the witch hunt

i've sent this U2U to simon gray:

hi simon.
i'm wondering how you feel about what's going on between me and the board's 'systems' right now. do you think it's right to bury everything left?
specifically the threads concerning scott ritter, bias in iraq coverage, and the latest one, the 'christian mafia', are paradigms of truth suppression and the insidious creep of the thought police.
help? advice? a clear, '# off, wanker'?

i also sent a similiar U2U to SO, yesterday:

quote(from SO): Your ATSNN news submission was voted to be moved to the current events forum.

to SO:
FredT has moved it to BTS, because he thought 'it seems a better fit'. do you agree that's where it belongs?
i mean, even newsmax is reporting it. it seems like neocon voices are hell bent on burying this story.
i feel this looks bad on ATS, because a voice is being silenced here. my voice as well as ritter's.
certainly, even if it's not ATSNN material, it is at least not 'below top secret'.
where do you stand? i like to think ATS can remain impartial, but it seems the hard 'right' neocons have arrested control around here.

i'm not a 'lefty'. i don't 'believe' scott ritter. it's not about that, for me. it's about feeling marginalised for trying to bring a current event to light. so is ATS propoganda now, too? or can we admit that things like smear campaigns can be used to demonise people who speak out against big brother, and that this may have happened to scott ritter, and that scott ritter may be 'in the loop'.

normally at ATS, things are analysed, links are provided for arguments, etc.
in this case, this guy ritter has been 'discredited' using pure ad hominem rhetoric and innuendo. and it was successful. everyone 'knows' now that he's a 'liar' and a 'pedophile'.

does this live up to the site motto? i don't think so.

you propobably don't care, but, this issue is pivotal to my view of ATS. i've always known it's crawling with all the creatures in the menagerie, but it seems some of the more aggresive beasts have begun steering the flavour. if they succeed, i will no longer see this site as a bastion of free speech and alternative ideas, but rather, just another propoganda wing of the fourth reich.

caveat: i've always thought that ATS is a powerful magnet for disinformation and propogandists. i have accepted their presence the same way a gazelle accepts the presence of lions. they are just there. it's nature.
as conscientious denizens of the jungle, however, it is wise to observe the behaviour of predators, and to intuit when they are hungry. this is imperitive to survival.

also, the lions should remember, if they eat all the males of the herd, or all the females, there will be no food for the next generation.
balance in nature is achieved through opposites. the banishment of 'left' views from ATS's 'serious' side is a watermark of a 'right' agenda. the whole things going to tip if the owners of the site allow this pattern to continue.
banishing either side's views results in imbalance and an eventual distancing of one side of the spectrum.
ever been in a room with someone you agree with about everything? there is very little conversation. people NEED to have polar opposite views in order to find the middle through dialectic. it is only in the middle that there is peace, AND diversity. ATS needs to stay in the middle, in my oh so frickin' really humble opinion.

don't just say 'deny ignorance' and 'deny bias', ......DO IT!

as of right now, i have recieved no response from either simon or SO.

billybob wrote:

"the banishment of 'left' views from ATS's 'serious' side is a watermark of a 'right' agenda."

Wupy replies:

Ahhhaahahahahahahahahahahahaahahha.....

AAAhhhh HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I needed this. I really did. A good laugh works wonders for the soul...

Thank you.....

Wupy

HAHAHAHAHA!

aaaa, ......HA HA HA HA!!!!!


a ...heh.....

why are we laughing?

'love and light', ......BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

At the risk of perpetuating the darkness of partisanship, I say the vast majority of ATS members are quite left wing, at least from a U.S. perspective. So I join mrwupy in having a hearty laugh

I think billybob has an important point and we shouldn't be cluttering his thread.

Sorry, billybob posted a sucky story to ATSNN and it got voted down because it was not ATSNN material, so he goes off crying and manufacturing stories of partisanship that if they exist, exist in the opposite direction. Grow up, we've all had ATSNN stories trashed for various reasons. Post real news about a relevant story instead of a charged commentary and maybe it'll pass muster.

Originally posted by djohnsto77
Sorry, billybob posted a sucky story to ATSNN and it got voted down because it was not ATSNN material, so he goes off crying and manufacturing stories of partisanship that if they exist, exist in the opposite direction. Grow up, we've all had ATSNN stories trashed for various reasons. Post real news about a relevant story instead of a charged commentary and maybe it'll pass muster.

