Google Relists Operation Clambake 491
DarkZero writes: "After almost every tech site and individual geek banded together to either carry the story about Google's delisting of Operation Clambake or flat-out protest it, Google has apparently relisted Xenu.net. Searches for 'xenu' and 'scientology' list Operation Clambake as the first and fourth results, respectively. The search for "scientology" also lists a story from C|Net about Google delisting Operation Clambake, as well as a protest ad from a Kuro5hin reader (oc3)." Update: 03/22 12:52 GMT by M : We jumped the gun. Google only relisted Xenu.net's homepage (where the copyright claims by Scientology were clearly bogus), not the rest of the pages listed in Scientology's DMCA complaint. Some Google sysadmin is getting aggravated because every 20 minutes, another memo from management is coming down telling him to alter the live database.
stand behind 'em folks (Score:4, Insightful)
Let the flames begin.
Hooray! (Score:5, Insightful)
I made an ad also (Score:5, Insightful)
Easy on the hyperbole (Score:2, Insightful)
If you want someone to read a story, give them the facts and let them decide for themselves whether or not it's important.
Re:Frightening (Score:3, Insightful)
Scientology's power is really not that odd, considering its size and money. Scientology isn't as powerful as the Roman Catholic Church, of course, but then again, the Scientologists have never been able to pull off massive crusades or inquisitions.
It's all relative.
I'll say it again... (Score:4, Insightful)
I have no clue about scientology, but interrestingly, I hear only negative thing about them on the net, I've yet to see scientology and a positive claim, that's kinda scary, if they want a positive image, it's not by going after every bitcher that they will do good, Good is done by DOING good things, but I guess we all know that....
Why would they want to censor google anyway? (Score:3, Insightful)
Surely someone who can create such a system (that controls that many people at once by making them feel elite while unashamedly robbing them blind) would be smart enough to realise that censoring anti-scientology sites just makes them more credible? Or perhaps as the clambake site suggests, he's starting to believe his own propaganda?
For me at least, I would have dismissed the clambake site as another crackpot venting steam, were it not apparently censored. Now I'm taking clambake a bit more seriously
Another success (Score:3, Insightful)
(http://www.xenu.net/archive/footbullet/
<Nelson Munts>HA-Ha</Nelson Munts>
Re:Why would they want to censor google anyway? (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm glad Google has come around and done the right thing, but I'm disappointed that they ever gave in to the wack jobs in the first place.
Question: if the secret teachings of the Scientologists are actually ancient knowledge handed down by superior beings, wouldn't the copyright period have already expired? If the works *are* copyrightable, doesn't that indicate that the documents are a new creation authored in the last 75 years? Hmmm....
Re:Why read /. (Score:1, Insightful)
Despite the fact that the USA constitution was based on the enlightened notion that church and state should be separate, the christians have been desperately clawing their way back to their position of privelige ever since. I am looking forward to the day that coins say 'In god we don't trust'. The times that civilisation have advanced the most have been marked by times when religiosity has been kept under control. The dark ages of christianity and islam have been marked by strong domination by fundamentalism.
There can be no more bizarre sight than that of football teams praying to god at half time. How does god decide who he should favour, those who such up the best, the team that takes the least drugs, the number of fornicators in the team, the amount of time they spend praying, how hard they shut their eyes and furrow their brows? Perhaps all these factors and more, which are conveniently put into a formula. Then how does he help, maybe he trips up someone up, helps the ball defy gravity? In between his more serious jobs of trying to fight crime in the US and solve the Northern Ireland problem. (He's taking his time their, don't you think?)
No, they'll never wake up (Score:5, Insightful)
Go Google! (Score:4, Insightful)
Danny.
Re:Frightening (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Frightening (Score:2, Insightful)
The COS is NOT a church, it is a pyramid scheme!!
And what, praytell, is the Catholic Church? How many big ornate temples funded by guilt-induced contributions does it take to qualify?
Re:Why read /. (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Oh this ad idea is fun! (Score:4, Insightful)
Sure, they get some advertising. Like anyone with half a brain isn't going to laugh them off anyway.
