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Glenn Beck Loses Dispute Over Parody Domain 1172

CuteSteveJobs writes "Glenn Beck fought the law and the law won. Parody website DidGlennBeckRapeAndMurderAYoungGirlIn1990.com attacked Beck using the same straw man arguments Beck himself is famous for: 'We're not accusing Glenn Beck of raping and murdering a young girl in 1990 — in fact, we think he didn't! But we can't help but wonder ... Why won't he deny that he raped and killed a young girl in 1990?' Beck didn't see the humour and tried to have the site shut down. He sued the creator on the grounds the site 'violated his name as a trademark.' But in a sudden outbreak of common sense, WIPO rejected Beck's complaint finding the site 'can be said to be making a political statement,' which is a 'legitimate non-commercial use' of Beck's name. But after winning, the owner voluntarily handed Beck the domain anyway. Still, it's comforting to know that satire — the only weapon politicians and talking heads fear — is still safely in the hands of the public where it belongs."
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Glenn Beck Loses Dispute Over Parody Domain

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  • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 10, 2009 @11:21AM (#30045866)

    DidKDAWSONRapeAndMurderAYoungGirlIn1990.com

  • icing on the cake: (Score:4, Insightful)

    by circletimessquare ( 444983 ) <circletimessquareNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Tuesday November 10, 2009 @11:22AM (#30045872) Homepage Journal

    tell beck why the results of his arrogance is now something he has in common with barbra streisand. he'll love the comparison

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect [wikipedia.org]

  • by Minwee ( 522556 ) <dcr@neverwhen.org> on Tuesday November 10, 2009 @11:26AM (#30045924) Homepage

    Has Glenn Beck denied having raped and murdered a young girl in 1990?

    If not, why not?

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      Has Glenn Beck denied having raped and murdered a young girl in 1990?

      If not, why not?

      I'm not saying he did or anything, and I think he didn't, but I think that many of the readers will wonder why he has yet to deny these rumors.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Inda ( 580031 )
      Being British, I have not heard of Glenn Beck. After reading the Slashdot summary, I now believe he did rape and murder a young girl in 1990. Does someone want to tell me different?
      • Glenn Beck almost certainly did not rape and murder a young girl in 1990. However, with people raising the issue, he should step forward and deny that he raped and murdered a young girl in 1990. I mean, the man has a TV show, a very public forum to state that he didn't raped and murdered a young girl in 1990. He could open tomorrow by saying that he didn't rape and murder a young girl in 1990.

        Instead he's now suing people who say he raped and murdered a young girl in 1990! I don't think this allegation is true for a second, but seriously, people, that doesn't look good.

        In case you honestly don't get the joke, this is one of the many ways that Glenn Beck operates. He will explicitly state rumors, over and over, to assert he doesn't believe in them, but the Democrat involved, usually Obama, should deny them. So someone figured out, hey, he should have a rumor of his own to deny.

      • by realityimpaired ( 1668397 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2009 @12:34PM (#30047016)

        As a Canadian, I don't really get the reference, either. But as near as I can tell, from reading the posts on this thread, he's one of those ultra-conservative blowhards who makes his living by indirectly accusing people of committing outrageous acts. He's the kind of person who'd go on the radio saying something like "I'm not saying Tony Blair is a sheep-shagger, but why hasn't he denied calling the vet to his home under 'suspicious' circumstances last Tuesday at 3am?" As a rational thinker, you know that he's just spewing BS, but you're forgetting that Beck's audience is largely American. They haven't demonstrated any rational thought, as a nation, since proving in 1776 that they had no clue how to make tea. ^.~

        It reminds me of McCarthyism... Joe McCarthy used to ask people pointed questions that included veiled accusations phrased as statement of fact. "Tell me, Inda, Why do you hate America?". Not "do you hate America"... in the phrasing of the question it's assumed that you hate America, and he's not asking you for a yes/no, he's asking for an explanation of why.

