Slashdot Mirror
A Distorted Mirror: Automatic, Real-Time Web Parodies
Citing the DMCA, the World Trade Organization complained to Verio, the upstream provider of parody site gatt.org, a site we've mentioned before which jabs at the aims and methods of GATT and the WTO. Verio notified domain holder Jonathan Prince of the complaint, and asked Prince to remove any copyrighted materials from the site. The site appears intact for now, but read on to learn about the interesting software the complaint has spawned -- perhaps this isn't what the WTO had in mind.
As Andrew Bichlbaum writes: "The WTO could well have stepped on a hornets' nest. To counter the attack, Gatt.org managers The Yes Men have released a piece of open-source 'parodyware' that will 'forever make this kind of censorship obsolete. ... 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 ... All you need is a place to put it -- say, WTOO.org, WorldTradeOrg.com, whatever.'"
The Onion has been using obviously machine-generated "parody" for years now. Nothing else can explain the lack of originality...
Won't this just encourage corporations to sue over copyright infringement even more? I mean, Apple was able to sue over "look and feel", so what would bar these people from doing the same? Also, how in the world is software going to be able to tell copyrighted material from non-copyrighted material? This all seems to be rather ill-planned to me.
Is your company running tools written by ma
Gatt and yes men? Sounds like How to succeed in business without really trying. Except the guy's name was gatch.
The Domain Defense Advocate is a grass-roots organisation trying to combat unwarranted domain confiscations. IMHO, a very worthwhile thing to support.
/Styx
Does anyone have a link to a (non-distorted) mirror?
Ceci n'est pas une sig
I know slashdot editors think everything done by corporations somehow tramples on my rights, but I just don't see the connection here.
> The site appears intact for now
/.ed.
Great, now it's
I've managed to grab copies of the software just as their site got /.d.
Please be nice, because I'm only on cable. Grab the files here.
You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. The impossible just takes a little longer.
http://detritus/projects/yesiwill
Let's see how well they survive a slashdotting.
Carousel is a lie!
The WTO's greatest defense. No one will ever see the offending pages at this rate...
Think before you mod: is it really offtopic..?
Ceci n'est pas une sig
I can feel not-guilty about posting this, karmacap boy that I am. :)
my old sig used to be funny, but then slashcode ate it and now it's not funny anymore
The presentation, which Harper's describes as "well-received", was subsequently praised by the MC on three seperate occasions that day.
(I want to be a yes man :)
I would be more interested if the Yes Men provided the text of Verio's complaint. I would find the story more credible if Slashdot bothered to verify that Verio did actually complain.
As far as I can tell from this article, we have been offered absolutely no evidence that the WTO has in fact complained, using the DMCA or any other tool.
It seems sort of like a bigger versioin of the Dialectizer, a site that allows you to insert a url and then have all the text on the page translated into a number of amusing "languages," such as redneck, jive, elmer fudd, etc. /. readers may especially appreciate the hacker dialect. ^_^ Try this version of slashdot!(hit the dialectize button). CmdrTaco's gone l33+!
Only a whore charges for a look and a feel.
____ Huh? I missed that.
See that weird red, blue and green globe symbol?
That's trademarked. You can see it on the WTO website, and they have a nice (specific) notice clearly indicating it is theirs.
I'm all for parody. But there is no need for parody to make use of actual trademark symbols, or even trademarked phrases. It is much more funny, and more clever besides. Here's one example, in case you don't already know what I mean.
It's quite clear to me that the Yes Men are more interested in pissing off the WTO than in parody itself. This is not itself a crime, but replicating trademarks like that tends to fool people rather than to get the point across. The WTO has a legitimate complaint here.Trademark law is meant to protect consumers, not businesses, and (for once) the WTO seems to be using it completely legitimately. If the Yes Men aren't deliberately trying to fool the very people they are self-righteously trying to protect from the corporations, they should have no problem with getting off their duffs and altering the trademarked symbols on their website.
"The site appears intact for now, but read on to learn about the interesting software the complaint has spawned -- perhaps this isn't what the WTO had in mind."
The WTO has nothing to fear... the
I like this one better!
You're using her as bait, Master!
Now Microsoft can now move in to start closing-up web pages into encrypted executables so no-one can edit them (without re-starting from scratch), or 'steal ideas'. Also, so no-one can use the internet without running windows
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
Time to get web stripper out and download the whole thing before it goes poof.
