It Happens

     Some overly-sensitive/ false egomaniac/ don't-you-know-who-I-am sort of author doesn't like a book review and threatens to sue.

     Some copyright troll/ copyright monopolist/ Big Hollywood type issues a take-down notice and threatens court action.

     Screw the first amendment.

     Screw fair use doctrine.

     What is justice when you don't have money to fight back???




     As for the first example, it has happened to me. I consulted legal counsel and followed their instruction.

     The thing is, if you are going to claim "special" knowledge then at some point you ought to think about how you are going to prove that you have taken courses, gotten a degree and another degree, do indeed possess special knowledge far and above that of most human beings on the planet. 
     Hiding behind the idea of "it was a secret ritual" doesn't cut it. Period.
     A diploma on your wall from a mail-order university that accepted thirty-five pages of your poorly written "thesis" about your personal experiences proves nothing. I can get that same "degree" for fifty bucks from that same company. Yes, I checked. The idea that bunches of people "love" you is not good enough.
     Fraud is fraud. Using your fake degree to charge insurance companies a rate similar to the rate that properly credentialed PhDs charge is fraud. That the insurance companies are too stupid to know it does not excuse your actions. 
     Claiming worldly success and having a lover verbally abuse you on-line does not require that I hang out to watch. Having a lover physically and emotionally abuse you in your home [and you denying that you want help to get out of it] means I excuse myself from your friendship. I refuse to bear witness to something that you feel is "love." I hope you are able to get out someday. Even if we never are able to become friends again, I hope you find the support and courage to split from that scene.

     The second example has not happened to me as of yet. I absolutely refuse to purchase anything with that D.R.M. crap on it. Whatever else I do-- if I do anything else-- to fight the unfair enforcement of copyright laws is not something I will publish here. There are far too many egofags around. And informants. The current number of informants seem to be hovering around twenty-five percent. 


radical sapphoq says: If you are in the fight, then shut up about it. If you aren't, then you may want to consider getting educated. Check out what Anonymous is doing. Check out what Electronic Frontier Foundation is doing. Check out what your lawmakers are doing. If you don't know what is happening around you, then you are subject to the illusion that "all is right with the world." It isn't. Justice is not always just. Word.
     

Internet Defense League

http://internetdefenseleague.org/

The Internet Defense League is designed to keep activists and others updated regarding any S.O.P.A.-like actions on the part of Big Brother, Big Hollywood, the Intellectual Property Monopolies, politicians, governments and more.

I wasn't able to add the stuff to this blog because I could not find the spot to set the coding.  I miss the old Blogger set-up.  It was much easier to do stuff like that to it.  Push-button "technology" and the sheeples that require it-- love it or hate it, it's here to stay-- absolutely piss me off.  One of these days I'm going to build my own Linux box.  I don't have the skills to do so yet, but I'm working on that.  One of these days I may make a blog thingy over at Word Press where most of the intelligent beings seem to have gone.  Or somewhere else that allows me to muck with codes and stuff easier.  Grrrr.

At any rate, if you go to http://internetdefenseleague.org/, you can get your own nifty badge and alert code.

Folks can also allow the league to post any emergency actions [like contacting one's "own" politicians] and emergency alert [S.O.P.A.-like activity throughout the world] to one's Twitter timeline; or to one's Fed-Book for those folks who are in bed with Big Brother knowingly or unknowingly still there.

I'm off to try to find that elusive page where I can drop codes.  And other stuff.

radical sapphoq

Dear Courtni Webb

Dear Courtni Webb,

I was infuriated to find out that your school principal suspended you for writing a poem in your personal notebook.  In my opinion, what happened to you is wrong.  Professionals can and do make mistakes.  Your principal made a mistake by suspending you.  Your teacher made a mistake by looking through your personal notebook.  Seizure of your personal property and then suspending you for your thoughts and feelings is a violation of your civil rights.  It is unfortunate that Life Learning Academy decided to violate your civil rights.  I am relieved to read that you are back at school and not expelled.

