One of the goals of this site is to promote critical discussion and debate on US foreign policy and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We want Mondoweiss to be a place that everyone feels comfortable visiting, to read and comment, regardless of political perspective. People might not always like what we post, but everyone should feel invited and encouraged to join the discussion, share their opinions, and engage in debate.
Unfortunately, more and more we are hearing that people are not comfortable participating in the site because of the noxious and often abusive language that proliferates in the comments section. We've tried the hands-off approach, hoping the site would regulate itself. This hasn't worked.
For this reason we are putting in place the following ground rules:
1. No racist or sexist comments. This includes anti-Arab, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic comments (and yes, Christian-bashing too). This includes comments that disparage, intimidate or attack a person based on perceived ethnicity or gender.
2. No Nakba or Holocaust denial. We're not going to tolerate any discussion of the Jewish role in the rise of the Nazis which is used as a pretext for blaming Jews for the Nazi rise, a form of Holocaust denial we want no part of. Similarly, this policy includes Nakba denial as well, and efforts to blame the expulsion of Palestinians in 1948 on Palestinian actions.
3. No profanity. Along with racism and sexism the prevalence of profanity in the comments on the blog has forced people away. This has to end.
4. No personal attacks. We encourage spirited, passionate debate, but if you have to resort to vicious personal attack, you're not advancing the discussion. Stay on the issues.
5. No imposture. You can use any pseudonym you like, but if you represent yourself as someone you're not, you're outta here.
6. No trolling. Wikipedia defines trolling as "someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response." That definition is good enough for us. We hope our comment section can feature an engaged and free flowing debate, but we are not interested in commenters whose only aim is to disrupt or sabotage the discussion.
7. This is not a site to discuss 9/11 theories. This discussion turns into a huge distraction, is not central to the life of the site, and is a drag on the moderators.
If we judge that you have broken one of these rules you will be banned. We will ban the IP address you are posting from and if you try to post from another IP address we will ban that as well.
We like to think that this site has become a dynamic and necessary forum. Your help will ensure that it continues to grow and develop.
Thanks,
Phil & Adam
While the world is focused on Libya, Yemen, and Bahrain, Israel (as usual in these types of situations) conducts aerial bombardment in Gaza
link to english.aljazeera.net
Every site needs a comment policy – good move there – but unless it is fairly and fairly-strictly enforced, it’s not worth much.
Best of luck (sincerely) with the new policy.
“We’re not going to tolerate any discussion of the Jewish role in the rise of the Nazis”.
Seems to me this is denial.
Dear Mondoweiss: 1.2.3.
1. Has anyone followed up on the possibility that an unpaid Thai worker was behind the Itimar murders?
2. Is there any study of the Thai workers community or their condietions in Itimar?
3. Who could do this and shouldn’t it be done before everyone is left believing (convinced) that Palestinians were behind the murder?
Why wasn’t my comment to the Itamar article posted? If there was some sort of problem, please let me know–simply not posting it does not look like you are interested in creating dialogue.
As for Alvin Alexsi Currier’s question, a Palestinian group initially took credit for the slaying and celebrations among Palestinians were in effect. If you need me to substantiate that FACT, then contact me and I will do so. As far as why people are “convinced” that Palestinians are behind the murder, it’s pretty obvious if you’ve been observing the last 100 years (or more) of activity in the region. Why are you so desperate to believe otherwise? And if you are so intent on trying to challenge this, are you also challenging the allegations against the IDF that commonly appear on this site?
See? Avid “Researcher” is damn sure those dirty Arabs did it. So there.
And you wonder why your comment probably got blocked, huh.
Dear Avid, what can I tell you? The whole world sucks!
oh let me take a stab at why it might not have made it thru moderation.
a Palestinian group initially took credit for the slaying and celebrations among Palestinians were in effect.
someone reported a palestinian group took credit for it but there was no confirmation of this alleged ‘credit’ in fact it was denied. it was also reported another palestinian group took credit but it isn’t even confirmed this group exists. for example i could write in to the police and claim i represent a palestinian group that doesn’t exist and claim responsibility for the crime, i could do that from california and them it could be reported a palestinian group claimed credit for the crime. and then you could write something stupid like ‘If you need me to substantiate that FACT, then contact me ‘ when the only ‘fact’ you were substantiating is that someone claiming to be a palestinian group claimed credit for it. do you think a settler could figure out that complicated process? me too. that is why when it was first reported in the press some alleged group under the name of the hezzbollah martyr claimed responsibility the press even reported the idf questioned the truthieness of this report.
i reported and linked last night in the thread the murders were revealed the same day a unity rally was held in gaza, one that began the day before on friday the eleventh. there were many many photos of this rally but one caption claiming they were celebrating the murder sets hasbarists on a roll repeating this lie til kingdom kome. meanwhile the msm chose not to report the rally (oh gee wonder why) there have been no confirmation of this alleged murder celebration it is only repeated by hasbarists like yourself who relish in any news (real or not) confirming your lust for proof palestinian are not normal people.
iow, someone might have assessed your comment held untruths. maybe this comment should have been banned for that alone although that’s not implicit in the rules.