Slashporn. 'nuff said.
I made a parody, visit here to see (it probably won't be up too long...). Finally, you can also get the code in the directory mentioned above, if you are having trouble finding a mirror. Retrieve yesiwill-1.0.tar.gz
When I submitted this story, I got this...
"2001-11-15 16:39:40 WTO Tells ISP: Remove Satire Web Site (articles,news) (rejected)"
... but now it appears under another's name. All the good lovin' I gave you, Slashdot, and how you are in another's arms!
For the satire impared, let me say it's not such a big deal. A tiny deal, not a big deal.
I am on gatt.org....
...
I'm reading the website... and now I am wondering is it defaced or it's the real thing? I mean I never really bothered with all that WTO stuff but when I read (on the front page):
>Brazilian AIDS drugs a sure path to economic sickness
>Today, however, another Holocaust is taking place: it goes by the name of "distrust of big business," and it is every bit as terrible as the last.
>Qatar saves the day Responding to the selfish and dangerous actions of special-interest forces at recent free-trade summits, the kingdom of Qatar has generously offered to host the next WTO Ministerial. In Qatar, the sort of lobbying seen in Seattle, Quebec, Davos, Prague, Barcelona, and elsewhere is strictly illegal and heavily punished,
I mean... what the hell?? is that all real? I mean I'm used to lying politician, backstabbing authority figures, and all that stuff, but I mean, putting such things on a front page has really shocked me, I can't beleive people can be that openly materialistic and use historic stuff and lie without raising a LOT of opposition...
Especially the last part "we don't value your opinion, saying you dislike what we are working on is illegal so we will host our "democratic" process in a place you'll get shot in the head if you disagree"... wow... now I see why people are so upset...while I don't think people fighting police to disrupt the meeting is a viable option (policemen are people like you and me, just doing what they are told to, hitting them won't make things better), I do think it's bad to not let people express their opposition, afterall, these are the people these leaders are supposed to work for, they should give numbers and sensibilization if having a world-class economy system is such a good thing, not shutting the door off and smashing opponents, this shows only that these opponents might be right somewhere...
I can't beleive it, everyone should go take a look at that site, that gatt.org thing, anyone with a minimal sense of humanity and a bit of education will probably feel like I am right now, there's some stuff that is still true there, BUT it's stuff usually classified as "silent truth", you know it's right but you don't say it openly because it could backfire heavily (like the AIDS thing for example, of course if you copy a patented thing that took years and billion in research, it's stealing, but then again, selling it to make 100 of billions in profits (I did mention PROFITS not only recovering the cost of R&D and salaries) so that rich people can afford it and poor people can't, is it a more noble goal?
Anyways, I leave you with that quote:
--
Protesters rich, study shows
A new study shows that the special-interest lobbyists attending the Seattle, Prague, Nice, Davos, and other demonstrations come from population sectors that have freedom and money to travel, putting them in a different class from those sectors of the developing world they pretend to defend.
--
Well if that system we all know is to make rich people richer, if people that are opposing it are already rich, I read this and I think "maybe there's really something wrong in there" and with everything else I just read on their website, I'm really beginning to think that there is.
Funny thing is when this happened in Quebec (where I live) I thought that these protestors were just a bunch of kids with too much hormones needing to hit at something just like a big heavy metal concert... like a big party... I'm scared now because while this might still apply to a bunch of the people that were there, now I realize that 10,000s of people can't all be wrong... scary...
--- Metamoderating abusive downgraders since my 300th post.
That statement itself is a silly parody of the WTO that has nothing to do with its real aims.
It's really not much different from similar sites by indymedia and others; all are nothing but lies.
Just what we need; more violent thugs fired up by misinformation beating up people, destroying businesses, and trying to "shut down" meetings that they do not like (so much for rights of free speech and assembly: if you don't like someone's meeting; organize a protest to "shut it down".)
This site does shed some light on Michael Moore, who is quite busy directing GATT, and also has time to stick it to Roger Smith of GM and put out those hilarious "TV Nation" shows.
the parody is produced by code, in code.
Seeing as code is free speech (for the time being) it is as simple as saying the program "produces html code which is free speech, and is a parody...which is protected as free speech as well".
Yeah, that is kind of a weasle-y way of thinking, but "eagles my fly, but weasles don't get sucked into jet engines", seems to apply.
