Friday, January 19, 2007

more canadian politicians identity swiped

Dion's identity stolen
JORGE BARRERA, NATIONAL AFFAIRS BUREAU / January 19, 2007 / Edmonton Sun

OTTAWA --
Stephane Dion's office has tried to delete a web page created in the name of the Liberal leader, who joins a growing list of Canadian politicians with their identities swiped on one of the Internet's most popular sites. ...

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ontario Conservative Leader John Tory have also had their identities swiped on MySpace, a massively popular social networking site. ...

The NDP has no problems with Jack Layton's unauthorized MySpace sites, which give flattering portraits of their leader....

Dion's identity stolen
JORGE BARRERA, NATIONAL AFFAIRS BUREAU / January 19, 2007 / Edmonton Sun

OTTAWA --
Stephane Dion's office has tried to delete a web page created in the name of the Liberal leader, who joins a growing list of Canadian politicians with their identities swiped on one of the Internet's most popular sites.

The offending site on MySpace.com still exists but has been blocked from public viewing. The site, which includes a small disclaimer, contains several semi-nude photos of women. It also offers a short blurb on Dion's leadership run.

"I decided to run for leader of the Liberal party, and won against the war-loving Iggy and the nude-diving Bob! I won because of 'my homies' (as they say en anglais) Gerard Kennedy and Martha Hall-Findlay helped me defeat Bob and Iggy (sic)," writes the faux Dion.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ontario Conservative Leader John Tory have also had their identities swiped on MySpace, a massively popular social networking site.

Dion's office had no idea the page existed until contacted by Sun Media.

"We have contacted MySpace because the site breaches the rules of My- Space for identity theft and we are going to have it taken down," said spokesman Elizabeth Whiting. "We like to have control over what is said in Stephane Dion's name." Attempts to contact the site's creator were unsuccessful.

The website belongs to a group called the MySpace Liberal Party of Canada, which according to the site is headed by an 18-year-old Carleton University student named William Francis Rob Norman. He could not be reached for comment.

The MySpace group lists 83 names including those of Quebec Liberal MP Denis Coderre and Toronto-area Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj. Both have their faces superimposed on a Hezbollah militant. The parodies are likely a result of the positions the two took on last year's Israel-Lebanon war.

The offices of both politicians expressed uneasy surprise at the discovery that their names had been taken, but neither MP commented on the matter.

A spokesman for Ontario's Opposition leader said they had been trying to shut down the John Tory parody site, which includes a crude Monte Python song, for months.

The NDP has no problems with Jack Layton's unauthorized MySpace sites, which give flattering portraits of their leader.

"They are basically fan sites," said spokesman Joanne Deer, adding the NDP plans to launch their own MySpace site in the next election.

Harper and the Conservatives have also been spoofed by MySpace sites. Harper's page includes a disclaimer along with links to the PMO's website and "the hottest, toughest chicks on four wheels."

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