cup and the VRC Oaks in the space of six days. She was ridden in the Melbourne Cup by the tiny featherweight figure of jockey Peter St. Albans. In 1876 at the recorded age thirteen (he was actually twelve, being 8 days short of his thirteenth birthday)[20], Peter St. Albans is also the youngest person ever to win a Melbourne Cup. Before 75,000 at Flemington Briseis, with St Albans in the saddle, comfortably won by 1 length in the biggest field of all time. "At 4 o'clock the starter released the 33 runners and they swept down the long Flemington straight in a thundering rush. Briseis, ridden by what one writer termed a mere child, (in the Cup) captured a rare double, the Victoria Race Club Derby and the Melbourne Cup. Shouts and hurrahs were heard, hats were thrown in the air and one excited individual fell on his back in the attempt to do a somersault. The boy who rode the winner was carried around the pack and is the hero of the day," reported the "Australasian Sketcher" in 1876. Both Peter St. Albans and Briseis have now become racing legends, and Briseis is regarded as one of the greatest mares foaled in Australia.
Briseis wasn't the only sensation surrounding the 1876 Melbourne Cup. Two months before the event, on Saturday 9 September, the SS City Of Melbourne sailed for Melbourne from Sydney with a cargo including 13 racehorses, many of whom were considered serious contenders for the Melbourne Cup. The following day the ship ran into a savage storm and was hit by several rogue waves, with Nemesis (the winner of the 1876 AJC Metropolitan Handicap in Randwick, Sydney and favourite for the Cup, owned by John Moffat) and Robin Hood (another favourite, owned by Etienne de Mestre) being among the 11 horses that were killed.[21] Betting on the big race was paralysed. To the dismay and anger of the public, bookmakers, showing no feeling, presented a purse (loaded with coins) to the captain as token of their appreciation for his part in saving them many thousands of pounds in bets already laid on the favourites who had perished. Perhaps they should have kept their money, however. The outsider Briseis comfortably won by 1 length in the biggest field of all time, and in an extremely good time, so it is unlikely that the horses who perished could have beaten her.
The first Tuesday in November, Melbourne Cup Day, was officially gazetted a full public holiday in 1877.
1877 is also the year that the trainer Etienne de Mestre won his fourth Melbourne Cup with Chester owned by Hon. James White. In 1878, as in previous years De Mestre fielded more than one horse. He entered the favourite Firebell (owned by W.S. Cox) who finished last, Chester (owned by Hon. James White) the previous year's winner who fell, and Calamia (owned by de Mestre) who, though less fancied, won easily[22] by two lengths. First prize was £1,790, the crowd was 80,000 and there were 30 starters. De Mestre's 1878 win with Calamia brought to 5 the number of Melbourne Cups he had won.[16] This record was not to be matched for nearly 100 years when the trainer Bart Cummings won his fifth Melbourne Cup in 1975. Bart Cummings, regarded as the best Australian horse trainer of all time, went on to win 12 Melbourne Cups to 2008, and is still training horses.
In 1883 the hardy New Zealand bred, Martini Henry won the VRC Derby, the Melbourne Cup and on the following Monday retained his undefeated record by winning Mares' Produce Stakes.[23]
Phar Lap, the most famous horse in the world of his day, won the 1930 Melbourne Cup. He won the Melbourne Cup as the shortest priced favourite in the history of the race at 11/8 odds on. He had to be hidden away at Geelong before the race after an attempt was made to shoot him and only emerged an hour before the race time of the Cup. [24] Phar Lap also competed in 1929 and 1931, but came 3rd and 8th respectively.
There is controversy about who was the first Aboriginal jockey to ride a Melbourne Cup winner. It has been become legend that the first Aboriginal jockey to win the Melbourne Cup was the jockey who won the first and second Melbourne Cups in 1861 and 1862 - John Cutts riding Archer. He was not, however, an Aboriginal stockman born in the area around Nowra where Archer was trained. Instead Johnny Cutts was John 'Cutts' Dillon, the son of a Sydney clerk, a jockey who rode for many trainers in his long career, and who was one of the best known, best liked and most respected jockeys in New South Wales.[25] Although it would be romantic to believe that an Aboriginal jockey had won the first and second Melbourne Cups, the most famous horse race in Australia, the cold hard facts of history do not allow this notion. A competing legend is that Peter St. Albans was the first Aboriginal jockey to win the Melbourne Cup on Briseis in 1876. The legend arose as, not quite 13 years old, St. Albans was too young to ride in the 1876 Melbourne Cup. Thus, to allow him to race Briseis in the Cup, it was argued his birthdate and parents were unknown, and from this the legend of him being Aboriginal grew.[26] Both these legends, however, can definitely be disproved, and history had to wait nearly another 100 years. The first (and so far only) Aboriginal jockey to ride a Melbourne Cup winner was Frank Reys in 1973 on Gala Supreme. There has also been some confusion about this claim as his father was Filipino. To further confuse the issue, Frank Reys referred to his background as Filipino in most interviews of the day. He believed that it would have hindered his prospects had he admitted openly to his aboriginal heritage.[27] However, that Frank was not just Filipino but also Aboriginal can be proven. Frank's maternal grandmother was from the Djiribul people of Northern Queensland.[28]
Recent years
The race has undergone several alterations over the past 10 years, the most visible being the arrival of many foreign-trained horses to contest the race in the last decade. Most have failed to cope with the conditions; the three successful "foreign raids" include two by Irish trainer Dermot K. Weld successful in 1993 and 2002[29], and one in 2006[30] by Katsumi Yoshida of Japan's renowned Yoshida racing and breeding family. The attraction for foreigners to compete was, primarily, the low-profile change to the new "quality handicap" weighting system.
The 1910 Melbourne Cup was won by Comedy King, the first foreign bred horse to do so. Subsequent foreign bred horses to win Cup were Backwood 1924; Belldale Ball 1980; At Talaq 1986; Kingston Rule 1990; Vintage Crop 1993; Jeune 1994; Media Puzzle 2002; Makybe Diva 2003, 2004, 2005
The 1938 Melbourne Cup was won by trainer Mrs. Allan McDonald who conditioned Catalogue. Mrs McDonald was a successful trainer in New Zealand[31], however, at the time women were not allowed to compete as trainers in Australia and as such her husband's name was officially recorded as the winning trainer. The 2001 edition was won by New Zealand mare Ethereal[32], trained by Sheila Laxon, the first woman to formally train a Melbourne Cup winner. She also won the Caulfield Cup, a 2,400 metre race also held in Melbourne, and therefore has won the "Cups Double".
