More on un-freedom of speech UPDATE

Bookworm — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:46:28 +0000

Do you recall that, on the day I posted the Fitna video, I wrote the following?

LiveLeak explains why it is showing this video, despite the fact that some at LiveLeak strongly disagree with its content. I note two things. First, LiveLeak understands free speech. Second, the LifeLeak discussion about its decision to show the video is based upon disagreeing with the content, not upon fearing the dangerous results of publishing such content. I find that interesting. Even though this type of speech, in Europe, sparked dangerous riots and enormous numbers of death threats, that’s simply not a concern LiveLeak voices. Is this the difference between America and Europe, or are the LifeLeak people just exceptionally brave?

Well, it turns out that, while they spoke in terms of free speech, the threats have begun and free speech has already gone out the window:

Following threats to our staff of a very serious nature, and some ill informed reports from certain corners of the British media that could directly lead to the harm of some of our staff, Liveleak.com has been left with no other choice but to remove Fitna from our servers. This is a sad day for freedom of speech on the net but we have to place the safety and well being of our staff above all else. We would like to thank the thousands of people, from all backgrounds and religions, who gave us their support. They realised LiveLeak.com is a vehicle for many opinions and not just for the support of one. Perhaps there is still hope that this situation may produce a discussion that could benefit and educate all of us as to how we can accept one anothers culture.

We stood for what we believe in, the ability to be heard, but in the end the price was too high. (Emphasis mine.)

And there you see the victory of the violent, and the dhimmitude of the rest of us.

You can still see the video here. Keep in mind as you watch it that the Islamists are stopping a presentation of their own words and acts. Fortunately, the nature of the internet is that, no matter the threats, once information is out there, it’s hard to stop.

UPDATE: Hurrah! LiveLeak has upgraded its security and restored Fitna. I applaud their principled bravery:

On the 28th of March LiveLeak.com was left with no other choice but to remove the film “fitna” from our servers following serious threats to our staff and their families. Since that time we have worked constantly on upgrading all security measures thus offering better protection for our staff and families. With these measures in place we have decided to once more make this video live on our site. We will not be pressured into censoring material which is legal and within our rules. We apologise for the removal and the delay in getting it back, but when you run a website you don’t consider that some people would be insecure enough to threaten our lives simply because they do not like the content of a video we neither produced nor endorsed but merely hosted.

Incidentally, when it first ran Fitna, LiveLeak noted that some on its staff disgreed with its contents, but agreed to free speech (good for them). I wonder if those same people, having been on the receiving end of the behavior described in the video, have changed their point of view about Fitna‘s merits?

Fitna is here UPDATED

Bookworm — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:04:46 +0000

Geert Wilders’ 15 minute film about Islam is available now. While the Dutch government is afraid to show it, bloggers are not.

Those who are anti-American, those who hate Israel, those who are completely invested in multiculturalism, try to downplay the conservatives’ concern about Muslim violence by analogizing conservatives to the Nazis, who scapegoated the Jews. That is, just as the Nazis dealt with their internal failures by dehumanizing the Jews, so too are we “making up” things about Muslims to remove the focus from our Western/Zionist depredations around the world.What these blind monkeys miss is that the Nazis could demonize the Jews only by pointing to nebulous conspiracies, utterly unrelated to Jewish words and deeds. Here, as the video dramatically demonstrates the Islamists loudly and proudly convict themselves out of their own mouths. They pray publicly and repeatedly for our death and destruction, they boast that they will be the vehicle of that prayed for end, and they put their prayers into words by tens of thousands of acts of violence around the world. We don’t need to demonize them; they do it themselves.

Please publicize this video as much as you can. It needs to be seen, if only to put the lie to those we accuse concerned Westerners of “making things up.”

UPDATE: LiveLeak explains why it is showing this video, despite the fact that some at LiveLeak strongly disagree with its content. I note two things. First, LiveLeak understands free speech. Second, the LifeLeak discussion about its decision to show the video is based upon disagreeing with the content, not upon fearing the dangerous results of publishing such content. I find that interesting. Even though this type of speech, in Europe, sparked dangerous riots and enormous numbers of death threats, that’s simply not a concern LiveLeak voices. Is this the difference between America and Europe, or are the LifeLeak people just exceptionally brave?

Bookworm Room » Fitna

More on un-freedom of speech *UPDATE*

Fitna is here *UPDATED*

More on un-freedom of speech UPDATE

Fitna is here UPDATED