I thought your comparison to Stephen King was spot-on.  I've read almost all of his books.  He knows a lot about a lot of topics.  His writing reflects his knowledge.  And yes, he writes about horrible things.  He is a horror writer.  To understand horror is a burden.  And like Stephen King, your writing demonstrates that indeed you  understand horror.

Some people who truly understand horror become writers like Stephen King.  Others become crime fighters-- hostage negotiators, investigators, civil rights activists.  A few are murdered for their understanding.  Martin Luther King was one man who practiced  non-violence and died for what he believed in.

Courtni, your poem should be published in a book or a magazine.  I think your writing is that good.  Please do not allow the censorship of your self-expression to sour you on writing.  I hope that you keep on writing if you want to.  And I hope that you do want to keep on writing.  When you are ready, you may consider getting published in zines and litmags [Look in your public library for the annual Poets Market and Writers Market books], writing a poetry chapbook, reading your work at open mic nights.  I'm going to remember your name Courtni Webb because I believe that you are going to be known.  Someday, your poem will be taught to high school students and your story told as an example of blatant censorship of poets and writers.  I believe this and I believe in you.

Yours in the Struggle,

radical sapphoq





References can be found by typing "Courtni Webb" into your search engine.

Here are a few of the many that I read:
http://www.poetrysoup.com/poems_poets/poems_by_poet.aspx?ID=26625

An article by my blogging buddy Chrystal Mahan here:
http://www.examiner.com/article/student-suspended-for-writing-newton-shooting-poem 

http://keithpp.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/california-teenager-suspended-for-writing-poetry/

http://topsy.com/www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/28/courtni-webb_n_2376833.html

http://madamenoire.com/tag/courtni-webb/

http://www.mysistagurl.com/2012/12/i-know-why-he-pulled-trigger-17-yo-high.html

http://myblacknews.net/fair-or-foul-san-francisco-high-school-student-suspended-for-writing-poem-about-newtown-shooting-i-know-why-he-pulled-the-trigger/12/31/2012/

http://www.prisonplanet.com/high-school-student-faces-expulsion-for-writing-poem-about-sandy-hook-massacre.html

http://intuitivefred888.blogspot.com/2012/12/freedom-of-expression.html

http://beyondproject.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/where-can-young-people-go-for-refuge-open-letter-to-the-principle-and-governors-of-life-learning-academy-san-francisco/

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/01/07/punishing-poets-is-not-the-way-to-stop-school-violence/

http://politic365.com/2013/01/05/adolescence-adam-lanza-sympathy-and-free-speech-infringement/

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/01/03/matt-gurney-suspending-a-kid-for-saying-pow-just-makes-schools-look-stupid/

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/01/02/courtni-webb-high-school-_n_2396289.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/28/courtni-webb_n_2376833.html

http://www.eurweb.com/2013/01/project-islamic-hope-launches-petition-in-support-of-courtni-webb/

Moneybags Media Wants You to Do Nothing

                                                                                                                                       

Black March 2012 Boycott

Black March...boycott buying books, music and don't go to the movies either

Hey I was looking for this:
http://black-march.com/
radical sapphoq pledges not to buy any music or books or go to any movies during the month of March.

Questions Regarding LJ/6A Policies by L.J. user unfilthy

Long-time Live Journal User unfilthy has written an excellent compilation of questions and concerns about Live Journal policies in light of the recent nefarious l.j.strikeout 2007. Below is the post as it appears at http://unfilthy.livejournal.com/224385.html and reproduced here word-for-word with permission:

Questions Regarding LJ/6A Policies
I've compiled this list because I felt the need to sort through the various concerns and issues raised by LJ/6A's recent words and actions, and writing things down is the only way I know to sort through the piles of information swimming around in my head. I originally posted it as a comment (actually two, as it was too long) to one of LJ's recent news announcements, but with 4998 other comments, and no ability to edit my thoughts, I figured I might as well post it to my journal as well, and possibly get feedback from my friends in case I've missed something (or add links and quotes as needed).