In 1973 the first (and so far only) Aboriginal jockey to ride a Melbourne Cup winner was Frank Reys on Gala Supreme. There has also been some confusion about Frank's aboriginality as his father was Filipino. To further confuse the issue, Reys referred to his background as Filipino in most interviews of the day as he believed that openly admitting to his aboriginal heritage would have hindered his prospects. However, the fact that Frank was part Aboriginal can be proven: his maternal grandmother was from the Djiribul people of Northern Queensland. Frank Rey's place in history has also been contested. The first pretender who history has created is John Cutts on Archer in 1861 and 1862, the first and second Melbourne Cup. The second pretender who history has created is Peter St. Albans on Briseis in 1876. Neither of these jockeys, however, were Aboriginal, despite the legends that have risen up around them. For a fuller discussion of these points, with references, refer to the Early Years above.
Maree Lyndon became the first female to ride in the Melbourne Cup, when she partnered Argonaut Style in 1987, in which she ran second last in the 21 horse field.[33]
In 2004 Makybe Diva[34][35] became the first mare to win two cups, and also the first horse to win with different trainers, after David Hall moved to Hong Kong and transferred her to the Lee Freedman stables.
The 2005 Melbourne Cup was held before a crowd of 106,479. Makybe Diva made history by becoming the only horse to win the race three times. Trainer Lee Freedman said after the race, "Go and find the youngest child on the course, because that's the only person here who will have a chance of seeing this happen again in their lifetime."
The 2006 Melbourne Cup was won by the Japanese horse, Delta Blues[36]. Delta Blues won by a nose over a second Japanese horse, Pop Rock.
Due to the 2007 Australian Equine influenza outbreak, believed to have been started by a horse brought into Australia from Japan, neither Delta Blues nor Pop Rock participated in the 2007 Melbourne Cup. Both horses had been stabled in Japan. Corowa, NSW trained " Leica Falcon " also was not be permitted to race in Victoria, despite Corowa being close to the Victorian border . Leica Falcon was ordained as the new staying star of Australian racing in 2005 when he ran fourth in both the Caulfield Cup and in Makybe Diva's famous third Melbourne Cup victory. But serious leg injuries saw the horse not race for another 20 months.[37]. Efficient, the previous year's VRC Derby winner, won the race.
The 2008 Melbourne Cup winner was Viewed[38], ridden by Blake Shinn and trained by "Cups King" Bart Cummings. The win was Cummings' twelfth success in the race.[39] Bauer ran second and C'est La Guerre third.
The 2009 Melbourne Cup winner was Shocking ridden by Corey Brown and Trained by Mark Kavanagh. Second place went to Crime Scene and third place went to Mourilyan.
Timeline of historical events
- 1869 - The Victorian Racing Club introduced the four day Spring Racing Carnival format.[24]
- 1870 - The race was postponed..[40]
- 1876 - The youngest jockey to win was Peter St. Albans on Briseis aged 13 (officially), but actually 12 years 11 months 23 days[41]
- 1882 - The first bookmakers were licensed at Flemington.[24]
- 1888 - The first Gold whip was presented to the winning Cup jockey (Mick O'Brien).[24]
- 1896 - The Melbourne Cup was first filmed. This race was won by Newhaven.[40]
- 1915 - First woman owner to win was Mrs E.A. Widdis with Patrobas.
- 1916 - The race was postponed.[40]
- 1925 - The first radio broadcast of the Melbourne Cup was made by the Australian Broadcasting Company.[40]
- 1931 - The first year the totalisator operated at the Melbourne Cup. The Totalisator Agency Board was introduced in 1961. [24]
- 1942-44 - The Melbourne Cup was run on Saturdays during the war years.[40]
- 1948 - The photo finish camera was first used in Melbourne Cup. Rimfire beat Dark Marne. However, many on-course punters believe the result should have been reversed, and it was later found that the camera was incorrectly aligned.[40]
- 1958 - The first Cup start from starting stalls.[24]
- 1962 - "Fashions on the Field" was first held at the Carnival.[24]
- 1973 - First Aboriginal jockey to win was Frank Reys on Gala Supreme.
- 1985 - The first sponsored Melbourne Cup, and the first million dollar Cup, with $650,000 for the winner.[24]
- 1987 - First female jockey to ride in the cup was Maree Lynden on Argonaut Style.
- 2001 - Sheila Laxon, was the first woman trainer to officially win the Melbourne Cup. However Mrs. A. McDonald (1938) with Catalogue was really the first woman trainer to win. Women then could not be registered as trainers in Australia, and it was her husband who was the registered trainer.[42] Mrs. A. Macdonald's win was as a female trainer of a female owned horse.
- 2003 - First Australian female jockey to ride in the cup was Clare Lindop on Debben.
- 2003 - The first Melbourne Cup Tour was conducted around Australia, and the biggest crowd, of 122,736, is recorded at Flemington.[24]
- 2005 - Makybe Diva became the only horse so far to win the Melbourne Cup three times.
- 2008 - The "Cup King", Bart Cummings, took his 12th win in the Melbourne Cup with Viewed on his 50th anniversary of his first Cup runner.
Public holiday
Melbourne Cup day is a public holiday for all working within metropolitan Melbourne and some parts of regional Victoria, but not for some country Victorian cities and towns which hold their own spring carnivals. For Federal Public Servants it is also observed as a holiday in the entire state of Victoria, and since 2007 also in the Australian Capital Territory known as Family and Community Day replacing Picnic Day.[43].
Results and records
Most wins by a horse
- 3 - Makybe Diva (2003, 2004, 2005)
- 2 - Think Big (1974, 1975)
- 2 - Rain Lover (1968, 1969)
- 2 - Peter Pan (1932, 1934)
- 2 - Archer (1861, 1862)
Most wins by a jockey
- 4 - Bobby Lewis (1902, 1915, 1919, 1927)
- 4 - Harry White (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979)
Most wins by a trainer
- 12 - Bart Cummings (1965, 1966, 1967, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1990, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2008)
- 5 - Etienne de Mestre (1861, 1862, 1867, 1877, 1878)
- 5 - Lee Freedman (1989, 1992, 1995, 2004, 2005)
Most wins by an owner
- 4 - John Tait (1866, 1868, 1871, 1872)
- 4 - Etienne de Mestre (1861*, 1862*, 1867*, 1878) *The winners of these years were leased.[12][13]
- 4 - Dato Tan Chin Nam (1974, 1975, 1996, 2008)
Other records
- Record winning time – 3.16.30 Kingston Rule (1990)
- Widest winning margin – 8 lengths by Archer in 1862 and Rain Lover in 1968.[44]
- Heaviest weight carried by winner – Carbine in 1890 with 10 stone 5lbs (65.5 kg) Makybe Diva holds the record for a mare with 58 kg in 2005.[45] The horse to carry the heaviest weight of all time was Phar Lap (10 stone 10 pounds) in 1931 when he ran 8th.[46]
- Longest odds winners – Three horses have won at 100-1: The Pearl (1871), Wotan (1936) and Old Rowley (1940).[40]
- Shortest odds winner – Phar Lap at 8/11 in 1930.
