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Friday, December 30, 2011

Silencing Voices

For the second time in a month, CAIR has managed to get get Wordpress to take down the web site Bare Naked Islam. See the update at the bottom of the post below.

You can keep up to date with what's happening with Bare Naked Islam by following BNI's Twitter feed.

Make no mistake: what's happening with this silencing of the voice of Bare Naked Islam could easily spread to silencing a wide range of voices on the web.

This morning, I posted the following at Infidel Bloggers Alliance:

We are living in Orwellian times.

A few days ago, I posted THIS at Infidel Bloggers Alliance: "The End Of Blogging?" SOPA looms. Its power to silence voices is nearly unlimited.

It's not farfetched to realize that our days of freedom of speech on the web are numbered.

Furthermore, I expect that 2012 will bring the closing of all sorts of web sites, particularly blogs that are controversial.

I won't quit speaking out until my blog is shuttered by the forces of silencing voices, until I'm in jail, or until I die. After all, I'm an old woman. I don't have much to lose, really. The life I loved ended when Mr. AOW had his crippling stroke in 2009.

But I doubt that younger folks feel the way that I do. And I can't blame them for feeling that way.

"Life goes on, even after the thrill of living is gone."

39 comments:

  1. call me an optomist but i think most people are waking up to the "programing". For every blogger who is acted 10 repost the story. This year i heard more people saying Merry Christmas than in recent years. Conservative books are in the top sellers and we had a movie offering a critical assessment of the government school system. The news media was once thought to be a harbinger of truth but now I bet the opinin is they are little better than used car salesmen.

    This story is a tragedy and yes the PC weapon of the left is still active and damaging to free expression but I hope what we are seeing is the awakening of the sleeping giant. Now if we could get the RNC to put forth a conservative with less glaring baggage......

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am very distrubed that wordpress gave in to pressure from an anit-American group such as CAIR.
    I was reading the comments on the link to the site about Bare Naked Islma being taken down and one commenter suggested archiving your posts in the event you have to find another host. I don't know how to do that, but will look into it.
    Happy New Year--and I am praying that come Novemeber, we will have something new to be happy about.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It is my experience tha Wordpress caters to Communists and Anarchists. What happened is not surprising. It happens every day at HuffPo and all other liberal "bastions" of 1st Amendment speech that MUST lean Left..

    ReplyDelete
  4. If this is not hypocritical. So now am I to be removed from Astute Bloggers because I use wordpress? This is really rich. So this really fixed Wordpress now didn't it? No, I cannot aford to pay for a blog. So take me off, see if I care.


    Pastorius said...
    cjk,
    I have no idea.

    I do know that Reliapundit at Astute Bloggers is trying to spread the word about a boycott of all Wordpress blogs. In that spirit he has removed all WordPress blogs from his blogroll, INCLUDING INSTAPUNDIT

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a stinging commentary.

    I suspect that larger blogs will be silenced first, and itty-bitty blogs such as ours will be ferreted out last, should SOPA pass.

    One thing you have to give the Occu-shitter/blogger types; they aren't cool about this, either, and are doing their part to stop SOPA!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Brooke,
    I suspect that larger blogs will be silenced first...

    But maybe not! Some of the big bloggers have attorneys.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bunkerville said:
    I do know that Reliapundit at Astute Bloggers is trying to spread the word about a boycott of all Wordpress blogs. In that spirit he has removed all WordPress blogs from his blogroll, INCLUDING INSTAPUNDIT

    I have the utmost respect for Reliapundit, whom I consider a good friend. And I understand where he is coming from on this issue.

    However, I have no plans to delink or delist Wordpress blogs.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is anti-American, plain and simple.

    There is a simple test to judge the rightness of a public action:

    Does it increase or decrease liberty?

    Beware those who want to silence speech.

    ReplyDelete
  9. "I have the utmost respect for Reliapundit, whom I consider a good friend. And I understand where he is coming from on this issue".

    You loose me on this one AOW. Boycott fellow conservative wordpress bloggers? From a free service? Anyone who thinks that blogger is going to be a whole lot safer, lots of luck. Frankly, this is making me consider hanging up blogging. How naive to think this is the solution that will turn the world around.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Bunkerville,
    Frankly, this is making me consider hanging up blogging.

