Michael Crook (born 1978), also known as Michael Vogel-Delaney, is an American best known as the webmaster of many controversial websites. He first shot to infamy as the webmaster of the now-defunct "Forsake the Troops" website, which is has been replaced by Citizens Against The Troops. These websites were created to express his hate for the US military. Contents [hide]
* 1 Personal life * 2 Websites o 2.1 forsakethetroops.info o 2.2 nodrunkdrivers.org * 3 External links and references
Personal life
Crook was born in Portland, Oregon, and baptised as a Mormon. He was raised in Las Vegas, but has lived in many different areas. He graduated high school in 1997, from Oakcrest High School, in Mays Landing, New Jersey. After graduation, Crook enrolled in Atlantic Cape Community College, also in Mays Landing, as a broadcasting student. As of 2005, he lives in Liverpool, New York.
Crook notes on his personal website that, "I have never served in the military, nor have I ever tried to enlist." He dismisses articles, letters and USENET posts as "forgeries". Despite his claims, many believe that he in fact attempted to join the military in 1999.
Crook claims ties to the racist organization Stormfront. He posts under the name "silentmike". The majority of the posts either offer hosting services for "racially aware" people or are searching for companionship. Michael claims to not be a racist, but only racially aware. However the history of this organization and his weblog make many doubt this claim. He also has set up and owns the domain name for a racist website whiteprideforever.info
Websites
Crook owns 34 different domain names, two of the best-known being forsakethetroops.info and nodrunkdrivers.org. He has announced an intention to sell several of the domains he holds, for varying amounts.
As well as "Forsake the Troops", Crook has created websites for other groups he feels ought to be forsook, including the local police; he owns the domain forsakethefirefighters.info, but has it setup as a redirect to foresakethepolice.info.
In addition to Crook's own domains, there are a number of anti-Crook websites, set up by detractors who disapprove of his disrespectful approach, or feel that he has behaved like an Internet troll. One such website is named "Michael Crook Talks Out of His Ass".
forsakethetroops.info
In January 2005, Crook created a mock organisation, which he named "Citizens Against the Troops". He produced a website for the group at forsakethetroops.info, where he posted articles belittling members of the US military.
The website attracted a great deal of acrimony, with Crook at one point declaring that he had been receiving somewhere between 75 and 100 death threats per day. As his infamy grew, he was invited to appear on several radio and television talk shows. In one such appearance, on Hannity & Colmes, Crook did little to validate or explain the views he expresses on his website concerning American troops.
The website citizensagainstthetroops.org posts rants against the "lavish" pay, benefits, living quarters, retirement, medical care and burial benefits of United States service members. It also displays photos of troops wounded and dead with comments referring to them as "scumbags".
On May 17, 2005, the foresakethetroops.info website bore a message explaining that Michael Crook had been beaten to death by two men, "believed to be members of the military". The story later turned out to have been a hoax. Crook denied faking his own death, protesting that his website had been the victim of an attack by hackers. This was followed later by another hoax in which he claimed hackers had broken into his house, beaten him and changed his websites, complete with pictures.
Crook sold the original forsakethetroops.info domain name for US$50, but resurrected the content of the original site at a new location, opposethetroops.com. He also bought the domain theusasucks.info, which he set up as a redirect to opposethetroops.com. Opposethetroops.com has now too been taken offline.
On 11/17/05 a internet hacking group known as the g00ns manipulated Michael Crook out of access to his main sites [1]. opposthetroops.info, opposethetroops.com, forsakethepolice.info, daniellebremen.info. A hack group was also alleged to have hacked his urpwned site as well.
On 12/18/05, Crook claimed on his website he was the sender of a death wish via a Christmas Card to an wounded United States Soldier Joshua Sparling, who was recovering at Walter Reed Army Hospital. As of 12/19/2005 Crook has denied in an email to another blogger he sent the card, "I did not have any part in that. However, I think that it is a humorous, harmless stunt, and whoever did do it is a blooming genius. I have no sympathy for the soldier." while still taking credit for it at his weblog.
nodrunkdrivers.org
One of the domains Crook wishes to sell is nodrunkdrivers.org. The domain name became the centre of some controversy when Crook posted a message to the website, saying: "It's sad that it's come to this, but nodrunkdrivers.org must be sold. The current asking price is $150,000 (USD). Unfortunately, if the domain is not sold by 11:59pm Eastern Time on October 1, 2005, an innocent kitten gets it. Unlike the similar request involving a bunny, this will happen. Don't let "it" happen to an innocent kitten."
As the deadline drew near, Crook revealed that "it" referred, not to killing a kitten (as his critics had suggested), but to giving the cat the domain name nodrunkdrivers.org. He has since explained that "the kitty says" the price of the domain has gone up to $200,000.
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