- Favourites record – 34 of 149 favourites (23%) have won the Melbourne Cup.[42]
- Most runners – 39 (1890)
- Fewest runners – 7 (1863)
- Most attempts – Shadow King made six attempts to win the cup in seven years between 1929 and 1935. He ran 6th, 3rd, 2nd, 3rd, 2nd and 4th.[40]
The event is one of the most popular spectator events in Australia, with sometimes over 110,000 people, some dressed in traditional formal raceday wear and others in all manner of exotic and amusing costumes, attending the race. The record crowd was 122,736 in 2003. The 1926 running of the Cup was the first time that the 100,000 mark had been passed. Today the record at Flemington is held by the 2006 Victoria Derby when almost 130,000 attended.[47]
In 2007 a limit was placed on the Spring Carnival attendance at Flemington Racecourse and race-goers are now required to pre-purchase tickets.[48].
- 2009 - 102,000
- 2008 - 107,000[49]
- 2007 - 102,411[50]
- 2006 - 106,691
- 2005 - 106,479
- 2004 - 98,181
- 2003 - 122,736 (record)
Off the track
'Fashions On The Field' is a major focus of the day, with substantial prizes awarded for the best-dressed man and woman. The requirement for elegant hats, and more recently the alternative of a fascinator, almost single-handedly keeps Melbourne's milliners in business.[citation needed] Raceday fashion has occasionally drawn almost as much attention as the race itself, The miniskirt received worldwide publicity when model Jean Shrimpton wore one on Derby Day during Melbourne Cup week in 1965.[51][52]
Flowers, especially roses are an important component of the week's racing at Flemington. The racecourse has around 12,000 roses within its large expanse. Over 200 varieties of the fragrant flower are nurtured by a team of up to 12 gardeners. Each of the major racedays at Flemington has an official flower. Victoria Derby Day has the Corn Flower, Melbourne Cup Day is for the Yellow Rose, Oaks Day highlights the Pink Rose and Stakes Day goes to the Red Rose.
In the Melbourne metropolitan area, the race day has been a gazetted public holiday since 1877, but around both Australia and New Zealand a majority of people watch the race on television and gamble, either through direct betting or participating in workplace cup "sweeps". As of April, 2007 the ACT also recognises Melbourne Cup Race Day as a holiday.[43] In 2000 it was estimated that 80 percent of the adult Australian population placed a bet on the race that year.[53] In New Zealand the Melbourne Cup is the country's single biggest betting event, with carnival race-days held at several of the country's top tracks showing the cup live on big screens. [54]
It is commonly billed as The race that stops a nation, but it is more accurately The race that stops two nations [55][56], as many people in New Zealand, as well as Australia, pause to watch the race.
See also
- Melbourne Cup Challenge / Frankie Dettori Racing videogame
- ↑ Difficult to deny a ballotfree pass
- ↑ More Qualifying Races For Melbourne Cup
- ↑ Australian Stayers Challenge
- ↑ Quarantine Facility
- ↑ Cup prize money to jump to $6m
- ↑ "Cup now offering $5.5m to owners". http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23657680-32343,00.html.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The Masters Touch, Racing with Etienne de Mestre, Winner of 5 Melbourne Cups by Keith W. Paterson, Published by Keith W. Paterson [Nowra] (2008) (ISBN 9780646500287)
- ↑ "The history of the Cup dates back to 1861, the resultant brain child of Captain Frederick Standish, one time VRC Chairman and former Chief Commissioner of Police in Victoria. As a former member of the Victoria Turf Club he conceptually founded the great race with the club committed to offering modest prize-money and a hand beaten gold watch. The conditions for the race would state "a sweepstakes of 20 sovereigns" (starters)", 10 sovereigns forfeit" (acceptance) "or 5 sovereigns if declared" (nominated)", with 200 sovereigns added money".Flemington Racetrack
- ↑ Race against uneven odds
- ↑ History of the Melbourne Cup
- ↑ Archer at Thoroughbred Heritage.com
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Shoalhaven Hall of Sporting Fame
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Binney, Keith Robert (2005). Horsemen of the First Frontier (1788-1900) and the Serpent's Legacy. Volcanic Productions. pp. 367. ISBN 064644865X. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=0xYF0v8doEgC&pg=PA367&lpg=PA367&dq=horsemen+of+the+first+frontier+archer&source=web&ots=SfLc34ypBC&sig=EfSz4ANAXpBH1AbHlCVkGtkk6J8&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result#PPP1,M1.
- ↑ Australian Government - Culture and recreation - Melbourne Cup
- ↑ Archer took the boat
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 On This Day In Shoalhaven
- ↑ Australian Racing Museum - E de Mestre
- ↑ The Einstein Factor - Australian Broadcasting Company
- ↑ Alan Jones
- ↑ Peter St. Albans
- ↑ Newspaper report on the sinking of the SS City of Melbourne
- ↑ Binney, Keith Robert (2005). Horsemen of the First Frontier (1788-1900) and the Serpent's Legacy. Volcanic Productions. pp. 389. ISBN 064644865X. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=0xYF0v8doEgC&pg=PA367&lpg=PA367&dq=horsemen+of+the+first+frontier+archer&source=web&ots=SfLc34ypBC&sig=EfSz4ANAXpBH1AbHlCVkGtkk6J8&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result#PPP1,M1.
- ↑ Cavanough, Maurice, "The Melbourne Cup", Jack Pollard P/L, North Sydney, 1976
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 24.5 24.6 24.7 24.8 24.9 Flemington
- ↑ The Masters Touch, Racing with Etienne de Mestre, Winner of 5 Melbourne Cups by Keith W. Paterson, Published by Keith W. Paterson [Nowra] (2008) (ISBN 9780646500287), Page 46
- ↑ The wonder filly and a boy who carved their names into history
- ↑ Aboriginal jockeys who won the Melbourne Cup
- ↑ Frank Reys
- ↑ 2002 Melbourne Cup result
- ↑ 2006 Melbourne Cup result
- ↑ Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
- ↑ 2001 Melbourne Cup result
- ↑ Melbourne Cup Facts
- ↑ 2004 Melbourne Cup result
- ↑ 2005 Melbourne Cup result
- ↑ 2006 Melbourne Cup result
- ↑ "Japanese horses unlikely to travel to Australia for Melbourne Cup because of equine influenza". International Herald Tribune. August 26, 2007. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/27/sports/AS-SPT-RAC-Australia-Influenza.php. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
- ↑ 2008 Melbourne Cup result
- ↑ "Viewed wins Melbourne Cup". Sydney Morning Herald. November 4, 2008. http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/horseracing/viewed-wins-melbourne-cup/2008/11/04/1225560806102.html. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
- ↑ 40.0 40.1 40.2 40.3 40.4 40.5 40.6 40.7 2GB radio
- ↑ The wonder filly and a boy who carved their names into history
- ↑ 42.0 42.1 Australian Racing Information
- ↑ 43.0 43.1 "ACT workers to get Melbourne Cup day off". http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200704/s1891417.htm.
