<nettime> Attempts to shut down SWARMtheMinutemen.com

[onto <onto@riseup.net>]

 From http://sandiego.indymedia.org/en/2005/05/108912.shtml>
-------------------------------------------------------------
A Scottsdale-based Internet company said Monday it will force one of its=20
Web site clients to stop encouraging harassment of the Minuteman Project=20
or face being shut down. http://Swarmtheminutemen.com is encouraging=20
people to go into the desert border areas to blast their radios or bang=20
pots and pans together in an effort to confuse and harass Minutemen=20
volunteers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Web site vexing to Minutemen
By Victor Allen, Tribune
A Scottsdale-based Internet company said Monday it will force one of its=20
Web site clients to stop encouraging harassment of the Minuteman Project=20
or face being shut down. http://Swarmtheminutemen.com is encouraging=20
people to go into the desert border areas to blast their radios or bang=20
pots and pans together in an effort to confuse and harass Minutemen=20
volunteers.

The Web site also prompts site visitors to engage in activities such as=20
sending repetitive anonymous e-mails and fax messages to the Minutemen,=20
and even come up with other ideas to disrupt the project.

The Minutemen, a volunteer program founded by Chris Simcox of Tombstone,=20
has operated in Arizona as a private border enforcement group, relaying=20
information about illegal border crossers to authorities.

Dozens of people from across the country went on patrol in April in a=20
display that received international media attention, and project=20
organizers said smaller operations are still continuing.

The anti-Minutemen site claims knowledge of people who intend to ". . .=20
physically interfere with their operations. . . . They will go wherever=20
the Minutemen are in their area and stop them from operating." The site=20
says information about the location of Minutemen operations will be made=20
available to the public.

A person claiming to represent the group responsible for the Web site=20
declined to give his name.

An Internet search for the site registrant showed the owner used privacy=20
domains provided by Domains by Proxy, a subsidiary of the Go Daddy=20
Group. The company provides private domain names for Web sites in which=20
the Web site authors can hide their identities.

After being advised of the Web site=92s content, officials at the company=
=20
took quick action.

Nick Fuller, communications manager for the Go Daddy Group, said the=20
company=92s Abuse Department and legal counsel had reviewed content on th=
e=20
site.

"I know there=92s some stuff on the site that could be in violation of ou=
r=20
terms of service," Fuller said. "They=92ve been asked to remove them. If=20
they refuse to do so we will take the domain down."

That doesn=92t mean the site will not exist if it does not comply. Fuller=
=20
said it is possible for the registrant to use another provider.=20
Swarmtheminutemen.com has been on the Web for less than a week. Gary=20
Cole, operations manager for the Minutemen, said the organization has=20
filed a complaint with the FBI about the site. So far, interference with=20
border patrolling has been a minor annoyance, he said.

"We ran an operation this weekend, a very successful one," Cole said.

Bill Bennett, office administrator at the Tumbleweed Newspaper owned by=20
Simcox said, "We=92ve gotten a lot of harassment calls. Basically what=20
they=92re doing is just try to keep us on the phone."

  http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=3D41472
  http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=3D3353250


Homepage:: http://SWARMtheMinuteMen.com


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