The following is directed at TPTB at LJ/6A

While it's good that you've apologized for screwing things up, and it's good that you're restoring the unjustly suspended journals, and it's good that you've started informing us of your actions in real time now, there are still quite a few issues that still need to be addressed, IMO.

1. The frankly bizarre claim that a journal's interests should be read as likes. Not only is this not the way the members of this site use this feature (not to mention the linguistic improbability of it), but followed to its logical conclusion, it means that the numerous journals and communities for and by people who are suffering from a variety of diseases, who've been hurt or affected in some way by any form of illegal activity, or who are involved in political debate surrounding any controversial issue, are, in your mind, expressing their support for that disease, illegal activity, or controversial political issue, simply by listing it as an interest. Will you be changing the LJ profile page to reflect this unusual reading? Will the interests section be now titled likes? Will there be guidelines telling the user base how to make clear that an interest in cancer, for instance, is an actual interest, as opposed to a like or wish to promote cancer?

2. The types of illegal activities we are allowed to discuss without fear of suspension. What is the future status of journals and communities that include essays, debates, personal accounts, fiction, commentary, fantasy, visual art, or any other form of speech dealing with illegal acts? If a member discusses something illegal, such as terrorism, for instance, or lists it as an interest, does this constitute soliciting or encouraging illegal activities? What about Murder, Rape, Incest, gay marriage, Underage sex, Polygamy, Marijuana, Drug trafficking, Prostitution, Human trafficking, Slavery, Genocide? I, for one, would really like to know where you draw the line in terms of speech relating to those and other illegal things.

3. Determining whether journals are soliciting or encouraging illegal activities. Are 6A/LJ going to actively search for journals they suspect of soliciting or encouraging illegal activities? What are the new criteria for deciding whether a journal/community should be suspended, forced to change its userinfo (or remove content), or left alone? What part will LJ Abuse and its volunteers play in this? Who will make the final decisions? Will there be a right of appeal? Will there be prior notification? Basically, what will the decision making process and procedure be from now on?

4. The "hidden meaning" behind fictional or academic interest. You mentioned the supposed existence of a "thin veneer of fictional or academic interest in events and storylines that include child rape, pedophilia, and similar themes in order to actually promote these activities" as well as your difficulty in telling those apart from fictional or academic interest in these themes that isn't intended to promote these activities. I'd like to know who's going to be the final arbiter of authorial intent. Will you be hiring any consultants who are familiar with the plethora of academic, legal, and political writing debating this extremely complex issue? Will you be working with any sort of professionals in any field relating to this issue? Will you simply rely on the LJ abuse team to judge correctly what the intent was of the people writing the material in question?

5. The inconsistency of LJ Abuse responses. We've heard countless accounts from members who have, over the years, attempted to alert LJ Abuse to the existence of journals and communities that actively and openly encourage illegal activities, including murder, sexual offenses, and other forms of violent crime, and have been turned away, as apparently the LJ Abuse team had been instructed that talking about committing a crime isn't illegal, and so would not be dealt with by LJ. We've also heard that several of those journals and communities are still active. On the other hand, your recent actions indicate that your policies have changed. But then again, you've just overturned your own decisions (and with good reason). So, which is it? Will LJ Abuse be receiving consistent guidelines, and will we, the users, have access to this information?

6. LJ's "zero tolerance policy toward content that supports child abuse, pedophilia, or sexual violence." Since this has not been the case so far, I'd really like to know, what does zero tolerance actually mean? Rape, for instance, is a common theme among women's sexual fantasies. As any person who's studied this subject, or who possesses a reasonable level of common sense for that matter, could tell you, this does not mean that women actually want to be raped. Yet rape is sexual violence. Does this zero tolerance policy mean that any woman who writes about a rape fantasy in her journal is going to be suspended from now on? If she's 17, and so not legally an adult, does this constitute supporting child sexual abuse or pedophilia, as well as sexual violence? Does it make a different if it's posted in a locked post, in a public journal, in a community? What about if the source material of fanfic involves any of these issues, and so is mentioned or used as a basis for fanfic posted on LJ? Is zero tolerance really zero tolerance?

