Subject: IP-FLASH Site-stealing program answers WTO crackdown
>Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 11:01:59 -0500 >To: farber@cis.upenn.edu >From: Esther Dyson <edyson@edventure.com> > >>Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 12:24:18 GMT >>To: "EDYSON.edventure.com" <edyson@edventure.com> >>From: RTMark Bulletin <ann0080@rtmark.com> >>Subject: Site-stealing program answers WTO crackdown on edyson@edventure.com >>Sender: ann0080-proxy@rtmark.com >>X-OriginalArrivalTime: 15 Nov 2001 12:24:21.0174 (UTC) >>FILETIME=[741C9560:01C16DD0] >> >> This message is not commercial. Get off our list by writing >> mailto:remove@rtmark.com?subject=edyson@edventure.com. >> >>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@killyourtv.com) >> Jean-Guy Carrier (mailto:jean-guy.carrier@wto.org) >> Verio (mailto:copyright@verio.net) >> The Yes Men (mailto:info@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@rtmark.com?subject=edyson@edventure.com. >> If you are receiving multiple copies of this release and would >> rather receive only one, remove as above all versions but one. > > > >Esther Dyson Always make new mistakes! >chairman, EDventure Holdings >writer, Release 3.0 (on Website below) >edyson@edventure.com >1 (212) 924-8800 -- fax 1 (212) 924-0240 >104 Fifth Avenue (between 15th and 16th Streets; 20th floor) >New York, NY 10011 USA >http://www.edventure.com/ > >High-Tech Forum in Europe: canceled this year (details on Website) >PC FORUM: 24 to 27 March 2002, Scottsdale (Phoenix), Arizona > >
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