- ↑ Melbourne Cup Trivia
- ↑ The Age: From the horse's mouth
- ↑ Melbourne Cup Stats
- ↑ "Record Derby Day crowd - Horse Racing - Sport - theage.com.au". www.theage.com.au. http://www.theage.com.au/news/horse-racing/a-gai-derby-day/2006/11/04/1162340089703.html?from=rss. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
- ↑ "Spring Carnival crowd numbers to be capped". http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/18/1981332.htm.
- ↑ http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24603928-2862,00.html
- ↑ http://www.springracingcarnival.com.au/melbournecupinfo/AttendanceRecords.aspx
- ↑ "'Flair' features fashion's fabulous and fickle". The Age. 2005-02-05. http://www.theage.com.au/news/Fashion/Flair-features-fashions-fabulous-and-fickle/2005/02/03/1107409993143.html.
- ↑ Icons of England: The Miniskirt and Women's Lib
- ↑ Tab Limited: 2000 Melbourne Cup (via Wayback Machine)
- ↑ "Melbourne Cup looming large". http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/488120/1424526.
- ↑ Quay, Phillip (3 November 2009). "Melbourne Cup preview - The prime picks". Auckland, New Zealand: Television New Zealand Limited. http://tvnz.co.nz/othersports-news/melbourne-cup-prime-picks-3109612. Retrieved 4 November 2009. "... Viewed, who is poised to make it back-to-back wins in the race that stops two nations, scheduled for 5pm (NZ time)"
- ↑ "Just one week to the Melbourne Cup!". TAB News Archive. Petone, New Zealand: New Zealand Racing Board (TAB). 27 October 2009. http://www.tab.co.nz/information/archive.html?id=46829&period=3§ion=. Retrieved 4 November 2009. "It's just one week to the Melbourne Cup – the race that stops two nations ..."
External links
- New Zealand and the Melbourne Cup (NZHistory.net.nz)
Coordinates: Template:Coord/input/dms
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Member Since: October 1, 2009
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A Couple questions about the backlight… What is the maximum safe voltage for vbatt? If I want to run it from a 6V sealed lead acid, which can get to ~6.5V when fully charged, is that generally safe? Can the driver disable the backlight, via sw commands when not needed? If not, would controlling VBatt with a PNP with 3.3 volt logic connected to its base?
How long is the cable?
No public wish lists :(


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Mr R. A. Neilson, to be British High Commissioner to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
Col Peter Michael Poole, to be Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Merseyside.
Mr Derek Peter Stanley, Mr John James Cavell, and Mr Victor Edwin Hall, to be circuit judges on the Midland and Oxford Circuit.
Mr John Dominic Foley, to be a circuit judge on the Western Circuit.
Judge Nazreen Pearce, to be a circuit judge on the South Eastern Circuit.Reuse content


text:
Clinton, Quinn and Fluke Ask: Where Are The Women (Who'll Run)?
If you didn't realize women don't rule the world (yet), you're not alone. In front of a full house at the 92nd Street Y Wednesday night, Chelsea Clinton made a confession.
"Until my mother ran for president, I wasn't fully cognizant of how few women run for office and how few women hold office," Clinton said. She then rattled off this depressing fact: The United States ties Turkmenistan at 78th place for the percentage of women in national political office. "Not enviable company," she quipped.
At a time when women's issues repeatedly emerge as a theme of this year's political conversation - Komen and Planned Parenthood, the fight over birth control and even the stalled reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act – a panel of six women led by Clinton spent the evening hashing out a different women's issue: Why it's so hard to get women off the sidelines and into the political race.
There is the ugly nature of the game and the challenges that come with being a woman in public life, according to Amy Holmes, a news anchor on Glenn Beck's GBTV and former speechwriter for Senator Bill Frist. At the same time, she thinks men enjoy that combativeness.
"They revel in their enemies and their attacks and the scalps they can put up on their walls," said Holmes, "whereas women think more deeply about it."
Sometimes one gets thrust into public life, Clinton said as she introduced panelist Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown Law School student who famously testified before Congress in support of birth control access -- and then was infamously attacked by Rush Limbaugh for it. Clinton said that experience gave them something in common. "We've both been attacked by Rush Limbaugh - except she was 30 and I was 13."
Fluke argued that there were systemic barriers that blocked women from political careers, whether it's access to birth control (surprise!) or lack of available child care.
"I think we have to not just be stereotypical women and blame ourselves," said Fluke, "but we also need to say these policies need to be better for us so we can be a part of it."
An atmosphere needs to be fostered that encourages women to run, suggested Abby Huntsman Livingtson, daughter of former presidential candidate Jon Huntsman. Before joining her father's campaign, she worked for ABC News and for Good Morning America, positions she thought would give her a leg up when it came to helping the team develop her father's messages. But she said the campaign team, predominantly men, didn't see her as an asset. So she and her sister decided to do their own thing, creating a Twitter account and the Herman Cain parody video.
As the only politician on the panel, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said her success came when she tuned out the detractors. When she first ran for Speaker, she said people constantly told her she couldn't win, "Because I was from the west side of Manhattan, cause I was too liberal, because I was a woman, because I was a lesbian," said Quinn, "all things I knew when I woke up that morning, you know what I'm saying."
The expected 2013 Mayoral candidate said she believes that gender has no place in Big Apple politics, "the sky is the limit in New York."
But not everyone shared her optimism. Nicole Wallace, the former communications chief for George W. Bush and senior adviser on the McCain-Palin campaign, left politics entirely. She now writes fiction.
"I was so scarred by 2008 I made up an imaginary world," said Wallace, whose novels include Eighteen Acres and It's Classified. In this world, a moderate woman from California is president, and she doesn't have it all.
From Wallace's view, the books are her way to wrestle the demons from 2008, in terms of how women – particularly Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin and Michelle Obama – were portrayed throughout that campaign.
But panelist Stephanie Schriock said she thinks things are moving in the right direction. Head of the pro-choice political action committee Emily's List, Schriok offered this answer to the question: where are the women?