7. Compensation for the owners of wrongfully deleted journals. Fandom is fandom. We've been around for a decades, and frankly, we'd rather gotten used to getting screwed and dismissed. What I'm really interested in, in regards to compensation, are non-fandom journals. I want to know what you intend to do to make it up the survivors of child abuse, sexual abuse, and rape, that you've painted with the same brush as the pedophiles who've hurt them, and whose journals are now listed in various places on the net as part of a list of journals suspended for supporting or advocating pedophilia. The damage you've done there is much worse than anything you could've done to fandom. As a whole, fandom is an incredibly resilient community. As individual women who've suffered abuse, we're not nearly as resilient. What are you going to do to attempt to correct the damage you've caused these women?


I'm a woman, and a feminist, and a member of LJ since 2001, and a paying member for the past 5 years or so, and I would very much like to know what exactly I need to do to make sure my journal isn't suspended, and I don't even write (or read) fanfiction. It's not just a matter of reinstating wrongfully suspended journals, it's a matter of communication and clear guidelines and respect, and above all, TRUST. I want to know these things because otherwise I can't trust that when I wake up tomorrow my journal, or any of my friends' journals, will still be there.

Live Journal Strikes Out

Live Journal recently showed really poor judgment in getting involved with a group calling itself "Warriors for Innocence" [their main site is going deliberately unlinked due to the spyware infestations] which apparently should be renamed Warriors for Installationofspyware. A huge outcry penetrated the web right into such places as C/Net, Boing-Boing, and Perverted Justice [as of 5/30 and 5/31,P.J. noted that L.J. does not seem to know the difference between fanfic involving Harry Potter and real-life pedos who are into sex with children]. Live Journal suspended the accounts of individuals and communities involved with B.D.S.M., fanfic, rapefic, surviving childhood sexual abuse, and fashion right along with some folks expressing pedophilic ideas. And discussions about the novel Lolita. Then there was the "explanation" about interest lists equaling "I like _____." Stupid, stupid, stupid. Apologies are nice sometimes but it might take far more than that to fix this. Warriors for installationofspyware cross-posted a "Wall of Shame" to two of their blogspot sites.

There are many banners and icons floating around l.j. regarding the strikeout. Evie_dux over at
http://community.livejournal.com/innocence_jihad/99615.html#cutid1 has created the one that heads this post and she has some more that are very cool.

Reading through the blogspot sites [yes, plural] of those supposedly involved in ridding the net of pedophiles [links cited above] and following the profiles of those involved yields quite the picture of who these people are. The cursing is proficient [and I thought I was good at it] and there is name-calling of the variety that divides people into several camps-- fundie christians who are for what they are "doing," pedophiles, and pedoheads [--defenders of pedos, if I am reading this stuff correctly]. There are threats to "investigate," direct statements that this group of vigilantes will "follow" those who abandon Live Journal to other sites where the reporting and contact with advertisers will continue.

These people have no listing of resources for those who have been victimized by the pedos, no mission statement, no legalese, nothing that legit sites like Perverted Justice has in plain site. Ya know what, if I get listed as a pedohead for posting this blog, then so be it. I know who I am and what I am not.

Folks who have survived rape, folks who are fanfics, folks who are not straight or republican or a particular variety of literalist christian, folks who like Harry Potter, folks who have read the novel Lolita and want to discuss it, folks who...do not deserve to be roped into the category of pedo, pedo-defender, or potential pedo.

Folks who are after kids for illicit sex [I will not call it "childlove" because it is not] whether on the internet or off the internet should be civilly committed for life, perhaps given housing on prison grounds within the gates. As for the rest of us, those of us who are civils, leave us the hell alone and we will do the same for you.

radical sapphoq