New Zealand Pays Big Bucks For NewZealand.com
from the what-is-this,-1999? dept
Someone forgot to inform the New Zealand government that it's no longer 1999. The government there has agreed to spend US$500,000 to buy the domain newzealand.com. It's been quite a long time since domain names fetched those kinds of prices. The New Zealand Tourism Ministry insists that it was a good investment, and was apparently suckered into believing that other (perhaps just as gullible) governments around the world had offered much larger sums for their country name dot coms.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
No Subject Given
ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST
DEAR ONE,
I AM MRS STELLA KAMARA THE WIFE OF LATE CHEIF ANDREW KAMARA, THE OWNER OF
TWO GOLD FIELDS IN SEIRRA LEONE THAT WAS LATER TAKEN OVER FROM US BY THE
GOVERNMENT, AND MYHUSBAND WAS MADE THE DIRECTOR OF THE MINES BEFORE THE
REBELFORCES ATTACKED HIM AND TOOK IT OVER. I GOT YOUR CONTACT THROUGH MY
SEARCH IN THE INTERNET AS REPUTABLE PERSON WHO CAN HELP ME TO MANAGE OUR
INHERITED FUND IN A GOOD BUSINESS UNTIL MY SON IS ABLE TO TAKE OVER.
SIR AS A BUSY PERSON, I PRAY YOU WILL HAVE ENOUGH TIME
TO CONSENT TO MY PLIGHT AND PROPOSAL I WOULD LIKE TO CONFIDE IN YOU THAT
I INHERITED A TOTAL SUM OF $23.000.000.USD(TWENTY - THREE MILION UNITED
STATES DOLLARS ) FROM MY LATE HUSBAND (CHIEF ANDREW KAMARA) WHO WAS KILLED
BY THE REBEL SOLDIERS IN SIERRA-LEONE.
THIS MONEY WAS MOVED DOWN TO ABIDJAN ( COTE D'IVOIRE )WITH INSTRUCTION TO
TRANSFER THE CONSIGNMENT TO LONDON OR BUDAPEST AND HOLLAND COLLECTING CENTER
AND DEPOSITED IN A PRIME SECURITY FIRM BY MY LATE HUSBAND UNDER A SPECIAL
SECRET ARRANGEMENT IN WHICH HE DECLARED THE CONSIGNMENT AS FAMILY VALUABLES
AND WITH THE HOPE OF INVESTING IT LATER,BUT THE SUDDEDN DEATH COULD NOT
ALLOW HIM. AFTER HIS SUDDEN DEATH WE DISCOVERED A COPY OF THE WILL HE MADE
IN WHICH HE STATED THAT THE DEPOSIT CONTAINS MONEY, THOUGH
DECLARED AS FAMILY VALUABLES FOR SECURITY REASON.
I AND MY SON DECIDED TO SEEK REFUGE IN IVORY COAST FOR A WHILE, BUT WE ARE
NOW LOOKING FOR A TRUSTED PARTNER IN OVERSEAS WHOSE ACCOUNT CAN ACCOMODATE
THIS MONEY, AND CAN BE COVENIENTLY DEPOSITED FOR INVESTMENT AND MANAGMENT
ON OUR BEHALF AND FOR US TO ALSO COME OVER TO STAY IN YOUR
COUNTRY.
I HAVE DECIDED TO CONTACT AND RELY IN YOU BECAUSE,
WE HAVE DECIDED TO INVEST THIS MONEY INTO GOOD BUSINESS
VENTURE IN YOUR COUNTRY, BASED ON ITS POLITICAL AND
ECONOMIC STABILITY. MYSEIF AND MY SON HAVE AGREED THAT YOU WILL BE THE ONLY
PARTNER AND FUND MANAGER IN THIS REGARD.
I AM BY THIS EMAIL MESSAGE SEEKING YOUR ASSISTANCE IN THIS RESPECT. YOU
ARE THEREFORE REQUESTED TO ARRANGE FOR A POSSIBLE WAY THIS MONEY COULD BE
MOVE TO YOUR COUNTRY ,EVEN IF IT MAY REQUIRE YOUR COMING DOWN HERE IN IVORY
COAST TO MEET ME AND MY SON.
WE HAVE AGREED THAT 15% OF THE TOTAL SUM SHALL BE GIVEN TO YOU FOR RENDERING
THIS ASSISTANCE. WE HAVE ALSO EARMARKED 5% FOR EXPENSES LIKE TRAVELLING.
HOTEL BILLS e.t.c,10% TO BE IN A SEPRATE ACCOUNT FOR ME AND MY SON, WHILE
THE REMAINING 70% WILL BE FOR THE FAMILY'S INVESTMENT , WITH YOU AS A PARTNER
AND TRUSTEE.
PLEASE REPLY THIS EMAIL MESSAGE AT YOUR EARLIEST
CONVENIENT TIME THROUGH MY EMAIL INDICATING YOUR
WILLINGNESS. HAVE A NICE DAY AND GOD BLESS .
YOURS SINCERELY
STELLA KAMARA
[ link to this | view in thread ]