Or, as one poster pointed out "Fight fire with fire".
stray thought for the day:
DMCA: Digital Masturbating Conusmers of America. ( if you ran it thru the pornalize would it accomplish anything?)
If it is not on fire, it is a software problem.
That message above was a TROLL. Nader won the last election with 88% of the vote. The IWW has had control of the US Congress for the last 75 years. The US tax rate has topped 93% and there are mass demonistrations to increase taxes. Every time the WTO meets, there are tens of millions of protesters on the site and all commerce shuts down worldwide. It just isn't possible that anyone at all could object to the well reasoned progressive views of the anti-GATT protesters, which are held by the vast majority of all people.
that great minds think alike. you have to be first, or you have to have said it a lot better than the first.
The quotes on the scooped page (placed to juxtapose the statements by the WTO) contained serious factual errors, and events grouped together which were not connected properly.
.1 percent after 1929 for some unspecified period, yet during this period of time, the world was retreating away from free trade to protectionism which further aggravated the economic pain of the 30s.
For example:
In criticizing free trade and freer business transactions, they noted that GDP rose by only
There were dozens of these... Its really funny, actually. The WTO does have its problems, don't get me wrong, but lying doesn't help solve them, folks.
I remember a couple of years ago \. posted an article on how a company filed a lawsuit against the creator of an ebonics translator page and won. It took existing pages and "ebonified" them. The plantiff claimed copyright infringement when the tool was used on their particular page. Anyone remember this? It seems relevant to this new case.
how did you know?
________________
All my sig are fjdklafjkldafjkldafdaklf
Ok... seems like I didn't get the part with "it's a parody site" :).. good thing I don't have that huge-ass ego :)
I must say, it's VERY well done got fooled big time, hehehe, but the serious part is: IT DID ITs JOB!... sensibilise the people to their cause... it worked 100% on me.
Either it shows how much I don't trust my leaders (by beleiving they could go that far for real), or I am a complete dumbass... or both :)
--- Metamoderating abusive downgraders since my 300th post.
Now, who would suggest that there is not a single WTO-member government that favors legitimate protest to the degree of dissenting from this action and thus removing the complete concensus of member governments which is the WTO's only authorization to act? Does every single government favor surrendering the rights of its people in the name of "free" trade? Preposterous!
If that's the case then "free" is just a cover word for tyranny - and Microsoft has every reason to sound the alarm at the rise of "free" software....
"with their freedom lost all virtue lose" - Milton
Random example from the www.gatt.org site:
"Modern" free-market theory, in which goods must be free to travel unhindered, is little changed from the teachings of Adam Smith and David Ricardo, who wrote two hundred years ago, in Britain, under conditions entirely different from those of the present. There is still no statistical reason to believe that this theory works, but corporations have many selfish economic reasons to make it the law.
English is not your first language, then?
______________
OTTERS RULE.
He was asked to remove it in a letter, in accordance with the DMCA.
THe DMCA lets a copyright holder do this, to protect their work. They can write a letter, and have material taken down.
However... the counter to this is that the person with the site merely has to send a letter back declaring that the information does NOT infringe on their copyrights. They then have a certain number of days to file suit or drop it.
The direct issue with this item appears at first to be DMCA related, but in my view the root cause issue is a highly politicized agenda driven site which is trying to use ANY topic and ANY issue to score political points against global trade related organizations.
Examining the site, I would realize it is not the true WTO site, but MANY people are not as well informed. The site appears remarkably realistic, uses the WTO logos and nowhere does it say its a parody. The site is blatantly and unarguably attempting to use deception and fraudulent argument to advance its political agenda.
Imagine there was a linuxkernel.org which looked exactly like the REAL kernel.org but gave out kernels patched to provide root access on port 80. The point of trademarks is to provide authenticity to information and a product. Reading something in the New York Times conveys something about its accuracy and the source of the information.
When you have guerrilla groups attempting to use false trust to advance their agenda, not only is it cowardly, but it is against the law.
The anti-trade goons are fueled by lies from left-wing demagogues (and Pat Buchanan) little different from the intentional parody at gatt.org
There are two main themes I have noticed with the anti-globalization movement.
First, they have no alternative. The entire movement is defined by what it is against, not by what it is for.
Second, large sections of the movement have no qualms with using false arguments and violence to advance their agenda.