"They're running for office right now in 2012. We have a historic number of women running for the United States Senate," said Schriock. She said the real question is: what needs to happen to make sure they win?


text:
Gluing Systems — Finding Sticky Situations
Is it possible for a gluing system to be all things to all printers and finishers? The answer to that question is a wholehearted yes.
Let's be honest, the days of "Type A personality" gluing systems are long gone. Competition on the manufacturer level has prevented one-dimensional systems from becoming prevalent. Gluing systems must play nice with the presses, or they'll find themselves taking an extended time out on a dusty shelf in a second-hand shop. Not only must they be easy to use, setup and maintain, but application must be uniform.
By the same token, not every system will be a perfect fit for a user's application, thus it helps to have an idea of what features are most critical to various applications.
"Is the system flexible, capable of operating at speeds the printer wants them to run at?" wonders Louie Hollmeyer, director of marketing for Valco Cincinnati. "Is it capable of what they want it to do today—and is it capable of what they might want it to do in the future?
"For manufacturers, it's a matter of taking all the requirements of a customer and coming up with one piece of equipment that can do it all. Develop a system that's flexible enough to meet many needs rather than just one particular, specific application."
Valco Cincinnati offers a number of adhesive systems that can all be tailored to the requirements of the customer, including the RoBond fluid application system for high-speed presses. The system includes an MCP-25 microprocessor pattern control system and DD-1 air-driven diaphragm pump adhesive delivery. It also features motorized sled bars, bridge controls and dispensing valves for fine-line gluing and fold softening.
Valco now also boasts the OT-100 terminal with CPU and glue supply unit for fast, accurate gluing and quality assurance management. The OT-100 can accept and integrate up to 16 different glue valves and sensors for multiple and specific applications.


text:
Press Release: The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency for telecommunications, and infoDev, a multi-donor programme focusing on information and communication technologies (ICT) for development, today launched a new online Regulation Toolkit designed to address the complex regulatory challenges emerging from a rapidly evolving ICT industry.
An update and expansion of infoDevs influential print publication Telecom Regulators Handbook (issued in 2000), the new web-based toolkit is aimed at national and regional regulatory agencies, ICT policy-makers, and other stakeholders with an active interest in ICT regulation. Nearly 140 countries worldwide now have a national regulatory authority, with the vast majority having been put in place during the last 10 years. These relatively new authorities, many of which have been established as part of a broader programme of national ICT liberalization, have a strong need for reliable and impartial information on regulatory issues and best practice.
"Todays regulators and policy makers especially those in the developing world are seeking practical advice and concrete best practice guidelines to help grow their national ICT markets," said Hamadoun I. Touré, Director of ITUs Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT). "The new ICT Regulation Toolkit responds to this demand by providing a first-class product on policy and regulation."
Conceived as a permanently evolving resource, the toolkit consists of a series of modules on key regulatory issues in the rapidly converging ICT sector. The first module, which went live today, deals with the authorization of telecommunication services. It addresses such issues as different authorization approaches and practices, and competitive licensing processes. It also highlights recent trends toward lighter authorization and licensing practices that reduce barriers to market entry.
The 2005 E-Crime Watch survey was conducted by CSO magazine in cooperation with the U.S. Secret Service and Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institutes CERT® Coordination Center. The research was conducted to unearth electronic crime fighting trends and techniques, including best practices and emerging trends. Respondents answers are based on the 2004 calendar year. A similar version of this survey was also conducted in 2004 with corresponding answers from the 2003 calendar year. Trending data is provided where relevant.
From CERT
The International Privacy Regime by Tim WU
"Privacy has joined one of many areas of law understandable only by reference to the results of overlapping and conflicting national agendas. What has emerged as the de facto international regime is complex. Yet based on a few simplifying principles, we can nonetheless do much to understand it and predict its operation. First, the idea that self-regulation by the internet community will be the driving force in privacy protection must be laid to rest. The experience of the last decade shows that nation-states, powerful nation-states in particular, drive the system of international privacy. The final mix of privacy protection that the world's citizens receive is disproportionately dictated by the choices and preferences of powerful nation-states and their respective effects on giant and small targets. Second, traditional conflicts analysis can help explain and predict the future course of privacy analysis. Privacy regulation can be understood as a species of information regulation to which companies and individuals will respond in predictable ways. The analysis here shows an international privacy system that has fractured into three distinct regulatory patterns. Mainstream privacy, or transactional privacy, has become dominated by the rule of the most restrictive state, a pattern familiar to other areas like the world's regulation of competition (antitrust). Conversely, the problem of information theft has been pushed by the international system toward a kind of a race to the bottom, or to the least restrictive rule. Most akin to international piracy (the kind on boats), it is a familiar problem to international law that will nonetheless take considerable political will to reverse. And finally, while there is a potential for the international system to influence how governments handle the privacy information of their own citizens, the direct collision of interests have limited the extent to which governments police one another."
"Privacy has joined one of many areas of law understandable only by reference to the results of overlapping and conflicting national agendas. What has emerged as the de facto international regime is complex. Yet based on a few simplifying principles, we can nonetheless do much to understand it and predict its operation. First, the idea that self-regulation by the internet community will be the driving force in privacy protection must be laid to rest. The experience of the last decade shows that nation-states, powerful nation-states in particular, drive the system of international privacy. The final mix of privacy protection that the world's citizens receive is disproportionately dictated by the choices and preferences of powerful nation-states and their respective effects on giant and small targets. Second, traditional conflicts analysis can help explain and predict the future course of privacy analysis. Privacy regulation can be understood as a species of information regulation to which companies and individuals will respond in predictable ways. The analysis here shows an international privacy system that has fractured into three distinct regulatory patterns. Mainstream privacy, or transactional privacy, has become dominated by the rule of the most restrictive state, a pattern familiar to other areas like the world's regulation of competition (antitrust). Conversely, the problem of information theft has been pushed by the international system toward a kind of a race to the bottom, or to the least restrictive rule. Most akin to international piracy (the kind on boats), it is a familiar problem to international law that will nonetheless take considerable political will to reverse. And finally, while there is a potential for the international system to influence how governments handle the privacy information of their own citizens, the direct collision of interests have limited the extent to which governments police one another."
From SSRN via weblog of Ewan Sutherland.
"Romanian CDMA operator Zapp has launched a pre-paid mobile broadband internet access service, the first of its type in the country, according to its press release. The Zapp Internet Express Card package includes a modem and a card allowing the user 40 hours of web surfing within six months of activation at a total cost of USD175. Once the initial surf time is up, the user can purchase pre-paid cards of various denominations, starting at USD10 for seven hours."
Click here to view the article featured in TeleGeography.
Article was accessed through Ewan Sutherland's weblog.