As far as why people are “convinced” that Palestinians are behind the murder, it’s pretty obvious if you’ve been observing the last 100 years (or more) of activity in the region.
perhaps if you are an israeli you are not aware of the little tradition we have here in the US called ‘innocent until proven guilty’. what is ‘pretty obvious’ to a racist might not be obvious to the rest of us. or more importantly someone reading your comment might have interpreted your comment as a result of a racist interpretation of reality.
those are just a few examples of why i might have trashed the comment you just made. having not seen your other one i can only speculate you probably just sounded like..yourself. this site isn’t a democracy. some people might not be that interested in engaging w/certain kinds of discourse. if you want your comments to get thru try cleaning up your act. that would be my advice to you. also remember hasbarists are a penny a thousand (more common than a dime a dozen by a large %), there are many out there. maybe you need us more than we need you. remember that. every single rabid zionist hasbarists should be kept on a very short leash here as far as i am concerned. of course that just my opinion, i can’t speak for the site. review the rules and see where your comment may have crossed the line.
Considering none of you know the comment I am talking about, you’re not really in a position to dispute it.
What’s up with “every single rabid zionist hasbarists should be kept on a very short leash here as far as i am concerned?” I don’t think my post was particularly rabid. So in other words, anyone that challenges your point of view should be silenced?
So let me re-pose my question. You wrote a miniature book here about “innocent until proven guilty.” Do you apply the same standards to the Israel Defense Forces? When an article from the ISM comes out making all sorts of outrageous claims about soldiers’ behavior, do you challenge the source there? Or do you immediately take it as fact and write harsh words of condemnation?
As far as what I hate said about the Palestinians, their history, and their recent act of savage butchery, at least read this article. It’s by Larry Derfner, who has made a career out of being a harsh critic of Israeli policy, so it’s from anything but a pro-Israel source.
link to jpost.com
So no, my views do not in any way stem from racism and I’ll bet that I’m friends with more Arabs than you are, and I mean in real time, that I spend time with every day. Don’t accuse me of being a racist when you don’t know the first thing about me.
Considering none of you know the comment I am talking about, you’re not really in a position to dispute it.
perhaps you did not noticed i used examples from the comment on this thread to demonstrate why your comment may not have made it thru moderation: “those are just a few examples of why i might have trashed the comment you just made. having not seen your other one i can only speculate you probably just sounded like..yourself.”
comprendo?
So in other words, anyone that challenges your point of view should be silenced?
a ‘short leash’ doesn’t mean silencing.
You wrote a miniature book here about “innocent until proven guilty.” Do you apply the same standards to the Israel Defense Forces? When an article from the ISM comes out making all sorts of outrageous claims about soldiers’ behavior, do you challenge the source there? Or do you immediately take it as fact and write harsh words of condemnation?
please provide me with an example of a crime no witnesses and i will give you my answer.
As far as what I hate said about the Palestinians, their history, and their recent act of savage butchery……..my views do not in any way stem from racism and I’ll bet that I’m friends with more Arabs than you are
let’s just say i’m not convinced. i do not care how much you claim this writer has made a career out of being a harsh critic of Israeli policy (if he were famous for it i might have heard of him), i am really not interested in the opinion of a person who assumes he knows who the killer(s) is when there is thus far no evidence.
What Palestinians cannot do, though, is take collective responsibility for such an abomination
please link to an article confirming israelis have taken collective responsibility for the oshenko family slaughter that occurred in 09. i’m a little confused by the reporters claim of “moral cowardice ” especially in light of him reporting the palestinian reaction as “from all evidence, they do genuinely deplore it”.
also, i noticed by him diverting the attention from israeli torture of palestinians. i wonder if he used the same racist arguments to condemn every jew for the brutal occupation the way he has used this crime to condemn every palestinian you wouldn’t call it anti semitic? i doubt it.