    Don't do that! Please!

    Relipundit is a shrewd strategist. For all I know, he personally knows Instapundit.

    Let's see where this effort goes.

    WP has said to BNI that no appeal will be considered until January 2. The holidays and all that.

    I did leave a comment at Reliapundit's site -- to the effect that Blogger might well take a similar action.

    Anyway, a showdown is in process. Let's see where it leads.

    And one more thing....In these run-up months to an election for POTUS, the blogosphere gets very, very tense. Hang in there; things will resolve. In the past, they've resolved for the best.

    Off to run some errands now. Back later.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Having been a frequent commentor on BNI for years, I say WordPress/CAIR are lying about the shutdown being over the comments. BNI is the most fearless blog I know about posting vids and photos showing the savagery of Islam. (My running joke with BNI is I never open it while eating.) That is what enraged CAIR -- the violence and thuggery of Islam exposed in images of murder and mayhem committed by its "devout" followers.

    Being another old lady like AOW, I have to say I've been irate for years at the toll on my enjoyment of life taken by having to spend so much time fighting Islamic aggression. These savages aren't even worthy opponents.

    Looking forward to BNI finding a new host soon.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Aow.
    For once i disagre, i think they will go first after the smaller once gradually working their way to the top ....unless those larger ones 'adapt'.

    PS: Hate Internet censorship? #Moveyourdomain to @namecheap, @NS1net or @gandibar to protest #SOPA & donate $1-$2 to @eff https://eff.org/r.N9a

    ReplyDelete
  13. Try as they may, the strong arms in Washington will be woken up to their illegal ways come election time.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I had heard about it and was sorely disappointed that CAIR succeeded in their hateful endeavor to erase all opposition.

    That was one of the most informative websites on the internet.

    I wish there was a way to get back up and running again.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Will,
    i think they will go first after the smaller once gradually working their way to the top

    Actually, that is what I was trying to say in my comment to Brooke.

    Some of the larger blogs have attorneys "on call."

    What's coming down the pike with SOPA? I'm really worried about that one.

    ReplyDelete
  16. RRA,
    WordPress/CAIR are lying about the shutdown being over the comments

    I agree that such is most likely.

    I am wondering if the DOJ (FBI) is involved in the shut down of BNI.

    ReplyDelete
  17. AOW, I'm with you on being a "seasoned citizen." At this point in my life, I do not fear what the statists and Islamists can do to me.

    I will not submit, I will not shut up. I will tell the truth no matter who is offended by it.

    Islam is completely evil and must be separated from the west as completely as possible.

    ReplyDelete
  18. If they can't get bloggers one way, they will try another. This next year should be one to watch. I predict more lawsuits as a tool to shut bloggers up.

    Debbie
    Right Truth
    http://www.righttruth.typepad.com

    ReplyDelete
  19. "Frankly, this is making me consider hanging up blogging."

    That is exactly the effect that they want. They want to discourage and intimidate everyone else by making and "example" out of someone.

    The things is, does CAIR try to shutdown Islamic websites that call Jews pigs and monkeys? I don't think so. I've also noted whenever the Christian faith is mocked and abused online, the liberals yell "Suck it up. That's our right to free speech" but you don't dare point out any provable case of barbarism connected with Islam. You'll be silenced and punished.

    More action against the First Amendment on the web is coming. It's going to get worse before it gets better because our government tacitly approves this action.

    ReplyDelete
  20. My last comment since I made the one about hanging up blogging was in response that the very folks who are against censorship, SOPA and the government interference in the blogosphere- that being conservative bloggers, were the very same ones who were supporting censoring me- a small free wordpress blogger. They were urging de-listng, boycotting all wordpress blogs. Sorry, I cannot afford a paid blog. Since no one "gets it" and the hypocriticalness of it, is why I am considering stopping. You see, the Right can be as controlling as the left. Which I always knew, but was revealed again. Not one person has indicated support for me. Not one. You see, I expected the left to first come after the little blogs, but no, it was the right.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi AOW.
    BNI is back..... sort of, they want him gone by the 6Th of Jan

    ReplyDelete
  22. There is so much here it is hard to know where to start.