Re:Protest ad is up. (Score:2, Insightful)
It's funny that you say that, considering that my having purchased an ad derived from my religious convictions as a Christian.
Re:Why read /. (Score:4, Insightful)
I can't really tell the difference between Scientology and Christianity
I ordinarily wouldn't respond to a post so wildly divergent from topic, but I consider the insightful mod you received as my personal go ahead on the part of /. moderators to engage you in this discussion.
The question between us is, what do I understand that you do not, what are you capable of understanding, and what are you willing to understand. The very question betrays an incredible ignorance with regard to religious matters whose sheer scope defies response. The only way I could compare it would be to hold modern atheists responsible for the Stalinist purges or Pol Pot's killing fields because they were atheist regimes. One given to applying blame for evil in the context of stereotype might well make such accusations.
This brings us to the matter of what I think you are capable of understanding. Since I believe the condition to which I referred above is a matter of decision on your part rather than reason, I think you could understand much if you chose to acknowledge that others have as much right as you to decide what is important to them.
As for what you are willing to understand, I fear that you, like all bigots, have chosen not to understand for fear of facing what that understanding might mean. I certainly invite you to human fellowship and tolerance, but I don't expect it.
Re:Protest at Google (Score:5, Insightful)
With all do respect, you are giving far too negative picture about the meeting. First of all they were very sincere that they didn't handle this in a best possible manner, but in the future they'll try to improve their processes. Their lawyer did first what lawyers normally do in this kind of situations and played on the safe side - he has to worry about the shareholders interest etc. He later noticed that most of CO$'s demands were actually based on trademark-violations, not copyright and based on that Google had an opportunity to restore Xenu.net. The fact that they actually did this on their own is something that we really be happy with. This kind of behaviour is anything but typical in today's corporate world.
And about the ranks, at least to me the message was clear, Google tries to write as good as possible algorithms as possible, which don't require human intervention to filter spamming etc.
V.
Re:Frightening (Score:4, Insightful)
I usually stay out of religious issues, but this one was too nice to pass...
Be it roman catholic, orthodox, islam or budhism, they do not REQUIRE you to sink large amount of money into their coffers. As far as I can understand, $cientology requires money from it's sheeps^H^H^H^H^H^Hfollowers in order to attend, and progress in the so called "religion".
Furthermore, they're a religion only in the US if I'm correct, being rated anywhere from cult to scam everywhere else in the world. Plus, no amount of money will get you higher up in roman catholic religion. Even if you invest billions you'll never become pope.
Makes me sad for all those who got swindled into becoming $cientologists... Exploitation of human misery at its best. I cannot believe that all their members have joined willingly without being somewhat brainwashed...
Re:Correspondance from Google (Score:2, Insightful)
The first amendment IS one of the "laws of the land", you idiot.
If anything, the Constitution (of the USA) is THE law of the land, while all others are merely appendages to it.
What is really bothersome about the above comment is that (if I can read this into it correctly) people don't look at the constitution as law. Instead, the DMCA, etc. are the laws, and the Constitution is some sort of 'idealistic good try'.
That's not the case, people (of the US)!
Another foot-bullet (Score:2, Insightful)
Before, when you searched for "scientology" on Google, you got an unobtrusive link to a critical website at about link #4.
Now, you get a news story about the cult's attempted censorship, adverts which direct you to www.xenu.net, and a couple of new sites listed which, up until yesterday, had never heard of scientology but now know all about its attempts to silence criticism and its heavy handed use of the law courts to harass.
Scientologists have obviously been told to spread the message. They are succeeding. Fortunately, the message they are spreading is that scientology is litigious, money grabbing, and above all incompetent.
Re:Frightening (Score:2, Insightful)
And if you think that money can't buy the papal seat... do some research in history. The big phallic hat has been bought more than once. It's been picked up by powerful families who paid off others to get where they needed to be (see Borgias)... it's been outright bought several times.
All religons are the same... it's only the number of people who agree with it that gives legitimacy to one over the other.