- When I submitted my last article for publication, I discovered
a censorship problem that I had never encountered before. The article that
I submitted to a site that used AOL email, kept bouncing back, citing a
reference within it for a "permanent failure" message. The cited
URL
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- http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Cyprus/8815/Khazars.html
...
-
- was for a document that debunked anti-Semitic disinformation.
The bounced mail notice claimed that the censoring was for:
-
- "generating substantial complaints from AOL members.
AOL blocks emails that contain domains that may have been previously used
to send unsolicited email or inappropriate content...These blocks mainly
target clickable links, but may also block non-clickable domains."
-
- I could not understand why this material was banned.
As I began to research the site, I came across this information on "GeoCities"
on the Anti-Defamation League site:
-
- "GeoCities...refuses to host hate sites...GeoCities,
a subsidiary of Yahoo! Inc., prohibits providing material that is grossly
offensive to the online community, including blatant expressions of bigotry,
prejudice, racism, hatred or excessive profanity."
- http://www.adl.org/Civil_Rights/newcyber.pdf
-
- So, it was not the site, it was the content, even though
it was anti-anti-Semitic.
-
- I also learned that the ADL is at the forefront of the
movement to regulate information on the Internet which they deem offensive.
They have developed a "hate filter," which they market to Internet
providers, originally under the guise of censoring content for children.
-
- "The ADL filter bans sites that preach anti-Semitism,
racism, homophobia and other forms of bigotry."
- http://www.hrea.org/lists/huridocs-tech/markup/msg00022.html
-
- Since the ADL is one of the primary lobbyists for Israeli
causes, I was left with the probability that the information was banned
because of complaints that the material offended the pro-Israel lobby,
because it did not reflect their position on this topic. Did AOL adopt
this stance in this instance because of direct or indirect pressure from
members of the lobby, or was the decision made by higher authorities for
them? According to researcher Wayne Madson:
-
- "America On Line is the most egregious in stifling
Internet freedom. A former AOL employee noted how AOL and other Internet
Service Providers cooperate with the Bush administration in censoring email.
The Patriot Act gave federal agencies the power to review information to
the packet level and AOL was directed by agencies like the FBI to do more
than sniff the subject line. The AOL term of service (TOS) has gradually
been expanded to grant AOL virtually universal power regarding information.
Many AOL users are likely unaware of the elastic clause, which says they
will be bound by the current TOS and any TOS revisions which AOL may elect
at any time in the future. Essentially, AOL users once agreed to allow
the censorship and non-delivery of their email."
- http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=3912
-
- I believe that AOL is censoring material due to fear
of government intimidation and the possibility that pro-Israel lobby pressure
will come down on them. I believe that the ADL list of banned sites and
pages figures prominently in government plans to censor debate on American/Israeli
foreign policy. The lobby's ability to dominate debate within the government
on sensitive topics is being reflected more and more in stifled popular
debate on the Internet.
-
- This phenomenon of self-censorship is showing up at Verizon
and AT&T, as well.
-
- "Verizon and AT&T followed the same pattern
of censorship based on claims that they are blocking certain material in
order to protect their reputations under 'terms of service'...Net access
can be terminated for any behavior that AT&T or Verizon believes might
harm its 'name or reputation,' or even the reputation of its business partners..."
-
- "Google" the words "AOL censorship"
and you will find page after page of references to banned topics - "youth
filters" blocking certain liberal and antiwar sites (including Democratic
National Committee, Truthout and Prison Planet ); AOL messaging services
blocking comments referencing Anti-Israel sites and info related to the
attack on the USS Liberty; pro-Palestinian sites like MiddleEast.org being
blocked.
-
- Political correctness, concerning issues relating to
Israel and especially to Zionism, is being forced upon the Internet under
the guise of combating "hate speech," through the tactic of intimidation,
based on fear of economic reprisals against network suppliers. This tactic
creates an atmosphere of fear, through an anticipated lobby response, that
oftentimes works as well as direct threats. This is the pro-Israel lobby's
real power to wield through its wealthy donors, the promise of economic
rewards for those who support Israel and punishment for those who oppose
the Zionist plans.
-
- This is the power that Walt and Mearsheimer document
for us in The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. Their power to suppress
and control public debate allows the lobby to dominate "free speech"
among the American people and our government. The lobby's power is a measure
of the loss of the people's power. They can only be effective in their
pressuring (lobbying) of government to comply with their demands, if the
American majority is ineffective. Their money and power has harnessed our
own political power for Israel's gain. This lobby (like all lobbies) is
directly undermining democracy by substituting someone else's will (the
will of Israel) for that of the American majority.
-
- This power to dominate the public debate on their issues
is not matched by that of any other "lobby." This power of indirect
intimidation, which is called "pre-emptive self-censorship" by
Richard Silverstein, extends far beyond their attempted domination of the
Internet, to any public forum where they are likely to be discussed.
-
- "A number of non-Jewish organisations have denied
supposedly controversial speakers or organisations the right to speak or
perform due to the anticipated reaction of the local Jewish community...in
the case of the postponed New York performance of 'My Name is Rachel Corrie,'
a cancelled Chicago appearance of Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer, a
cancelled concert by Marcel Khalife in San Diego, and a cancelled speech
by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Minneapolis, the hosts nixed the appearances
before there was any protest. And they cancelled because of an anticipated
response from the Jewish community which they had no reason to know might
ever happen... the Israel lobby has so conditioned American organisations
to its wrath that the latter won't even touch certain speakers for fear
of stirring it once again..."
-
- This power to suppress the public discussion of our strategic
relationship with Israel, extends deeply into the very "news"
that we rely on to make decisions in our democratic-republic. The following
example demonstrates the power of the lobby to control what we are allowed
to know through our corporate media -
-
- "In 2003, 23 year old US College Student Rachel
Corrie was run over by a Israeli government bulldozer while trying to protest
the systematic bulldozing of the homes of unarmed Palestinians in Rafal
in the Gaza Strip...All five TV networks did NOT report this story when
it happened; all five networks have not yet revealed the name of the Israeli
soldier who murdered Rachel Corrie. Contrast with the wall to wall coverage
of the reported murder of Daniel Pearl, a Jewish American reporter for
the Wall Street Journal..."
-
- http://www.votefraud.org/big_media_coordinates_news.htm
-
- The Internet is the only source for real news in America
today, even though we see it slowly being whittled away by forces that
are hostile to free speech. The day is rapidly approaching when this too
will be taken away.
-
- Voices of brave Americans like Mearsheimer and Walt are
sounding the alert for us; we ignore them at our own peril. They have opened
a line of debate in the war on terrorism that has implications that go
far beyond the war itself. Their book looks at the demonstrated power of
the lobby to stifle debate on Israeli policies in this country and the
negative impact that they have had on American foreign policy. Now that
they have boldly led the way to discussion of the formerly forbidden, it
is up to those of us who agree with them, to help expose the lobby's power
to suppress free speech, wherever we think we encounter it. Real American
patriots will join-in their efforts to prevent Israel and their Zionist
American supporters from leading us into another war to make the world
safe for Israel.
-
-
- Morty, AKA,
- Jim Mortellaro
- www.MortysCabin.net
- Morty@MortysCabin.net
- or JSMortell@aol.com
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