  • Ah, satire (Score:5, Funny)

    by truthsearch ( 249536 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2009 @11:27AM (#30045946) Homepage Journal

    I think this internet meme was the best satire of Glenn Beck, until Jon Stewart joined in the fun [thedailyshow.com].

  • Precident-setting? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Sockatume ( 732728 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2009 @11:27AM (#30045948)

    Handing back the domain after the decision strikes me as a way of setting a precident protecting such usage of a public figure's name, while gracefully ending the joke when it's done what it's supposed to. Well done.

  • I wonder... (Score:5, Funny)

    by nine-times ( 778537 ) <nine.times@gmail.com> on Tuesday November 10, 2009 @11:28AM (#30045970) Homepage
    Is didglennbeckrapeandmurderayounggirlin1991.com taken?
    • Is didglennbeckrapeandmurderayounggirlin1991.com taken?

      I'm not saying it is or isn't taken, I'm just saying that a lot of Americans are interested in this question, and somebody needs to ask it.

      Oh, I know, some of you are saying "Hey, why not just use nslookup?" Did you know that's part of the "BIND" -- now there's a scary name if there ever was one -- package from Berkeley? Have you ever thought about what the "N" and the "S" stand for? Did you that there's a magazine called "New Socialist" -- and they're now online?

      Don't you think this is all pretty interesting?

      Oh, and whether or not didglennbeckrapeandmurderayounggirlin1991.com is taken .... gb1990.com [gb1990.com] is. In fact, they're carrying -- and I know this is a little spooky -- the same content that was at didglennbeckrapeandmurderayounggirlin1990.com. Now that's a pretty interesting fact right there, isn't it? I'm not saying what's there is or isn't "true", but I hope Mr. Beck comes clean about these charges, because if he's innocent, we need him without this cloud over his head.

  • by YeeHaW_Jelte ( 451855 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2009 @11:29AM (#30045972) Homepage

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Beck [wikipedia.org]

    And the allegations of rape and murder seem to be the internet equivalent of small-town gossip, which might have a seed of truth or might be an elaborate attempt by his political opponents to a smear campaign.

    Any Americans care to extend the info on this controversy for all us non-Americans?

    • by corbettw ( 214229 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2009 @11:38AM (#30046126) Journal

      Beck is famous for attacking politicians (especially Obama) by "asking questions". So some internet smart asses used his own style against him. Turns out he doesn't like it when the shoe's on the other foot.

    • by Trev311 ( 1161835 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2009 @11:39AM (#30046132) Homepage

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Beck [wikipedia.org]

      And the allegations of rape and murder seem to be the internet equivalent of small-town gossip, which might have a seed of truth or might be an elaborate attempt by his political opponents to a smear campaign.

      Any Americans care to extend the info on this controversy for all us non-Americans?

      Glen Beck is a radio talkshow host and a TV showhost on FOX News. He is very conservative and has been in the news for making some... missteps in his commentary that have made him come off as not extremely intelligent. The allegations are a parody of his style of reporting, which follows a similar logic(Example: the president hasn't denied that he was born out of the us, so if it isn't true why hasn't he?). So the point isn't to say if he actually did rape or murder anyone, but to draw attention to the flaw in his logic. Glen Beck just made it worse by drawing so much attention to the website and the entire story.

    • Glenn Beck, to this day, repeats the lie that Obama was born in Kenya. He asks, if he was born here, why doesn't he prove it? Obama has, of course, but Beck acts as though he hasn't. So someone decided to apply Glen Beck's own tactics against him, by forcing him to deny ridiculous allegations over and over again.

    • by IICV ( 652597 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2009 @11:41AM (#30046178)

      It's a parody of what he does when he reports "news". He makes ridiculous statements, but phrases them such that when people call him on his bullshit he can say "I'm just asking questions". He'll then badger people about neither confirming or denying his "questions" - and they won't confirm or deny them because the questions are not even wrong.

      That's the point of this site - it's just asking a question, did Glenn Beck rape and murder a young girl in 1990? Obviously he didn't, but why won't he confirm or deny it? That's interesting, isn't it?

