A Certain Internet Search Company again

We read on Officialwire about how a certain internet search company deleted a video it was hosting on one of its services because the video promoted holocaust denial. But that's not the end of it. Apparently Officialwire itself has now been censored too. As in totalitarian countries, you are not even allowed to REPORT censorship! That is why I am not using the name of the search company here.

The editor of Officialwire at least got the search company to explain why they no longer index Officialwire. They wrote: "We do not allow articles and sources expressly promoting hate speech viewpoints"

The Officialwire editor comments: "Hate speech? I had to read it a couple times before it sunk in... I mean, I'm a Jew, for Christ's sake! I am fairly confident that I have never written what might be considered "Hate Speech". Hate Speech?"

He goes on: "OfficialWire's dedication to Free Speech requires me to permit even those who's opinion I may disagree with the opportunity to express themselves.... The truth doesn't need to threaten or bully. The truth does not need to jail or denounce.

There is no doubt that some of the stuff on Officialwire is well out of the mainstream and there is heaps on the site that I personally would disagree with but it is precisely such content that needs to be defended on free speech grounds.

Fortunately, however, this particular case of censorship is not government censorship and the company is perfectly within its rights to choose what it allows and what it does not. But readers here might be wise to consider using more comprehensive search engines -- such as MSN Search for their everyday searches.

Update:

And now for the good news: "The sharp drop in the price of G***le's shares may portend a long-awaited pullback in the broader stock market, technical analysts said. G***le closed on Nasdaq at $US362.62 ($488.11), down $US27.76 ($37.36) for the day, after earlier falling as low as $US338.51 ($455.56). G***le's 7.1 percent drop didn't come out of the blue. The stock is down 23.7 percent since January 11, when it hit its lifetime high of $US475.11 ($639.50)."

(For more postings from me, see EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS and DISSECTING LEFTISM. My Home Page. Email me (John Ray) here.)

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