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Election Watch

Pranking the PM's email list

Harper gets hacked

By Joshua Errett

The Prime Minister's email gets hacked...

...and this is all we get? It's not funny, nor is it a particularly biting critique. It's basically the status quo, anti-West Harper bashing. (Though anyone willing or able to get into the leader of (part of) the free world's email deserves some credit.)

The following is one of two emails sent on Sunday, purporting to be from the PMO but so obviously a prank.

Subject: Why you shouldn't fear me‏
From: Stephen Harper (pm@PM.GC.CA)
Sent: September 22, 2008 2:35:14 AM
To: ALLNEWS_E@LSERV.PMO-CPM.GC.CA

Hi The Average Canadian,

Stephen Harper wanted to tell you...

My name is Stephen Harper. I am an ALBERTAN, here me roar! My goal is to make Canada America's 51st state and destroy health care that all Canadians cherish by infusing my propaganda with hard core ad hominem attacks. Please vote for me, because if you do, I promise you'll be able to vote for McCain 2012!

We are a tar sands level party, not a grass roots party. We consider anything with the word \"Green\" offensive, except for the almighty American dollar, which we hope to be able to implement in the coming months! We shall first have to make sure that American and Canadian jelly beans have the same standards, and then we shall proceed.

I hope everyone has a great weekend,

Take care,

Stephen \"I can lead you to Hell but not back\" Harper

If you agree click here.

The second email blast simply stated the email address as the sender (instead of Stephen Harper it read pm@PM.GC.CA) and contained a bizarre message about Kosovo's independence as it relates to Quebec (borrrrring!). A Maclean's blog is suggesting hacking the list-serv couldn't have been that difficult, and that it came from one of the Conservative's anti-Dion web properties.

Anyone signed up to Harper's email distribution list got the phony emails, and then this statement from the PMO:

...these were unauthorized uses of the prime minister’s e-mail listserv and do not represent the views of the prime minister or his office...

The culprit is reported to be from the Winnipeg area. If he/she or anyone else is planning on hacking into the Prime Minister's email account: come back with something better than this. (Maybe more like this?)