    -One of our problems is that the JD, ICE, and DHS have been taken over by far left brown shirts. One of the speculations I have heard, and I think will come to pass, is that we will see the Justice Department investigate a lot of "voter suppression" cases this year. The goal of course is to make the GOP look like they are trying to stop minorities from voting with the hopes of stirring up the minority vote and get them to the polls. Look no further than South Carolina for evidence of this.

    -SOPA, if passed, can raise a lot of hell. There has been suggestions that it can be used to shut down political sites. This could be chilling. What remains to be seen is if the left is willing to use this tool. It could be used against them as well. Ultimately this is going to come down to who is responsible for regulating it. If it is the Holder Justice Department, put your head between your knees and kiss your ass good-bye. The flip side of this is it could a public relations nightmare for them.

    -Finally, we need to find a way to lessen CAIR's influence over policy in the US. If we do not, the women here could wake up one day wearing a burqa. Obviously this is hyperbole but can anyone here argue the danger in letting the Islamification of the world continue?

    ReplyDelete
  23. I wrote to WordPress and I hope many more people will do the same.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Will,
    Yes, BNI is back. Temporarily.

    Those few days may allow the site owner to migrate to a different blog server.

    Of course, there is no absolute that another server won't do the same thing that WP did.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Bunkerville,
    Not one person has indicated support for me. Not one.

    I hear ya!

    The donations I receive are few and far between. In fact, I haven't received a donation in over a year now, as far as I can recall.

    You see, I expected the left to first come after the little blogs, but no, it was the right.

    Not coming after the little blogs in that the Right wasn't banning you from the web entirely, but I know what you mean.

    The Right is very divided -- as we can see every time there is a primary for the GOP's candidate for POTUS. Therefore, the Right can frequently snatch defeat from the jaws of victory time after time.

    Back in 2008, before the National Election, a group of us counter-jihad bloggers got together and self-funded a terrestrial radio show in Phoenix. We ended up a great deal of money out of our pockets because, for all the many bloggers complaining about preaching to the choir, they wouldn't join together and fund a show that tried to "break through." I've seen this same kind of inaction from the Right time after time. Obama's occupation of the Oval Office is another manifestation of the Right's contentiousness. Frankly, BHO may win again because the Right can't get their act together.

    And it's no wonder that the mainstream media is so Leftist. By default, that was bound to happen.

    The Left will hang together; the Right will not.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Stogie,
    "Seasoned" is a nicer word. **smile**

    ReplyDelete
  27. Alligator,
    More action against the First Amendment on the web is coming. It's going to get worse before it gets better because our government tacitly approves this action.

    Agreed!

    Once lost or compromised, First Amendments rights will never be completely restored, IMO.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Ducky,

    The furious battle you continually wage with your ever-growing army of straw men is getting more amusing every day -- in the sense that a freak show at the circus amuses the hoi polloi in an atmosphere redolent of tanbark, sweat, pathos and animal dung.

    Thank you this New Year's day for continuing to provide material that never fails to give a sudden feeling of superiority to those unsympathetic to perversity.

    Your devoted fan,

    FreeThinke

    ReplyDelete
  29. Yeah Freethinker, that stuff was posted at The Blaze of all places.

    Didn't bother to read what Glenn thought about it but the stuff sure does push the envelope.

    Or maybe Sivlerfiddle is correct, taking down a site that incites to commit felonies against Muslims is anti-American.

    ReplyDelete
  30. There's more at The Blaze but a warning, you'll need to take a shower and run a virus scan if you visit that site:

    But according to an email obtained by The Blaze Friday afternoon, the founder of WordPress.com informed the Bare Naked Islam blog owner the site was being turned back on until Jan. 6, after which time it would need to find a new host.

    "According to the email, the blog was removed for “numerous examples” of violating the terms of service rule prohibiting threats or inciting violence. Additionally, despite CAIR’s claims, WordPress.com said the organization had nothing to do with the site’s suspension"


    Hmm, a private contract. Constitutional free speech has nothing to do with it.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Duck,
    I have some points of clarification for you.