‘Until Jews acknowledge savage streak in their society, resolve to root it out, then there will be more abominations done in their name. ‘
“I don’t think my post was particularly rabid.”
ROTFLMSJAO! Yeah it’s only the “particularly rabid” ones you gotta watch out for.
I read defensiveness by both Avid researcher, but even more so by his detractors. There is no trust, and there is no conversation. Instead I read creations generated to justify one’s polemics. No ideas have been considered valid by each polemicist, and so this is fighting. Both sides each trying to verbally silence the other.
I wag my righteous, know-it-all finger at you. Do you have rooms you can all go to?
So who actually does the “moderating,” and why is it that someone can have every comment he posts be whisked away into the void, and never receive a response after repeated inquiries as to the reasons or justifications?
“So who actually does the “moderating,”
It’s a secret!
Anyway, you think you’ve got it bad, and that ain’t good? Look at me, pal, Mondoweiss publishes three or four times as many comments under my name as I write!
Thanks, Mooser. That got the day started off with a laugh.
someone can have every comment he posts be whisked away into the void, and never receive a response after repeated inquiries as to the reasons or justifications?
every comment? do you have any evidence this happens? what would be the point of keeping a poster around if they were going to trash all their comments? i’m sure they would just ban them.
maybe you’d have more fun at a site like this. notice the 300 plus comments debating what and wasn’t anti semitic?
this site isn’t a democracy and it isn’t up to the commenters what passes moderation except on those times someone might complain thru the report function and the comment disappears. maybe phil and adam have better things to do than explain every banned comment. if someone has something important to say and it doesn’t make it on the thread they have the option of rewording and trying again.
but if you want to be part of a community that self moderates try that link, i know from experience you would fit in there and it’s a very important site, one where you could really make a difference.
I’m confident that what I described is what has occurred, and that if the individual was “banned,” he was never formally warned or given any reason for the banning. Furthermore, it would be ludicrous to claim that his commenting style was even remotely comparable in offensiveness to the normal verbal conduct of numerous regulars at this site.
The policy obviously seems to be that, if you are perceived by someone to have the “right” ideology, you can get away with anything. If not, you can simply be disappeared, while everyone pretends that this is a fair and open “community.”
Now, if you’re able to give an informative answer to my questions, annie, how about doing so, instead of providing yet another typical comment chock full of flagrant and never moderated violations of Rule No. 3?
yes, i do think people just get disappeared. but that’s not that unusual around the internet. i just got disappeared from the site i linked you too. well, not quite just disappeared. they first tried to ban me accusing me of being a sockpuppet. then i think i was put on some kind of temporary thing. i guess i got banned, my comment function doesn’t work any more but i can still log in. i never really asked them if i was banned but effectively what’s the difference of being able to log in if you can’t comment. whatever, it’s their business tho. it got excruciating posting there anyway, on and on conversations about the rules and having to endure the zionists moaning and groaning about how unfair it is and the continual anti arab discourse. of course they’ve driven off most of the regular pro posters so the comment section is kinda a zionist controlled zone.
so is that an answer for you, people can just be disappeared i guess. why not? like i said it is not a democracy. there have been people on the pro p side who have disappeared from here too.
Furthermore, it would be ludicrous to claim that his commenting style was even remotely comparable in offensiveness to the normal verbal conduct of numerous regulars at this site.
there are different kinds of offenses. maybe it was one of those posters that commented 10 times in 15 minutes and the mods got sick of reading all their stuff.
why are you so worried about it ck? if you don’t like the comment policy here why not just go somewhere else? i don’t understand your problem. aren’t there an abundance of sites on the internet more valuable for a zionist voice than here?
or do you think this site is especially targeted like i do? personally i think it’s the best i/p site on the internet.
annie, that’s not an answer. You’re being evasive.
evasive? you would have to ask phil or adam about their banning policy if you want more. you have been around here as long as i have potsherd so your guess is as good as mine. doesn’t it seem to you like sometimes posters just disappear? i don’t know that there is a blanket policy but i don’t think there is. i don’t know any other way to say it. i complain when i get sick of certain posters. i’ve had an email exchange with one other poster here who complained to phil about a poster who was eventually banned.
I would think this would be a great blog for a Zionist. This blog was started with 4 aims, and I would think that nothing would be more healthy than non-provincial perspective. I am reminded of WWII films taken from the Japanese point of view.
This IS a progressive blog, no?
