I thought ST was above banning for free expression of points of view. Where did he cross the line? This is a sad day for a good forum.
Having the ability to ignore a contrary or inciting point of view is very liberating, especially on an anonymous web site.
" I thought ST was above banning for free expression of points of view."
i didn’t ban all of his posts. i banned those which lacked any scintilla of a free expression of points of view. if i was intent on banning hard core, mindless, right wing ideology i’d have banned ajfranke years ago. at least art thinks (badly, but he thinks) and while he certainly parrots insipid propaganda he reads on drudge he at least recasts it in his own words most of the time.
I am channeling Startmeup and he sends his best. He regrets being too loose with his CTRL-V habits, but after winning many hearts and minds he is not too remorseful. I will step up my contributions to the LR as a show of respect and solidarity with SME to continue his good work in conservative indoctrination…while respecting the new forum rules.
i banned those which lacked any scintilla of a free expression of points of view. if i was intent on banning hard core, mindless, right wing ideology i’d have banned ajfranke years ago. at least art thinks (badly, but he thinks) and while he certainly parrots insipid propaganda he reads on drudge he at least recasts it in his own words most of the time.
Isn’t this what MattinSF (who I have come to love like a brother) does, except he shares your political viewpoint more or less. That, I indulge your hard core, mindless, left wing ideology because it is your forum.
I think the difference is that matt adds some of his own thoughts, usually doesn’t paste the whole article, and the parts he does paste, he attributes.
usually doesn’t paste the whole article, and the parts he does paste, he attributes.
Really?
And by the way, I only had to go back to May 31 to find a complete posting as follows (Slowman–please forgive this). Do I have to keep going or will you just concede? He has been doing this forever
**MattinSF **
May 31, 2006, 12:58 PM
Post #1 of 8 (133 views)
Copy Shortcut
**Hearts and Minds ****Quote | Reply ** U.S. Troops Kill Pregnant Woman in Iraq
By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, May 31, 2006 
Printable Version Email This Article
(05-31) 12:23 PDT BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) –
U.S. forces killed two Iraqi women — one of them about to give birth — when the troops shot at a car that failed to stop at an observation post in a city north of Baghdad, Iraqi officials and relatives said Wednesday. Nabiha Nisaif Jassim, 35, was being raced to the maternity hospital in Samarra by her brother when the shooting occurred Tuesday.
Jassim, the mother of two children, and her 57-year-old cousin, Saliha Mohammed Hassan, were killed by the U.S. forces, according to police Capt. Laith Mohammed and witnesses.
The U.S. military said coalition troops fired at a car after it entered a clearly marked prohibited area near an observation post but failed to stop despite repeated visual and auditory warnings.
“Shots were fired to disable the vehicle,” the military said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press. “Coalition forces later received reports from Iraqi police that two women had died from gunshot wounds … and one of the females may have been pregnant.”
Jassim’s brother, who was wounded by broken glass, said he did not see any warnings as he sped his sister to the hospital. Her husband was waiting for her there.
“I was driving my car at full speed because I did not see any sign or warning from the Americans. It was not until they shot the two bullets that killed my sister and cousin that I stopped,” he said. “God take revenge on the Americans and those who brought them here. They have no regard for our lives.”
He said doctors tried but failed to save the baby after his sister was brought to the hospital.
The shooting deaths occurred in the wake of an investigation into allegations that U.S. Marines killed unarmed civilians in the western city of Haditha.
The U.S. military said the incident in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, was being investigated. The city is in the heart of the so-called Sunni Triangle and has in the past seen heavy insurgent activity.
“The loss of life is regrettable and coalition forces go to great lengths to prevent them,” the military said.
The women’s bodies were wrapped in sheets and lying on stretchers outside the Samarra General Hospital before being taken to the morgue, while residents pointed to bullet holes on the windshield of a car and a pool of blood on the seat.
Khalid Nisaif Jassim, the pregnant woman’s brother, said American forces had blocked off the side road only two weeks ago and news about the observation post had been slow to filter out to rural areas.
He said the killings, like those in Haditha, were examples of random killings faced by Iraqis every day.
The killings at Haditha, a city that has been plagued by insurgents, came after a bomb rocked a military convoy on Nov. 19, killing a Marine. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a decorated war veteran who has been briefed by military officials, has said Marines shot and killed unarmed civilians in a taxi at the scene and went into two homes and shot others.
Military investigators have evidence that points toward unprovoked murders by Marines, a senior defense official said last week.
In his first public comments on the incident, President Bush said he was troubled by the allegations, and that, “If in fact laws were broken, there will be punishment.”
Former Iraqi Foreign Minister Adnan Pachachi told the BBC that the allegations have “created a feeling of great shock and sadness and I believe that if what is alleged is true — and I have no reason to believe it’s not — then I think something very drastic has to be done.”
