Re: On Internet and social responsibility

[Scott A Crosby <crosby () qwes math cmu edu>]

On Fri, 14 Sep 2001, Vadim Antonov wrote:

> This is from the inverview with the spokesman of well-known terrorist
> Shamil Basaev, known for personally taking hostage hundreds of patients in
> a hospital, among other things (the spokesman is Movladi Udugov, the guy
> who threatened to drop an airplane on Kremlin).

There is nothing wrong in criticizing the united states. Nor is there harm
in different opinions. The response to propaganda by someone else isn't to
try to censor that propaganda, but to make people aware of dissenting
opinions.

Sure, these guys sound like nuts, but we have free speech in our country.

> http://www.kavkaz.org/english/news/2001/09/14/news4.htm
>
> Hosted by XO Communications - do not bother them, i already alerted their
> staff.

As have I. they should not take the site down, they should not treat it
special in any way. We have free speech in this country.

Besides, I found the link interesting, just seeing how rebels view whats
going on... Each seems to be blaming their own enemies as possibly causing
WTC. So far, I've heard Israel and Russia blamed!

Its also scary just how little information there is, the misunderstandings
and propaganda elsewhere. People celebrating, without knowing what WTC
actually was. Or believing that we're living in fear, when we're furious.
Or believing that there is some oncoming war against muslims, not
realizing that we have millions of muslims in our country, just as furious
as everyone else.  Funky URL. Keep 'em coming.

> Guys, why should a North American provider give a place for this
> propaganda?  Call FBI, have them trace the connections of whoever pays for
> that site.

                I may not agree with what you say,
                but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
                    --- Beatrice Hall, The Friends of Voltaire, 1906

That is the strength of america. The fact that we allow and even encourage
other, even critical, viewpoints to exist.

Communication and contrary viewpoints are the key. Communication so that a
population knows the atrocities committed by their own members. Make these
guys revolted by the terrorists in their own ranks and hopefully they will
help us suppress them.


Scott

BTW, I'm an american and feel no affiliation whatsoever to any aggrieved
ethnicity or religion in the world. I am furious now, but for good reason.
I think they're all nuts.


PS. Please let us not forget:

        First They Came for the Jews

        First they came for the Jews
        and I did not speak out
        because I was not a Jew.

        Then they came for the Communists
        and I did not speak out
        because I was not a Communist.

        Then they came for the trade unionists
        and I did not speak out
        because I was not a trade unionist.

        Then they came for me
        and there was no one left
        to speak out for me.

         -- Pastor Martin Niemller

with:

s/jews/terrorists/
s/communist/muslim/
s/trade unionist/dissentor/

The US is no more immune than anywhere else.