For example, the anti-trade (supposed parody) gatt.org flatly accuses AIDS drug manufacturers of genocide. Saying that creators of drugs which cure AIDS actually are killing people afflicted with the disease is not only audacious, but logicaly incoherent. However, gatt.org does not let facts get in the way.
The anti-globalization protests have PRETENDED to be non-violent (and indeed some groups are). However, there are a large number of groups which have no qualms with blatant destruction and violence, and even more groups tolerate those groups and are thus tacitly complicit. If the movement really was non-violent, why are so many police needed to prevent full scale riots like Seattle?
And when violence does occur, members of the movement engage again in misinformation by blaming the police. Last time I checked, it wasn't the police who were looting stores and setting cars ablaze. If one actually watches the news in detail, the protestor who was shot in Genoa was killed as he was attempting to hurl a fire extinguisher at the head of a policeman. (Sounds pretty close to attempted 2nd degree murder to me.)
Members of the anti-globalization movement at the BARE MINIMUM must confront why their message and method is so attractive to violent thugs.
Your comment does not actually rebut my analysis =)
microsoft.com is trademarked by Microsoft and is understood as such. The Microsoft trademark conveys certain information on a products quality and stability, which for you apparently means blatantly destructive (not sure I agree here but you're entitled to your opinion).
When you download a package from microsoft.com, you are NOT being fooled.
Maybe you aren't a dumbass. Maybe it shows what happens when some site more or less impersonates another.
Truth is a matter of debate most times. There are multiple views. But somebody pointed out that obvious parody is protected under law. Apparently this isn't entirely obvious parody. It might verge on (though not actually be) malicious impersonation.
If I can control the images you see, the text you read, and the information you have access to, then I can affect your perceptions. In this case, it is being done for protest. But what could be innocent protest could equally be manipulation.
Although the WTO is no panacea of righteousness, in this case, I think they are in the right to object. Put up a big front end on the other site pointing out that it is parody and I could live with it. We can't rely on the "obvious parody" defence, because it isn't and people are easily lead astray.
And as someone who saw some of what went on in downtown Ottawa at the G-20, I have to say there were a number of people who went their with violence in mind. You don't show up in ballistic protective gear, a gas mask, a balaclava, etc. if you aren't ready for trouble. (And NO, this isn't the police riot squad I'm talking about....).
And smashing the crap out of a McDonalds outlet and some other stores is beating up some businessman and probably won't do much to McDonalds' bottom line.
The media went to interview some of the protesters. They refused to speak on camera. When asked why, they said "the media always gets it wrong" to which the media person replied "here's the mike - you tell your story in your words." They wouldn't.
They asked another girl about why she was wearing a bandana, running with the rougher groups of protestors, and wouldn't give her name. Her answer? "It's fun!".
The Ottawa police didn't lay many charges and didn't lay into the hooligans even when they damaged property. They showed remarkable restraint and the prosecutors are laying light charges against those they did take into custody. AFAICS, this is just like saying "we don't want to appear heavy handed.... too bad for all the businesses affected". Not what I hope for in a government, if I'm a small business person.
And one of the protest organizers was complaining about the government not housing the protesters. He said "They decided to host the conference, which means they decided to host these protests too. They should be housing us." Pardon? The only place they should house people who smash shop windows and assault police is behind bars. And the rest of them who protest peacefully should be allowed to, but certainly not housed.
But what did the politically-sensitive Ottawa Council and our dork of a Mayor do? Took over hundreds of hotel rooms at taxpayers expense to house the rabble. Lovely... just lovely....
Remind me again why these protests are a good thing?
-- Mal: "Well they tell you: never hit a man with a closed fist. But it is, on occasion, hilarious."
This is a pretty straight down the line situation: gatt.org is out of line. It is not clearly a parody, and is effectively putting words into the mouth of the body it's targetting. Look at the photographs of Mike Moore next to blocks of offensive text!
Slashdot is pretty strong on freedom of speech issues, but I think presenting this as one reflects badly on legitimate free speech issues covered in other issues.
Believe with me, my saplings.
You, sir, are my hero.
Swift did not represent his satirical opinions as anyone's but his own.
If Swift had written "A Modest Proposal" to look like an official proclamation from King George I, Swift's head would've been off in a week or so.
I hope VA Linux doesn't make me take this down!
Check out:
Smurfdot and
Thunderslash
First, they have no alternative. The entire movement is defined by what it is against, not by what it is for.
