Posted 12/29/09 at 04:03:40 PM by Bart Salisbury

The Yes Men, famous as “culture jamming activists” which spoof the powers-that-be by pretending to be them, had their send-up of a Canadian environmental office website shut down at the request of the Canadian government. The shutdown, performed by German ISP Serverloft, also took down another 4500 websites that were unrelated to the Canadian request.

The Canadians, it seems, were miffed by The Yes Men’s parody (or hoax, according to the Canadian government), because it denigrated Canada’s “deplorable climate policy”. The website, contrary to current Canadian policy, was promising strict action on regulating carbon emissions. Mark Landreville, of Environment Canada, in an email to Serverloft, wrote: “We trust you appreciate the importance of avoiding confusion among the public concerning Canadian governmental affairs and that you will assist us in preventing this hoax from spreading further,” asked the offending sites be taken down, and that no others of the ilk be allowed. Serverloft, with nothing more official than the email, complied with the request, and in the process dumped, without notice, an additional 4500 websites unrelated to the parody.

The Yes Men were quick to respond, lamenting the action taken by the Canadian government, blasting its ready suppression of free speech, and wondering if the Canadian government “could instead figure out reasonable ways of responding to their growing legion of critics,” rather than shutting them down.

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Posted 03/25/08 at 05:42:10 PM by One4yu2c

Craigslist ad causes Oregon man to return to empty house, Mozilla CEO criticizes Apple, legally watch all twelve seasons of South Park online, and much more!

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