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Politech is the oldest Internet resource devoted to politics and technology. Launched in 1994 by Declan McCullagh, the mailing list has chronicled the growing intersection of culture, technology, politics, and law. Since 2000, so has the Politech web site.
If I recall properly, the gatt.org spoof site has been around for years. But after the WTO's announcement this week, it's in the news: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011031/wr/trade_wto_internet_dc_1.html What the WTO should do is rely more on its difficult-to-forge .int domain (like NATO does with nato.int): http://www.wto.int/english/news_e/news01_e/gattdotorg_e.htm -Declan ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2001 11:58:43 -0800 From: Jeffrey St. Clair <sitka@home.com> To: cp <counterpunch-list@counterpunch.org>, Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com> Subject: WTO Freaks At Halloween WebMask Hi there! We run <http://www.gatt.org/>. Here's what the WTO--that's the World Trade Organization, of course--has been saying about us on their front page at <http://www.wto.org/:> "Warning: Fake WTO website - <http://www.gatt.org> - deceitful and a nuisance to serious users" They go on to describe how <gatt.org> interferes with "serious users" looking for "genuine information" (<http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news01_e/gattdotorg_e.htm>): We think the WTO is acting just a little bit paranoid, don't you? After all, this is less than TEN DAYS before the start of the WTO's big hooplah in Doha, Qatar. Maybe they're nervous--in Qatar, any form of protest is strictly illegal, and VERY heavily punishable (depending on the King's mood). How will people react when the first hundred protesters get their heads chopped clean off? Morocco doesn't like that sort of extremism, and neither do France or Nepal. Lots of beheaded peaceniks is likely to annoy almost everyone! Funny thing, the WTO acted this way just before Seattle as well: <http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres99_e/pr151_e.htm> . It probably is just a bad case of nerves. See you on the chopping block! Your friends at <http://theyesmen.org/> p.s. Here is the text of the WTO's Halloween news item: WTO NEWS: 2001 NEWS ITEMS 30 October 2001 Warning: fake WTO website A fake WTO website - <http://www.gatt.org> - has been created to deceive Internet users by copying the entire official WTO website. While the design is identical, the texts have been distorted. The fake site also uses the email address <enquiries@gatt.org> The use of WTO designs, logos and materials is strictly unauthorized. Worse, some pages on the fake website could cause unsuspecting visitors to reveal their email addresses and other information to the site's operators. The fake site could also be picked up by search engines, a nuisance for serious users looking for genuine information. The only official WTO site is <www.wto.org>. (In an e-mail sent today to subscribers, they went even further, claiming "it uses a form which will reveal your e-mail address to the fake site's operators, who may then make use of it to send you misinformation in the name of the WTO.") No more dumb mail? <mailto:nomore@theyesmen.org?subject>=<counterpunch@counterp unch.org> ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------