.. or at least, that's what being spoon-fed your information by the mainstream media would make you believe.
Is the movement coherent in what it wants? No. But some of the things that have been demanded include: Fair Trade as opposed to Free Trade, environmental protection clauses built into the agreements, social welfare concerns such as decent labor laws being recognized as valid points for discussion and inclusion, debt relief for developing nations, transparency of the negotiations, democratic input, enforcement of human rights, etc.
The anti-globalization movement is composed of many different groups, each with its own agenda and methods. Some of them agree, some of them don't. As with any populist movement, it is one made up of diverse people, opinions, and ideas that have coalesced around a common thread: Globalization as it's happening now is not working.
Second, large sections of the movement have no qualms with using false arguments and violence to advance their agenda.
Again, this is an unfortunate misconception based on relying entirely on the mainstream media for information on the subject.
The truth is actually the reverse. However peaceful protests make for boring video and the truthful arguments are complex and don't condense neatly into a fifteen second sound-byte for the evening news.
If anything, it could be easily argued that those who use the most violence and false arguments to advance their agenda are those that favor the unfettered globalization process we see happening today. Fortunately for them, the violence often takes place in the developing nations affected by the agreements -- places where reporters are not hanging around looking for a story.
Members of the anti-globalization movement at the BARE MINIMUM must confront why their message and method is so attractive to violent thugs.
I'm not one to argue that there are idiots who like to use protests as cover for simply being assholes and wrecking things. But it's not just this movement's message and method that attracts these people, you get the same morons at soccer games, outdoor music festivals and other public gatherings. When it happens during these other events though it's generally somewhat separated from the centre of a city where major damage can be caused, and the news tends not to lump them in with the rest of the people who are present. At the protests, it's typically the opposite on both counts.
Check out www.indymedia.org for a different take on your nightly news. You may not agree with their viewpoint, but at least you'll be exposed to a different one than normal.
That Jesus Christ guy is getting some terrible lag... it took him 3 days to respawn! -NJ CoolBreeze
I would still say that the anti-globalization movement does not have a coherent message. I would likely to briefly examine the so called fair trade slogan and then compare the effects of globalization to those of technology.
:)
The movement is an amalgam of the old socialist left, environmentalists, unions, and a variety of groups focussed on different kinds of "rights." You mentioned "Fair Trade," decent labor laws, debt relief, and transparency of negotiations. I would like to agree that transparency in trade talks is a good idea, and one would be hardpressed to find good reasons against it. That said, the other terms are massively unclear. Each group has their own agenda (and often disproved, especially in the case of the old socialist left). Their conjunction is in fact literally a baseless jumble. I remember listenning during the election to an African American member of Congress at the Democratic Convention. He was fairly critical of the protests and rememberred back to the civil rights movement. His comment was that the civil rights movement had a base, it had support in communities, it gatherred this local support for larger things, but it was always present and had a coherent and undeniable message. The current anti-globalization protests can not come together except for large trade talks and then can only really agree to disagree. They do not have "a base" of support.
I don't think fair trade has much actual usefullness other than as a catchy buzzword. From a union standpoint, the gameplan is obvious. Increase trade barriers so as to make importation of textiles and other products unattractive. Call it fair trade, call it whatever, just try to sell it. Other groups might advocate "fair trade" plainly for the benefit of the people supposedly being taken advantage of. The two man problems with this is that Rome wasn't built in a day and that the people supposedly being helped don't want the trade restrictions. The reasons people would be willing to work for low wages in Vietnam is because among options, the foreign factory is the best. Call it unfair, but if Nike had to pay the same wages in Vietnam as in the US, Nike obviously would never go to Vietnam. The next and even greater problem is that the nations themselves want free trade. I believe it was Zedillo, the former President of Mexico, who said something along the lines of, "The developped world is full of people trying to save the undevelopped world from development." It is no coincidence that northern Mexico is far more developped and richer than southern Mexico. If free trade really were the scourge, one would expect a different outcome.
And from an environmental standpoint, people begin to care about the environment when they get rich. When a family is trying to get food just for the next day, they could care less about the forest and the water. However, once someone is wealthy enough so that food, shelter, and simple pleasures aren't an issue, he/she will begin to care a great deal more about the environment. Again it's no concidence that the world's environmentalists by far reside in Europe, Canada, and the United States. If one wants Mexico to care too, the solution is to make the Mexicans rich, and do it as fast as possible.