“There must be a level of discipline imposed on the American troops and change of mentality which seems to think that Iraqi lives are expendable,” said Pachachi, a member of parliament.
If confirmed as unjustified killings, the episode could be the most serious case of criminal misconduct by U.S. troops during three years of combat in Iraq. Until now the most infamous occurrence was the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse involving Army soldiers, which came to light in April 2004 and which Bush said he considered to be the worst U.S. mistake of the entire war.
Once the military investigation is completed, perhaps in June, it will be up to a senior Marine commander in Iraq to decide whether to press charges of murder or other violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The incident has sparked two investigations — one into the deadly encounter itself and another into whether it was the subject of a cover-up. The Marine Corps had initially attributed 15 civilian deaths to the car bombing and a firefight with insurgents, eight of whom the Marines reported had been killed.
“I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars, the rest I just squandered” -George Best
I just realized “inciteful” is not a word. I changed it to inciting. Being a dumbass is not foreign to me.
Nicely done. Cut and paste is permissible if it is the right (read left) kind of cut and paste.
Does this have to do with politics or with just being uniquely annoying and dragging down the level of conversation?
well said
.
Oh, I think there are a few who meet or exceed your definition but I would never suggest that they be banned. I will leave such recommendations to those who think that banning is the appropriate response.
I think you guys are being real jerks making this a political issue.
Slowman said (if I may quote), "anyone whose ambition is simply to nuke a forum gets to nuke somebody else’s forum. anybody, including this guy, who wants to be considerate of others’ views, and to be creative and thoughtful in the course of a debate, is welcome, and is welcome back if previously banned.
but with so many other forums in the world left to shit on, i suspect he’d rather move on to the next one instead of adopting the persona of a mature, thoughtful adult in order to remain here. it would be nice of my prediction turns out to be false. i’ll wait for that email, but i won’t hold my breath for it."
I don’t think that would be an option if Slowman was part of the vast liberal conspiracy. Matt nor anyone else can just copy and paste articles (let alone dominate the forum with thread after thread of it).
Ahhh … name calling. Time to stop posting and reading in this thread. Back to work.
However, JT, MattinSF, who I love like a brother, is guilty day after day of exactly the same thing. Believe me, Slowman got the “word” from from Democratic operatives and pulled the plug on poor startmeup. Personally, I am glad those posts are gone. I’m just saying MattinSF, who I love like a brother, has been doing the same thing month after month.
C’mon Monk, it was a very short article and in no way shape or form did I try to fool anyone into believing that it came from my pen. If I want to bring to light information that is too long or requires permission to reproduce I always post a link.
Startmeup’s crime was not that he was a kook or that he held different political views to Dan; the guy got busted plagiarizing other people’s work.
BTW, I love you too man.
I agree. Matt may have crossed the line a few times, but SMU was a mile past the line every time he posted. I don’t think this was intended to be a political issue. But even if it was, get over it. Last time I checked, it was Dan’s private forum. If you don’t like it, get out and go join Rush Limbaugh’s forum.
Bless this thread for my new signature
.
While both are “cut and paste” jobs, one major difference is that startmeup routinely failed to post a link, credit the source or even use quotations to clearly distinguish as non-original or borrowed. The only way to know these posts were not startmeup’s original thoughts or material was to read and make an educated guess from the context, usually a conclusion that it was too well written to come from startmeup. In MattinSF’s post, I see a link, the author is cited, and the article is set off.
I called startmeup on it last week (I see my posts were deleted as part of threads he started – and I didn’t complain or report to Slowman about him), pointing out that his conduct was unethical if not potentially illegal. He was unapologetic. I don’t know to what extent he was warned about it by Slowman. But I can certainly understand why he’d be banned if, in light of a warning, he refused to change. While it’s my understand that there may be some immunity which absolves the owner of a bulletin board of some responsibility for content posted by others, I still suspect Slowman is concerned (rightfully) about potential liability for copyright violations.
**Bless this thread for my new signature **
You beat me to it.
What points of view did SMU express beyond his ability to cut and paste articles and posts from other websites?
When a cancer forms anywhere someone needs to go in and remove it before it spreads and kills the host. In typical SMU fashion he begins somewhat “meekly” only posting here and there, then slowly over the course of time we get to his daily vomit of threads on the forum. What purpose do those threads serve beyond taking up space? Sure you can ignore the guy, but that doesn’t stop him. In fact, it has only made him post MORE senseless posts.
To show the depths of his cut and paste habits you should go and look into some of his posts that actually look like he was making a point. Typically those are also cut and paste jobs passed off as his argument. It really is sad that he seems incapable of posting an original thought (but according to him those are all used up anyways).
I say good riddance to a nuisance.