There's lots of stuff on ATSNN that strictly shouldn't be on there. In fact, I would add most of the stuff shouldn't be.

Originally posted by DeltaNine
I think billybob has an important point and we shouldn't be cluttering his thread.

thank you, deltanine. i think either side of the political spectrum should see this as relevent to the FORMERLY open, toleRANT atmosphere of ATS.

Originally posted by DeltaNine
There's lots of stuff on ATSNN that strictly shouldn't be on there. In fact, I would add most of the stuff shouldn't be.

I certainly agree with you there.

Anyway billybob, if you have a problem with the mods and their decisions or a general problem with the board you should use u2u or the suggestions button rather than airing your problems in an open thread.

Originally posted by djohnsto77
Sorry, billybob posted a sucky story to ATSNN and it got voted down because it was not ATSNN material, so he goes off crying and manufacturing stories of partisanship that if they exist, exist in the opposite direction. Grow up, we've all had ATSNN stories trashed for various reasons. Post real news about a relevant story instead of a charged commentary and maybe it'll pass muster.

'sucky' -ad hominem
'crying' -sensationalism
'real news' -censorship
'opposite direction' -misdirection
'relevent' -subjective
'charged commentary' -extreme situations inspire passion, ...it's human
'muster' -censorship

'djohnsto77' -neocon bias

Anyone want Coffee?

Originally posted by djohnsto77
Anyway billybob, if you have a problem with the mods and their decisions or a general problem with the board you should use u2u or the suggestions button rather than airing your problems in an open thread.

i think this 'room' is called, 'board questions and business'.
this is not 'my' problem.
secrecy is good for people with something to hide. open discussion is good for actually changing something.
and besides, i DID u2u both SO and simon gray before starting this thread.
if you scroll up, you can read the u2u's .

Sarcasm aside and no offense intended here, billybob, but wouldn't the proper way of handling your [this] issue(s) have been to file a complaint/suggestion for staff review or were you simply looking for membership support of your views?




seekerof

[edit on 19-3-2005 by Seekerof]

Originally posted by billybob
'sucky' -ad hominem
'crying' -sensationalism
'real news' -censorship
'opposite direction' -misdirection
'relevent' -subjective
'charged commentary' -extreme situations inspire passion, ...it's human
'muster' -censorship

'djohnsto77' -neocon bias

'djohnsto77' -neocon bias

Really, was that necessary? Just contributes to the Fanatical Divide.

Personally I see no purpose to this thread. It's a "Wah, things aren't going my way" thread.

You want to try calling me a neocon? You'll be laughed off the forum.

Originally posted by Seekerof
Sarcasm aside and no offense intended here, billybob, but wouldn't the proper way of handling your [this] issue(s) have been to file a complaint/suggestion for staff review or were you simply looking for membership support of your views?




seekerof

[edit on 19-3-2005 by Seekerof]

thank you for your kind indulgence, muscled one.
yes. i am looking for the membership to be aware that i feel this site has been 'loaded' with right wing 'moderation'. i am looking for the owners and administrators of this site to publicly demonstrate that this is a discussion board, and not a propoganda indoctrination machine.
when the 'authorities' have become compromised, only the people have the power to bring sanity back into the public forum.

i u2u-ed the owner and the administrator. had i gotten a response, i would not have publicly aired this issue.

intrepid, compared to the drama that's gone on on ATS in the last week, this is nothing. It's amature night at the local church hall in comparison.

Originally posted by billybob
i u2u-ed the owner and the administrator. had i gotten a response, i would not have publicly aired this issue.

You realize that both SO and Simon (not to mention all the other mods) Get an amazing amount of U2Us, and cannot reply immediately to each U2U sent, due to the fact that they also have lives outside of ATS.

You may be right Seekerof, but perhaps billybob is just frustrated by not getting a response.
I know how he feels. I have now made 5 efforts to contact staff regarding a ATSNN issue and have not gotten a single reply on it.
The staff has put together a great community here, and I love it, but it is frustrating when your questions/comments are not getting acknowledged.

So, I take it nobody wants any coffee then?