Far too often, I think the environmentalist movement behind the scenes attempts to retard development from the cynical standpoint that if Mexicans lived better and had cars, they would consumer more gas, emit more CO2. The solution from this false viewpoint is to erect barriers to development. Whether this enters the minds of those opposing trade or not, it is the effect.
The most important issue in the globalization basket I think is free trade. Much of the selling of free trade is done on grounds that aren't quite honest. Does free trade create jobs? yes, but it destroys some too, the net effect is probably close to a wash. What free trade does though is allow people to give up less of what they have to get more of what they want. Like technology, it is an amplifier. And indeed free trade's effects are remarkably close to those of technology from an economic standpoint. I do not think it is unfair to say that one cannot be both against free trade and for technology and still be intellectually consistent.
Technology allows the creation of more goods/value given the same input. 200 years ago, a man with a plow could grow so much wheat. Nowadays, using tractors, modern fertilizers, etc... the output is orders of magnitude higher. With his larger amount of wheat, the farmer can buy a much larger array of goods. Free trade has almost precisely the same effect. With free trade, a national market becomes a world market, and comparative advantage enters into play. Like technology, it amplifies output. Like technology, it also creates winners and losers. The luddites of the industrial revolution opposed it for many of the same reasons that today's anti-globalization protestors oppose free trade. "exploitation of workers" "unfair wages" "evil corporations" all should ring a bell. The industrial revolution did create winners and losers, and though certain aspects were painful, the world is a better place for it. The luddite argument was thoroughly discreditted.
This was a bit of a ramble, anyway, thanks for the indymedia.org, I'll glance it occasonally to fuel my conservative flames
GATT.org HAD TO copy the look and feel of site - IT IS NECESSARY FOR PARODY.
Parody: (1)A literary composition imitating the characteristic style of some other work or writer, but treating a serious subject in a nonsensical manner in an attempt at humor or ridicule.
They use the copyright EXCUSE and also try to take it on another EXCUSE - the name GATT.org 'confuses' visitors.
From article at IDG.net.
Quote:
While the WTO encourages criticism of its role, there are limits to the forms this should take, said Carrier.
The WTO is powerless to stop the hoax until a new procedure for domain name arbitration is introduced by the World Intellectual
Property Organization allowing it to take control of the domain gatt.org, Carrier said.
End Quote.
They wish to muffle peoples voice, by taking gatt.org - saying it 'confuses' visitors to the site.
They know the solution to avoid 'consumer confusion'.
But they want this as an EXCUSE to steal peoples domains - so people can not use it.
Please visit WIPO.org.uk to see the simple solution the authorities have been hiding from you.
e.g. The initials WTO are trademarked 6 times in the U.S. ALONE - please check yourselves in the other 200+ countries.
Most trademarks share its name or initials with many others. When authorities could put trademark identity beyond shadow of doubt, they are either devoid of intelligence or corrupt.
Do not accept the LIES of Government and the authorities - question them.
The United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO.org) and the United States Department of Commerce (DOC.gov) are hiding the simple solution to trademark and domain name problem.
Please visit WIPO.org.uk to see it.
I rely on the "alternative" media for most of the information I get on the anti-globalists: the words from their own mouths make them look as bad as Fortinbras claims; worse than anything that the "mainstream media" can do. I was against these anti-trade nazis before I turned to www.indymedia.org. When I went to www.indymedia.org, I found a fiery blast of hate and lies that made me turn even more against them.
> Last time I checked, it wasn't the police who were looting stores and setting cars ablaze.... Genoa....
You probably missed it, since it took two weeks to hit the mainstream U.S. news and then didn't get the coverage it deserved, but it was the police, in Genoa, who clubbed a hundred protestors bloody in the Diaz school the night after the main protests. The protestors had been sleeping when the police charged in. They offered no resistance.
What will you say--they had offensive body odor?
Parody is an art, and some people just arent artists.
Sites like this do not help the cause against WTO, because its so hard to separate the truth from the garbage. Not all on gatt.org is parody, but (because they just arent good enough writers) its hard to see what is and what isnt.
Consider www.landoverbaptist.org, compate it with www.godhatesfags.com. A person who read the first one first (and found out that its a parody, these people deliberately try to hide it) and then the second would probably believe the second is a parody as well. But it isnt.
Thats why troll pages dont work, and sometimes they actually help the pages they "parody".
I cannae google that