The Anti-Spyware Coalition proposed a standardized definition of "spyware" on July 12, 2005. The definition, which is open for public comment until August 12, is intended to serve as the foundation for a more unified approach to tackling the spyware problem. In addition to defining spyware, the coalition's first public document also offers uniform definitions of other commonly used terms like "adware" and "cookie," and offers tips for users to avoid downloading unwanted programs.
For more information, see the full article.
For comments on the Anti-Spyware Coalition definitions, click here.
Yahoo and Cisco have teamed up in an effort to reduce the amount of junk email reaching users' inboxes.
The firms have announced a specification called DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) that they hope will become a web standard. DKIM combines Yahoo's DomainKeys and Cisco's Identified Internet Mail authentication technologies.
For the full article click here.
Following the release of the report from the Working Group on Internet Governance, according to a Decision of PrepCom-2 all governments and other stakeholders are invited to submit written comments and proposals on Internet Governance to email@example.com by 15 August 2005. Thereafter, a compilation of these contributions will be forwarded to PrepCom-3, which will be held 19-30 September 2005, together with the report of the WGIG.
In between the meetings of two lead technical groups working on image and video compression, ISO/IEC's JPEG and ITU-T's Study Group 16, ITU will host a Workshop on Video and Image Coding and Applications (VICA) at the ITU headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland, 22 to 23 July 2005. Key experts will join users to review the development, assessment and application of video and image coding and to discuss and start work on an action plan and a roadmap for VICA standardization.
Presentations will instigate discussion on how standards work in the field, including how next generation networks (NGN) can support the development of so-called ubiquitous services - any device, anytime, anywhere. Current work on home network environments will also be taken into account. For more information, see the ITU meeting website.
One of the presentations includes an overview of the ITU-T H.264 standard (also known as MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) made by Gary Sullivan, Microsoft, Rapporteur for ITU-T Q.6/16.
Article featured in Total Telecom talks about Japan's intentions to work towards developing an NGN standard.
"The Japanese government is to urge private telecom carriers to upgrade domestic telecoms networks to next-generation IP-based telecommunications networks (NGN) by 2007.
According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper, the policy has been decided in order to try and push Japanese NGN standards in the hope of getting a big slice of the international equipment market for Japanese equipment manufacturers.
The International Telecommunication Union is expected to decide on the global specifications for NGNs by around 2008. The Japanese Ministry of Communications aims to have developed and proposed a standard to the ITU by then after working with the country's major telcos, including Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT), KDDI Corp. and SoftBank, as well as manufacturers of communications equipment including NEC Corp., Fujitsu Ltd., and Hitachi Ltd."
"The ministry hopes Japan will seize the initiative by being the first to come up with a tried and tested set of standards that might be accepted for international adoption, thus giving local manufacturers a huge leg up on international markets. While Japanese manufacturers have dominated their domestic market for telecommunications equipment through working with NTT, U.S. firms control 90% of the global market for routers. The Japanese firms are hoping the switch to a new set of standards for NGNs will help them overcome this imbalance.
The adoption of NGNs is expected to substantially lower communications costs because they will require only half the plant and equipment investment and maintenance expense required for current phone systems, according to the report, which says the networks will use a new breed of low-cost routers. Replacing Japan's current domestic phone networks will require an investment of an estimated 3 trillion to 6 trillion yen (22 billion to 44 billion euros) in plant and equipment over a five-year period. KDDI has been proposing replacement of its copper network by 2007 and NTT by 2010, but the Ministry hopes to speed this up to fit in with the ITU's schedule."
Finnish citizens are to be offered the opportunity to use mobile telephones equipped with digital certificates to identify themselves when conducting business online.
The first SIM cards equipped with the security certificate are now being offered by Elisa, Finland's second-largest mobile network operator, for official transactions with the Finnish Population Register Centre.
If, for example, a citizen wants to register a move to a new home online, he opens the corresponding page on the Internet, fills out the form, and receives a message from the registration office on his mobile telephone requesting him to enter his mobile signature for the online request. The citizen enters a personal PIN to permit the generation of the digital signature. This is generated by the SIM card and returned to the registration office as a special encrypted message.
Citizens who want to use the mobile signature can register at a local police station and sign up for the service. The 128KB, Java-based SIM cards have been supplied by Giesecke & Devrient and are currently available at selected Elisa outlets.
By the end of 2005, the Finnish OKO Bank, the social insurance agency, the Tax Administration, as well as the Ministry of Labour want to offer the mobile citizen certificate as a new form of authentication for their services.
The article above was published on the Finextra.com website.
The Office of the Information Commissioner (ICO), enforcer of the UK's main anti-spam laws, has received around 600 spam complaints in the past 12 months. But it has taken no legal action, in part because its powers are inadequate and impractical.
See: Information Commissioner's Report, July 2005
See also: Information Commissioner publishes annual report
Australia's broadcasting and telecommunications watchdog has won its first injunction against an alleged spammer under anti-spam laws introduced early last year.
The full article can be accessed here.
A senior partner at Ofcom recently gave a speech entitled "Trends in Television, Radio and Telecoms", highlighting some interesting points about the convergence of broadcasting and the internet.
"We already see the capability and the propensity to access audio and video content in different ways at different times and over many different platforms. How do we think about the watershed when the ten year old is watching a PVR stored 18 rated movie on Saturday morning, while the parents are doing the shopping? It's not intrinsically different to what is possible with a VHS; its the ease of access and the immediacy of the access that makes a difference.
How do we think about impartiality of news services for a television home media hub, where the viewer can access not only the traditional, impartial broadcast news services but a range of entirely partial, opinion driven audio and video services over broadband and internet? The content regulation model will have to evolve. David Currie and Stephen Carter have already, in separate contributions, already suggested that the time for a debate is soon. I want to endorse that view and give you a practical reason and a couple of simple ideas about the problem.
The practical reason for pressing ahead, is that the debate about TVWF has begun: * The EUs working proposals include the idea that the regulations be updated to include all audio visual content services, including non-linear content. * We expect a Draft Directive by the end of the year, with the debate kicking off firmly during the UK Presidency. If we seek a consistent approach, in a world where distinctions according to different distribution mechanisms becomes less and less practical, then the question is do you regulate up to the highest common factor or regulate down to the lowest common denominator? Do television standards apply to all content, or do the absence of standards on the internet apply to all television and radio? In a world where significant numbers have video capable broadband access, the question really can be posed as starkly as that. Or is there a compromise somewhere between these starkly opposed positions. Will, in reality, traditional services endure, with everyone accepting a fringe of alternative activity that is beyond the regulatory ambit. A sort of tolerable and tolerated black economy? Accepted because it remains marginal to the main event. Or is there a consistent framework that is beyond general law, but perhaps not as detailed as present day broadcast regulation?
