From: "ARON KAY" <pieman-AT-pieman.org> Subject: Fw: Site-stealing program answers WTO crackdown on pieman-AT-pieman.org Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 04:49:41 -0500 ARON KAY-http://www.pieman.org Giuliani Toilet Paper-http://www.pieman.org/rottenrudy.htm Anti-shrub-http://www.pieman.org/anti-bushlinks.html http://www.pieman.org/bushthedope.jpg http://www.pieman.org/pissonbush.html ----- Original Message ----- From: "RTMark Bulletin" <ann0056-AT-rtmark.com> To: "PIEMAN.pieman.org" <pieman-AT-pieman.org> Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2001 3:54 AM Subject: Site-stealing program answers WTO crackdown on pieman-AT-pieman.org > This message is not commercial. Get off our list by writing > mailto:remove-AT-rtmark.com?subject=pieman-AT-pieman.org. > > November 15, 2001 > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE > > WTO ATTACKS WEBSITE, REAPS HUNDREDS OF OTHERS > As it meets in Qatar, WTO attempts to shut down critical website; > group counters with site-stealing software > > Contacts: Jonathan Prince (mailto:jonathan-AT-killyourtv.com) > Jean-Guy Carrier (mailto:jean-guy.carrier-AT-wto.org) > Verio (mailto:copyright-AT-verio.net) > The Yes Men (mailto:info-AT-theyesmen.org) > Software: http://www.theyesmen.org/yesiwill/ > http://yesiwill.plagiarist.org/ > http://detritus.net/projects/yesiwill/ > > Last Friday, Jonathan Prince, who owns the Gatt.org domain, received a > call from Verio, Gatt.org's upstream provider. The World Trade > Organization had just asked Verio to shut down the domain for > copyright violations, and Verio told Prince that it would do just that > if nothing was changed by November 13--the last day of the Doha > Ministerial, as it would happen. An official email followed > (http://rtmark.com/verio.html). > > (Last-minute update: Verio's shutdown is currently expected sometime > after noon EST today--watch software sites above for updates.) > > "It's the war," says Prince. "Bush has popularized zero-tolerance, and > it's open season on dissent of any kind. So just when they're meeting > in Doha, the WTO has decided to divert attention from its problems by > attacking a website." > > "Or maybe they really do want to make it so that protest has as little > place on the web as it does in Qatar," adds Prince. > > Oddly enough, the WTO has been aware of the parody website since > before the 1999 Ministerial in Seattle, when it issued a public > statement claiming the site misled visitors > (http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres99_e/pr151_e.htm). > > Two weeks ago, the WTO issued another release > (http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news01_e/gattdotorg_e.htm), this > one claiming that Gatt.org was harvesting e-mails, an allegation > reprinted as fact in some newspaper articles > (http://rtmark.com/pressgat.html). > > While it may be puzzling why the WTO chose to issue a second press > release about Gatt.org two years later, it is even more surprising > that they are now taking concrete steps to stop the critical site. > In statements made just last week to the French daily newspaper > Liberation and to others, WTO spokesperson Jean-Guy Carrier stated > that "It's not our job to use legal means against people. We > appreciate dissidence and honest criticism." > > Why the sudden change of attitude? > > "They got nervous, it's only human," said Elaine Peabody, a > spokesperson for The Yes Men (http://www.theyesmen.org), the group > that maintains the Gatt.org website. "The WTO remembers what happened > the last time they had one of these meetings [in Seattle]. They felt > like tackling something they knew they could handle--and a satirical > website fit the bill." > > BATTLE HEATS UP > > But the WTO could well have stepped on a hornets' nest. To counter > the attack, the Yes Men have are releasing today a piece of > open-source "parodyware" (http://theyesmen.org/yesiwill/) that will > "forever make this kind of censorship obsolete," according to Peabody. > > "Using this software, it takes five minutes to set up a convincing, > personalized, evolving parody of the WTO.org website, or any other > website of your choice," said Peabody, who helped to develop the > program. "All you need is a place to put it--say, WTOO.org, > WorldTradeOrg.com, whatever." > > The software, called "Yes I Will!", automatically duplicates websites > as needed, changing words and images as the user desires--with results > that can be very telling. The WTO site can be made to speak of > "consumers" and "companies" rather than "citizens" and "countries." > Unleashed on the CNN.com website, the software can simplify the > reporting even further by referring to Bush as "Leader," and the war > in Afghanistan as one between "Good" and "Evil"; a Time.com article > linked from the site then discusses "The Poor Way of War". The parody > site updates itself automatically as the target website changes. > > "The idea is to insure that even if they shut down our website, > hundreds of others will continue our work of translation," said > Peabody. "The more they try to fight it, the funnier they're going to > look." > > "Such heavy-handed tactics work as poorly in cyberspace as they do on > the geopolitical stage," said Cooper Kharms, another Yes Man. "At > least Gatt.org was transparent: you could tell what it was by reading > a line or two. These other sites may not be so obvious." > > Prince thinks the software, while interesting, is not a solution. > "With their attack on Gatt.org, an unelected, unaccountable > organization is running roughshod over the USA Bill of Rights," said > Prince. "But every day they violate people's rights in the Third > World, or enable corporations to do so. This time it's just closer to > home." > > For more on the legal basis of the WTO's attack, see also > http://dc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=15296&group=webcast > > > RTMark's primary goal is to publicize corporate subversion of the > democratic process. To this end it acts as a clearinghouse for > anti-corporate projects. > > # 30 # > > This message is not commercial. Get off our list by writing > mailto:remove-AT-rtmark.com?subject=pieman-AT-pieman.org. > If you are receiving multiple copies of this release and would > rather receive only one, remove as above all versions but one. >
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