    1. I do not hang with the site Bare Naked Islam. Yes, I have visited the site on rare occasions and have BNI on my blog roll. I do personally know various site owners (Spencer, Geller, Pastorius -- to name a few), but not the site owner of BNI. Commenters at all sites come along, and most blog owners don't know the true identities of those site owners.

    2. Didn't you once say something about how Andrew Breitbart deserved to be in a body bag? Later, you admitted that you were talking through your hat or using hyperbole. You see, there are real threats -- and there is blowing off steam. Running an open forum does mean that commenters "say stuff" that a site owner never would say -- or even think, let alone act on or be able to act on.

    3. The FBI's involvement in the matter of BNI's does push the contract issue over into the issue of violating First Amendment rights. I do fully recognize that WordPress can indeed enforce its own terms of service.

    4. You bitch every time you are censored by blog owners -- never mind that a site owner has the right to manage his or her site in any way that site owner chooses. FYI: managing a site is work and consumes a lot of time.

    5. Please provide links to prove how Muslims are targeted by violence here in the United States. I'm speaking of CONFIRMED cases of such violence. Those cases are few and far between -- as you well know.

    6. Keep setting up the straw man. You are displaying your own idiocy by doing so. I let many of your comments stand for that reason.

    ReplyDelete
  32. FT,
    Thanks for that great comment!

    I wasn't online much yesterday:

    1. Getting ready to resume the classes I teach.

    2. Enjoying the last few days of my Christmas break with Mr. AOW.

    3. Reading Stephen King's latest: 11/23/63. Wonderful book!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Is THIS acceptable freedom of speech?

    A bit of information about the above:

    Muslims protesting in the streets of Berlin, shouting ‘Death to Jews’ as German police show their support for the Islamofascists by rippping down a flag from the apartment of an Israel supporter

    ReplyDelete
  34. Didn't you once say something about how Andrew Breitbart deserved to be in a body bag?

    --------

    Yeah, I believe the likes of Breitbart should be exposed until they shrivel up and die.
    The fringe right consumers so much crap in their media diet that they have lost all grounding.

    Breitbart is a fat human crap pile and should be shouted down.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Duck,
    Are you threatening Breitbart's life?

    Do you want anyone who disagrees with you to shrivel up and die?

    How is your comment any better than those comments you decried at Bare Naked Islam?

    Wow. Really living by the Sermon on the Mount, aren't you?

    ReplyDelete
  36. If the Progressives can create these sites why can't Conservatives? Surely there's money and IT expertise available. As long as you use the sites paid fro by Progressives, and Islam-friendly-types, you are subject to their decisions, choices, and biases.

    If we are going to whine when FB starts playing around with posts and comments by the Right, we need to understand that the Left OWNS that site, among others. It's their right to call the shots any way they wish.

    Come on! Where's the Conservative money?

    ReplyDelete
  37. Benning,
    You make some excellent points in that comment.

    Where's the Conservative money?

    Well, I've noticed over my lifetime that the Right isn't good at ponying up.

    Now we have reached the point that the Left controls so much: the mainstream media, social networking sites, etc.

    In fact, as far as I'm concerned, Fox News ain't much. I do recall a time when the Right thought that Fox News was "the answer." Not so! Frankly, there are some real intellectual vacuums yapping on there -- particularly certain anchors. They go from story to story, with a minimum of engagement with the information.

    ReplyDelete
  38. "We can never be sure that the opinion we wish to stifle is a false opinion; and if we were sure, stifling it would be an evil still."

    ~ John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)

    "If there is any principle of the Constitution that more imperatively calls for attachment than any other it is the principle of free thought – not free thought for those that agree with us, but freedom for the thought that we hate."

    ~ Oliver W. Holmes (1841-1935)

    Submitted by FreeThinke

    ReplyDelete
  39. FreeThinke,
    Excellent quotations, which go a long way to illustrate just how important freedom of speech and freedom of thought are!

    ReplyDelete

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