Perhaps the difference can be addressed by a combination of greater personal responsibility alongside practical technologies which enable filtering and labelling. Alongside market choices by companies seeking to offer viewers and web surfers a safe environment, or by opt-in regulation to specified public service standards' which might then be kite marked or certified to indicate, an impartial news service for example. Or indeed there may be by other forms of self regulation which yield similar results."
For the full text, click here.
Article accessed through CommsWatch.
Article in The Register talks about Scott Richter, who has been dropped from an authorative list of known spammers after cleaning up his act. "Richter and his OptInRealBig option were a fixture in Spamhaus's Register of Known Spam Operations (ROKSO) for years. Only hard-core spammers who become the subject of repeated complaints feature on the list."
"Presence in the rogues gallery makes it difficult to obtain internet service from ethical suppliers and problematic to register domain names. Only those who refrain from sending bulk unsolicited email for six months are eligible for removal from ROKSO. Richter switched to a confirmed opt-in mailing list business model that contrasts with his previous business activities. Richter was sued by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and brought to the brink of bankruptcy by Microsoft over allegations the he used a network of 500 compromised computers to send millions of junk emails to hapless Hotmail users. Richter denied any such wrongdoing in settling the NY lawsuit last July but he was forced to agree to stop sending deceptive emails and generally abide by the US's CAN SPAM Act."
For the full story click here.
Article in The Register was accessed through fergie's blog.
A brief history of mobile phone texting in the United Kingdom described below.(Source: Media Center):
The full article can be accessed here.
An interview in the article also mentions that "law enforcement officials need better capabilities and more resources to deal with electronic crime whether it is committed in cyberspace or traditional crimes involving digital devices."
The article goes further on to say that "Some businesses arent reporting cybercrimes to law enforcement, but instead handling them internally. With the advent of instant messaging, voice over IP and other communication technologies, there are legal issues of intercepting messages to determine whether a crime has been committed. And getting information about possible crimes from Internet Service Providers might also pose a problem."
Article accessed through fergie's tech blog.
The U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, has released a draft version of the minimal security requirements for federal agencies. The report comes one month after government auditors found that the agencies are not prepared to deal with the triple Internet menaces of spam, phishing and spyware.
Full C|Net article can be found here.
Article accessed through fergie's blog.
John Cox writes in NetworkWorld: The IEEE group charged with creating a standard for wireless LAN mesh is rounding up about 15 proposals at this weeks 802.11 meeting in San Francisco. Members of the 802.11s task group hope to have a draft standard completed in 12 to 18 months. Today's wireless LAN mesh networks use proprietary algorithms and are typically deployed outdoors. With a IEEE mesh standard implemented by WLAN vendors, it's possible that in the future every wireless LAN would also be able to configure itself as a mesh network, similar in concept to the Internet. A wireless mesh uses a radio to interconnect the access points and route wireless packets over the best available route. Mesh benefits include potentially higher performance and more reliable nets.
For a quantative analysis of mesh network benefits, see Dave Beyer's presentation linked from in this article.
via Fergie's tech blog.
A recent PCWorld.com article article reports that "The U.S. Department of Homeland Security needs to develop a recovery plan for widespread attack on the Internet, and it needs stable leadership in cybersecurity".
The article goes on to say that "While DHS can track Internet threats, it doesn't have an Internet recovery plan or a national cybersecurity threat assessment". Seemingly DHS is making progress but more work still needs to be done.
Last week Cisco joined Yahoo, Sendmail and PGP Corp. in submitting the DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) specification to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). DKIM results from Cisco and Yahoo merging separate e-mail verification technologies with similar attributes, which both companies had worked on for more than a year.
"Since all this [spam] traffic is running on Cisco networks in large part, many customers often ask, 'Why can't Cisco do something about it?' " says Sanjay Pol, vice president and director of Cisco's Anti-Spam Initiative. "The less trust people have of the Internet, the worse it is for Cisco and our customers."
Click here to view the full article.
A study titled "Open to Exploitation: American Shoppers Online and Offline" finds that "Internet users in the United States are dangerously ignorant about the type of data that Website owners collect from them and how that data is used, making them vulnerable to fraud and misuse of their personal information".
For the full story click here.
Article published in InfoWorld, accessed through fergie's blog.
From Paul Hoffman's blog:
The IETF has finally emitted the email anti-spoofing documents for the SPF and Sender-ID protocols. The most important thing is that the two protocols are issues as experimental RFCs, not standards. There is a huge difference, and the IESG tried to make that as clear as possible:
"The following documents (draft-schlitt-spf-classic, draft-katz-submitter, draft-lyon-senderid-core, draft-lyon-senderid-pra) are published simultaneously as Experimental RFCs, although there is no general technical consensus and efforts to reconcile the two approaches have failed. As such these documents have not received full IETF review and are published "AS-IS" to document the different approaches as they were considered in the MARID working group.
The IESG takes no position about which approach is to be preferred and cautions the reader that there are serious open issues for each approach and concerns about using them in tandem. The IESG believes that documenting the different approaches does less harm than not documenting them.
The community is invited to observe the success or failure of the two approaches during the two years following publication, in order that a community consensus can be reached in the future."
"The following documents (draft-schlitt-spf-classic, draft-katz-submitter, draft-lyon-senderid-core, draft-lyon-senderid-pra) are published simultaneously as Experimental RFCs, although there is no general technical consensus and efforts to reconcile the two approaches have failed. As such these documents have not received full IETF review and are published "AS-IS" to document the different approaches as they were considered in the MARID working group.
The IESG takes no position about which approach is to be preferred and cautions the reader that there are serious open issues for each approach and concerns about using them in tandem. The IESG believes that documenting the different approaches does less harm than not documenting them.
The community is invited to observe the success or failure of the two approaches during the two years following publication, in order that a community consensus can be reached in the future."
And, to be clear, neither protocol is directly anti-spam: they simply help the receiver believe that the mail is sent by the organization that claims it sent the message.
On 15 July 2005 WSIS Executive Secretariat released the Advanced Draft of Stocktaking Report (WSIS-II/PC-3/DOC/3). The Report is available here.
This advanced draft of the stocktaking report has been prepared on the basis of activities received up to 10 July 2005. It is posted for comments and additional inputs, which should be sent to firstname.lastname@example.com before 15 August 2005. The draft will then be revised and translated for PrepCom-3.
For more information on WSIS process click here.
The European Commission has issued a decision on the harmonised use of radio spectrum in the 5 GHz frequency band for the implementation of Wireless Access Systems including Radio Local Area Networks (WAS/RLANs). Additional background information is available in a press release and here.
