-Caveat Lector- >From Wired News, http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,32772,00.html - Heat Fries Y2K Film Web Host by Craig Bicknell 1:05 p.m. 29.Nov.1999 PST Mark Wieger has had a crappy couple of weeks. First, the FBI called and asked real nice-like if maybe he could pull a Y2K-disaster spoof video that lived on his one-man Web hosting company's servers. Maybe the FBI didn't like the spoof so much, capiche? He didn't have a lawyer or a dime, so he pulled the site while he tried to figure what in the legal hell was going on. Then the real enforcers stepped in -- online free-speech advocates. They bombarded Wieger's inbox with brutal flame mail after the story of his FBI encounter went public. "I've received hundreds and hundreds of emails, and they all say something like, 'You should have stood up for yourself, you spineless bastard,'" said Wieger. The same emails went to Wieger's clients, and some of them have threatened to cancel their accounts. "It's just 'Cut us off at the knees.' They're killing my business because of this." Never mind that Wieger put the offending video back online after he learned it overstepped no legal bounds ("We put the site back up as soon as we found out the [threat of legal action] was bullshit."). Never mind that the artist who made the spoof video said to blame the FBI, not Wieger. Too late. "I have put my life on the line several times for [free speech] and all the freedoms guaranteed under the US Constitution," one angry advocate wrote Wieger. "You were not given a court order. You just got scared for your mortgage and your Lexus payment and are in that light a coward." "Lexus payment!" laughs Wieger, whose company has "considerably less" than 50 clients. "Give me a break! I have a seven-year-old van. They're making it out like we're AOL and we're censoring people's content." Let's turn the wrath on the appropriate villains, Wieger pleaded. "The FBI and the US Attorney's office basically lied to us," he said. "They said, 'It's our job to make sure that propaganda like this isn't on the Internet and doesn't start riots. We've already contacted your upstream service provider, and if you don't pull [the video site] down, they'll pull it down.'" It turns out, says Wieger, that the upstream provider had refused to pull the site, and the FBI was bluffing. Wieger couldn't reach the right person upstream, so he pulled the site while he waited for clarification. "I've got a one-man company. I can't afford lawyers," Wieger said. "I tried to call [Zieper, the video's creator], too, but I couldn't get through. We feared the worst, that he'd been arrested and was already in an orange suit." Zieper, it turns out, had locked away his computer and taken his family out of the city. "The [free speech advocates] are saying, 'Why didn't [Wieger] stand up for the Constitution?'" Zieper said. "I think that's very easy to say from afar. But when the knock comes for you, it's a terrifying experience." The FBI, meanwhile, maintains that it did nothing inappropriate. "There was no formal request to modify or to remove the site," said Jim Margolin, a special agent with the New York office of the FBI. Well, what was there, then? "I'm not at liberty to discuss it in great detail," said Margolin, adding that the FBI is continuing to investigate the video and its origins. "We feel that we've taken action that is appropriate. We want to emphasize that, consistent with the constitutional rights afforded everyone, we've undertaken an investigation after receiving complaints from the public." What if the video had been the work of some rogue government agency or a terrorist militia group? Margolin asks. "We certainly would be remiss if we get one or more reports and did nothing about it," he said. With the video again streaming from his servers, Wieger is awaiting another call from the FBI. Inspired by the nasty comments in his email inbox, he's been practicing his free speech. "I'm going to tell the FBI, 'Fuck you! You've probably cost us our business, you assholes!'" -- Dan S DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
