Bush campaign website blocking access

[Munkay]

The blocking of browsers sited outside the US began in the early hours of Monday morning.

Since then people outside the US trying to browse the site get a message saying they are not authorised to view it.

The blocking does not appear to be due to an attack by vandals or malicious hackers, but as a result of a policy decision by the Bush camp.

BBC News Story

Can anyone from outside of the US confirm?

This seems like an odd strategy to adopt. The reason given in the article is that

... the blocking decision might have been taken to cut costs, and traffic, in the run-up to the election on 2 November.

Hmm.

Cheers,

Munk

[ShadowHM]

Can anyone from outside of the US confirm?
[right][snapback]58497[/snapback][/right]

This Canadian had no trouble accessing the site.

[Occhidiangela]

This Canadian had no trouble accessing the site.
[right][snapback]58499[/snapback][/right]

Well, you are an American . . . a North American! hehe

"Take off, to the Great White North, take off!"

Occhi, not Geddy Lee

[Occhidiangela]

Hmm.

Cheers,

Munk
[right][snapback]58497[/snapback][/right]

Ever heard of a thing called misinformation? Information warfare?

What do you think you are looking at?

Occhi

[Munkay]

Ever heard of a thing called misinformation?  Information warfare?

What do you think you are looking at?

Occhi[right][snapback]58501[/snapback][/right]

As a genuine request, please don't be condescending to me. I don't think this is a situation that deserves it.

I'm posting this because BBC is, generally speaking, as legitimate as the other big media. But I wanted to know if this were true, by asking the multinational lurkerlounge community if in fact they are blocked from the website.

Cheers,

Munk

[Rhydderch Hael]

Understandable. Site security, plus preventing of foreign denial-of-service spam attacks directed there.

[[wcip]Angel]

It's true:

"Access Denied
You don't have permission to access "http://www.georgewbush.com/" on this server."

However, this can easily be bypassed by going through a proxy, typing the IP instead of the URL, or any sort of shady business I have little or no knowledge of.

[Treesh]

typing the IP instead of the URL
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Typing the IP in instead of the URL didn't work for a friend of mine in Sweden, but we got him set up with a proxy. :)

[[wcip]Angel]

Still, what's the point really? It's the forbidden donut-syndrome. No one gave a rat's arse about Bush's webpage until our access was denied.

Mmmmmmm... Forbidden donut. [/Homer]

[Chaerophon]

Yup, seconded. Fully accessible for this Canadian!

[ShadowHM]

Understandable. Site security, plus preventing of foreign denial-of-service spam attacks directed there.
[right][snapback]58506[/snapback][/right]

Sad, eh, that this is deemed necessary?

I have a tangential question. Reuters suggests that as many as 600,000 U.S citizens live in Canada, many of whom will be eligible to vote in this election (assuming some of them have to be children, this still leaves a lot of voters).

But how many live elsewhere, like Europe?

[eppie]

Hmm.

Cheers,

Munk
[right][snapback]58497[/snapback][/right]

I tried it and it said, that I was not authorized. I don't know, maybe the whitehouse has to pay everytime somebody is visting this page. :D

But as said before, I would not try to visit the webpage if you didn't ask about it.

By the way, I just saw that there are 7 kandidates runnin fro president. Do these people (like green, socialist, libertarian party) also have members in parliament?? And can you vote in the whole country for these 7 names, or in some states less?

[[wcip]Angel]

This was discussed on another board, and I think there were roughly 1,2 million Americans living in Europe. There are 3 Americans in my class of 16 people alone. (All voting for Kerry, not because what he stands for, but because he's "not Bush.")

[Treesh]

I tried it and it said, that I was not authorized. I don't know, maybe the whitehouse has to pay everytime somebody is visting this page. :D

But as said before, I would not try to visit the webpage if you didn't ask about it.

By the way, I just saw that there are 7 kandidates  runnin fro president. Do these people (like green, socialist, libertarian party) also have members in parliament?? And can you vote in the whole country for these 7 names, or in some states less?
[right][snapback]58580[/snapback][/right]

Not all states have all those candidates on the ballot. In Missouri, we only have 5 on our ballots. John F. Kerry, George W. Bush, Michael Badnarik, Michael A. Peroutka and Ralph Nader. In Congress, there are only 2 independents in office right now iirc. The rest are all Democrats and Republicans.

[Munkay]

In Missouri, we only have 5 on our ballots.
[right][snapback]58585[/snapback][/right]

5?

Ha! New Hampshire has 3. Bush, Kerry, Nader.

Speaking of Missouri, where abouts do you folks live? I visited Kansas City this summer and loved it.

Cheers,

Munk

[swirly]

Speaking of Missouri, where abouts do you folks live?

Not that I post enough to be noticed, but since you asked and I'm in Missouri I figure I'll answer. I'm in St. Louis.

[Occhidiangela]

But how many -Americans- live elsewhere, like Europe?
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In Europe, about 100,000 soldiers, and about that many civilians, both government and contractor. That is just the DoD tendril. I'd guess some thousands in the business world not tied to the DoD money stream.

Rough numbers.

Occhi

[Treesh]

5?

Ha!  New Hampshire has 3.  Bush, Kerry, Nader.

Speaking of Missouri, where abouts do you folks live?  I visited Kansas City this summer and loved it.

Cheers,

Munk
[right][snapback]58623[/snapback][/right]

We are officially the middle of nowhere. ;) We're where many people who were traveling west gave up on making it to anywhere real and just decided to put down roots - roughly (very roughly) equidistant from St. Louis, Springfield, and Columbia. Although for a while there it looked like we might have been moving to Kansas City, but things changed. KC was nice though and I wouldn't have minded moving up there.

[Occhidiangela]

As a genuine request, please don't be condescending to me.  I don't think this is a situation that deserves it.

I'm posting this because BBC is, generally speaking, as legitimate as the other big media.  But I wanted to know if this were true, by asking the multinational lurkerlounge community if in fact they are blocked from the website.

Cheers,

Munk
[right][snapback]58504[/snapback][/right]

Brevity due to shortage of time. Looks like a bit more amplification would have made that read less like a "Munkay you ignoranmous" post, which it was not meant to be. Sorry about that.

Information warfare is not confined to military matters. It is a method of exerting one's will on another. A tool. See also economic warfare, my fave example being 1973 oil embargo by OPEC versus US.

Occhi

[Occhidiangela]

5?

Ha!  New Hampshire has 3.  Bush, Kerry, Nader.

Speaking of Missouri, where abouts do you folks live?  I visited Kansas City this summer and loved it.

Cheers,

Munk
[right][snapback]58623[/snapback][/right]

KC is a neato place. Lived in Leavenworth Kansas for two years, (no, I was not in jail) and got to KC a lot. Great area, and some pretty darned nice people to boot.

Not to mention some of the world's finest Bar B Q sauce, and finest beef. Gawd, I could eat for a month straight there . . . :D

Occhi