European Commission and roaming charges: The European Union is planning a web site to help cut mobile phone charges.Phone companies charge consumers too much for using mobile phones while abroad, the European Commission stated, promising to publish details of charges in an effort to let market forces push down prices. The European Union executive has been probing international roaming charges for years amid accusations that mobile phone operators are ripping off customers who make mobile calls while on trips abroad. Together with telecoms regulators from the EU 25 nations, the Commission has now concluded that "retail charges in the European Union are currently very high without clear justification." Roaming charges are also very complex and murky for most users which prevents full competition, the Commission said. The Commission's remedy is a Web Site from this autumn that lists all charges when mobile phone users travel from one country to another, Commission spokesman Martin Selmayr told a daily news briefing.Deutsche Telekom's (DTEGn.DE) T-Mobile unit rejected the Commission's charges. "We don't think that is justified. We have recently taken several measures to cut roaming fees and to make them more transparent. Apart from that, we can only pass on what the foreign operators charge us, and we see some discrepancies there especially when it comes to southern Europe," said a spokesman for T-Mobile International.
For the full story see Yahoo! news article (Reuters article)
A new push is being made to deliver television over an internet platform, with the potential to transform the medium into a new technology that offers more competition and program choices. The long-awaited "convergence" of television and the internet is being pushed, interestingly, by the major regional US phone companies SBC Communications and Verizon, which plan to roll out their first systems later this year in the US market. BellSouth, another major phone carrier, is also testing Internet protocol television (IPTV), and trials are underway in Britain, Switzerland and elsewhere.
Delivering television via Internet technology would give viewers access to virtually unlimited channels and programs, because instead of "pushing" video through a cable with limited capacity, the viewer would access servers that store the content. IPTV would also make the TV set and computer interchangeable and allow consumers to schedule or record programs via other devices, such as mobile phones. "While cable companies are constrained by the size of their pipe, we have virtually unlimited content potential," said SBC spokesman Larry Solomon.
For the full article click here.
Accessed through Yahoo! News
The Working Group on Internet Governance has released its final report (Word, PDF).
The Report has been translated in all UN languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish (all Word format).
A Background Report (Word) is also made available. It will be translated into French and posted on this website in due course.
Click here (PDF) to view the Press Release.
The US FCC has recently released new data on high speed Internet use by US businesses and households where they state growth in 2004 has risen 34% for a total of 38 million lines in service. The full report (PDF) is available on the FCC web site.
In December 2004, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held a public workshop entitled Peer-to-Peer File-Sharing Technology: Consumer Protection and Competition Issues. The two-day workshop explored a wide range of issues relating to peer-to-peer or "P2P" file-sharing technology, and included seven panels featuring more than 40 representatives from the P2P file-sharing software industry, entertainment industry, high-technology research firms, government agencies, academic institutions, and consumer groups. FTC staff has just releasaed a report entitled Peer-to-Peer File-Sharing Technology: Consumer Protectionand Competition Issues (PDF) to present information concerning the consumer protection, competition/economic, and intellectual property issues discussed at the workshop.
In November 2004, the UK's Ofcom published a consultation on Next Generation Networks: Future arrangements for access and interconnection which explored the potential regulatory issues raised by the move to Next Generation Networks (NGNs). In a follow-up consultation released in June 2005, Ofcom aims to establish a regulatory framework to address those issues and to support the development of NGNs.
The full version of this document, along with the Annexes, are available via the links below.
A gallery of retro telecom ads can be found here [via EuroTelcoBlog].
European Union home affairs ministers have promised that in October they will agree on a set of Europe-wide rules requiring companies to store phone call and e-mail data. The pledge was made at an emergency meeting of ministers in Brussels on Wednesday in response to the bombings in London last week which killed over 50 people.
The rules would require fixed and mobile telephone operators, ISPs (Internet service providers) and SMS (short messaging service) providers to keep data for at least a year with a possible maximum of three years. Only traffic data such as the time, duration and destination of calls would be kept, not the content of communications.
According to IT and Telecoms: Liberalisation of the long-distance telecommunications market has been postponed from 1 July 2005 until 1 January 2006, Russia Journal reported on the press service of the IT and Telecommunications Ministry. The government has been asked by the Ministry for the delay because some documents required for the deregulation had not yet been drafted by the Economy Ministry. According to the Telecommunications Ministry, the postponement has already been ratified. The Ministry itself asserts that it has presented all the documents required.
Russia Journal further informs that long-distance telecommunications services were included into the list of licensed services in February this year. Prior to that, Rostelecom had been the only nationwide long distance and international telecommunications operator. In late May, the federal telecommunications supervision service granted licenses to three more operators Centerinfocom, Golden Telecom and Multiregional Transit Telecom (MTT). However, these three companies are not entitled to render the services unless the rules of joining, which stipulate operators behavior on the market, come into effect.
The Nigerian Anti-Scam Network is a movement that is composed of Nigerians who are concerned about the bad image that cybercrime and spam has brought to Nigeria. The Nigerian Anti-Scam Network is an online youth network consisting of young Nigerian professionals who are concerned about the situation and are willing to take actions for change. They aim to expose the supporters and perpetrators of online crimes on their online message boards so that people have a place where they can do spot-checks and thus hopefully avoid being spammed. The Network expresses its concern that foreign parties have anti-scam sites that are little more than anti-Nigeria sites. They believe that the activities of the Nigerian Anti-Scam Network can give a more balanced opinion.
The Network realizes that; "throughout the world, cyber crime is a very serious topic and a very contentious one at that. A lot of countries are losing a lot of money due to the activities of cyber 419s. Nigeria have been touted as the major breeding ground for most of these online scams. Nigeria's ranking in the corruption index have been very discouraging for the past three years and we know that this is not only as a result of Government officials' corruptness, but also as a result of activities of online scammers. To be better prepared to fight these menace and bring back our lost reputation, some young Nigerian professionals started the Nigerian Anti-Scam network and have been doing extensive research on the activities of these scammers and ways of salvaging the country's image."
For more information visit the Nigerian Anti-Scan Network website and online forum.
Via Africa: Creating local and regional IXPs to save money and bandwidth has been released by The ITU Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D) Regulatory Reform Unit.
This booklet has three sections that seek to look at how national and regional Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) might be created, particularly in the African context but it also draws on lessons from elsewhere:
There is also a discussion of the regulatory issues that may need to be considered and the appendices of the booklet contain a list of useful documents and references.
Following months of discussions, China has agreed to sign up to the London Action Plan, which will mean greater cooperation between countries in analyzing spam campaigns, investigating their origin and encouraging ISPs around the world to take appropriate measures to defend innocent users.
Click here to view the full article.
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