---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 03:24:02 -0500 From: tad_BARN <tad@media.mit.edu> To: nettime@bbs.thing.net, rare@rhizome.org Subject: <nettime> www.marchtowar.com ##FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE## NEW WEBSITE COMBINES ONLINE GAMING AND .NET ACTIVISM TO HELP IRAQI CIVILIAN CASUALTIES 25 February 2003: Today marks the launching of marchtowar.com, a new website that uses the power of internet gambling to raise money for civilian casualties of a US-led war against Iraq. The premise of the game is simple: visitors to www.marchtowar.com place $5.00 bets on when the war will begin. The player whose bet is closest to the actual start of hostilities will win prepaid gasoline cards totaling 20% of the total money collected. The remainder will be donated to agencies providing humanitarian relief to civilian victims of the coming war. According to marchtowar.com spokeswoman Kelly Bundy, "War is immanent, and we know that thousands of civilian casualties are inevitable. As Americans, we feel that it's our duty to help those civilians - after all, this war is being carried out largely in our name. marchtowar.com is simply providing a means for ordinary citizens to help with the coming humanitarian crisis, and have a little fun in the process." "This isn't about protest," said Marcel Champion, one of the site's founders. "The decision to go to war was made a long time ago, whether we like it or not. The Bush administration has made it abundantly clear that they don't give a hoot about opinion of either US citizens or the international community. While we empathize with the millions of Americans who question the President's commitment to democratic processes, marchtowar.coms position is purely pragmatic." Longtime Boston resident Terry O'Malley said, "I think it's a great idea. Plus, with the rising cost of gasoline, I really hope I win those gas cards!" Payments may be made by credit card or check, and will be held in escrow until time of payout by Boston Mobilization, a 503(c) nonprofit. Although anyone may place bets and contribute to the pool, only Massachusetts residents are currently eligible to win the prize. Efforts are currently underway to expand eligibility to nonresidents. Nonprofit organizations interested in making this service available to residents of their states are encouraged to contact marchtowar@yahoo.com immediately. Members of the United States armed forces and National Security Agency are prohibited from participating in the pool. For additional information, please contact marchtowar.com at marchtowar@yahoo.com. # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net