      The worst part is that he actually has a TV show on Fox News. If you look on YouTube, you can find some of his spiels. They're pretty horrible, and yet somehow Americans still watch him. He sounds like that crazy homeless dude on the corner, except he's wearing a suit and he's in a television studio.

      (this same sort of thing was tried with Ann Coulter, because she does the same shit. Unfortunately it didn't go anywhere because people actually believed she was a transsexual.)

    • by ZekoMal ( 1404259 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2009 @11:46AM (#30046248)

      Basically, Glenn Beck is on Fox News as one of the many opinion guys they have. He throws out wild accusations but gets away with it by saying "I'm not saying it's true, but isn't it odd that I'm the only one asking these questions?" He's done so many crazy things (comparing Jesus to Hitler back when he was on CNN, for example). He's so batshit crazy that he makes Bill O'Reilly appear to be a sensible man. It's absolutely terrifying, moreso when you realize how many people religiously watch his show and consider it to be 100% fact.

      The controversy is just someone parodying him by making a wild accusation and then covering it with a batshit crazy question.

      ...He also cries loudly at random intervals on his show. I highly advise you try and find some Glenn Beck vids. http://vodpod.com/watch/1409182-colbert-mocks-crazy-eyes-beck-with-doom-bunker-segment [vodpod.com] There's one off of the Colbert Report that gives you an excellent example, in fact.

    • by canajin56 ( 660655 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2009 @11:52AM (#30046340)
      Nobody is saying he's a rapist and a murderer, they're just pointing out that he's never denied.it. He attacked an Arab-American senator, saying that they've never gone on record stating they aren't a terrorist, and never really presented any solid proof they aren't working for Al Quaida, so basically the website is operating under the assumption that if he can give it, he can take it.
    • I really get tired of hearing that all the hate comes from the right when the left is just as guilty of it, if not more so in recent times. The Rush debacle was probably the lowest point some major media outlets reached since Dan Rather and CBS did in 2004.

      Glen Beck makes himself a target and I bet he comes away richer for it. However, try this same type of website against someone who is black, gay, or Muslim, and see how long it lasts; if Beck were either of the tree I bet it would have been taking down

  • Defensive? (Score:5, Funny)

    by canajin56 ( 660655 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2009 @11:29AM (#30045974)
    Not only, as they say, does he refuse to deny having raped and murdered a girl in 1990, but he tries to sue to get the story buried? That does not sound like the act of an innocent man! And, time and again, Glenn Beck has declined to use his show to publicly deny, on the record, that he routinely BBQs and eats babies, saying minorities taste the best, as some reports indicate*.


    *Well, just this one.
    • by TubeSteak ( 669689 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2009 @01:17PM (#30047776) Journal

      Thank you for that amazing show canajin56. On TV ToughGuys with TubeSteak, we're going to look into the shocking allegations that Glenn Beck routinely BBQs and eats babies, saying minorities taste the best. I have with me here in the studio Mbuutu, a cannibal from Africa who has BBQed and eaten minority babies, to discuss with us why colored babies taste better than white ones.

      -While I think that is funny on its own merits, the deeper joke is that I'm parodying Fox News' habit of having one showhost make an allegation, and later, having other showhosts "report" on the allegations. The day after, this leads to newspaper articles which are then quickly quoted by Fox News hosts as proof that there are merits to the allegations even though the articles are merely discussing what was said on TV the day before. I read a great article on the practice, but I can't find it.

  • by John Hasler ( 414242 ) on Tuesday November 10, 2009 @11:43AM (#30046200) Homepage

    Because there is none. Quit confounding parody and satire with humour. Both are often very unfunny (which is not to say they should not be protected: they should).

    • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 10, 2009 @12:21PM (#30046788)

      All Beck had to do to make this go away was prove he didn't kill and rape or rape then kill a girl in 1990, how hard is this to do? Just show us the proof. Show the death certificate that says you didn't rape her

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