Dead silence reigns – so I guess the answer is NO.
what dead silence? the post is from april. a comment like yours flushes thru the robo function on the home page in moments(unless like a crap shoot it lands there for hrs due to mods taking a break). what wasn’t answered for you david?
yes, i do think people just get disappeared.
not clear enough?
not really. the site does ban both sides of the spectrum. the site makes no pretenses of being anything but what it is. why don’t you be more specific wrt what you perceive as unclear or unanswered.
as i mentioned earlier if you are one of those people that enjoy community moderation go to dkos. they have endless threads there about what is or isn’t ok. here, people are just banned and nobody seems to notice their absence that much as far as i can tell. the hasbrats are a dime a dozen. ban one another replaces him the same day. the israel project sees to that. and then there are those ‘special trolls’. the ones that come at you from the left and push the envelope w/anti semitic crap. of course we never know whether they are ‘real’ or here to set up the site. but they go either way.
so spill the beans david. what do you want to know?
I think David was answering my rhetorical question, “This IS a progressive blog, no?”, Annie.
yes, it covers issues from a progressive pt of view. but i don’t think it is moderated ‘progressively’. but i will tell you one thing, it isn’t run in a zionist fashion. no one gets detained and held w/no charges for unknown periods of time. there are no gag orders iow if someone does asks where someone went they do not get banned for it. it’s not as if we treat it like the zionist gov treats the freedom theatre. so we’re a damn sight better than those policies we abhor. at least we do not pretend to be a democracy. i wonder how the 18 year old daughter of the mayor of bethlehem is doing today? what is she eating in prison held w/no charges. did she sleep well? is someone torturing her today, or questioning her? we’re sure as heck more progressive than that. and look on the bright side. no endless comment section filled w/CRAP about what is or is not anti semitic..unlike other blogs we know. what brings you here tonight miko? long time no see.
I think if there is a good argument to be had by certain Pro-Israelis, then they are able to make it, as well for those who feel the Palestinians are getting screwed still since the beginning of the 20th century, during the British Mandatory and the Balfourism that followed, as I do, but the difference may be that the Pro-Iraelis are running out of being able to justify their actions having revised history for so long and their shill the great exceptionalists the US, while the truth cannot remain hidden forever, and that is the Palestinian side. WWII following Europe’s guilt and a young 2 yr old UN through the UNSCOP made a terrible decision to compensate the sufferers of the Jewish Holocaust by giving them Palestine, and the Zios jumped at their chance to go from 5.8% of the land to 55%, as mandated by the UNSCOP. So, chalk up part of the debacle to ignorance and a flagrant disregard of the Palestinians feelings in favor of the ZIOs, notice I say ZIOs not Jews, cuz’ all Jews thankfully are not ZIOs, however the UN made no such distinction. Israeli claimed security threats were their problem yet they are the aggressors mostly.
Sorry, off topic a bit but just making the point that this site will accept all good arguments on both sides, it is just that the Zios only argument left is if you question their crimes they yell anti-semitism, and if that is not so, then make a better argument, ZIOs.
I am always amazed at this discussion! Look, for some crazy reason many years ago, I though I wanted a blog. Once I got started, I liked doing it and by the end of the afternoon, I had three, all free, all on different subjects.
I certainly can see no reason why a single commenter, or even a group of commenters couldn’t start a blog called “Mondoweiss is for poopoo-heads”, and it wouldn’t cost them a cent. And they could ban anybody they didn’t like
Listen Schmendricks, the reason you are all so hot to get your dumb hasbara up on Mondoweiss is because Mondo has readership, and you want to parasitise that readership.
Complaints about “censorship” are pretty goddam feeble in the age of the free blog. Go start one.
Thanks for bringing back the “recent comments” sidebar!
I’d be more than happy to support you, that is if you ran my comments. I’ve written nothing in the past two or three comments section that could be considered trolling. I’ve merely disagreed with your anti-Zionist stance. I have not gone out of my way to offend.
When you’re willing to give voice to other voices, fine, I’ll donate.
And what I find so strange about this is that you regularly revile Marty Peretz (and he deserves much of your reviling), yet Marty ALWAYS allows posters to say whatever they like–to the point of calling him a demented old man, a fucking bastard, a racist liar. I’m not suggesting you stand for this kind of abuse, but it’s strange that you have such a heavily censored cite. You have a couple of pro-Israeli posters, but I’m sure there’d be a lot more pro-Israeli points of view if they were allowed in. So in a way, you have your own separation-barrier. Strange for a man who claims he wants open conversation. I guess “open” means as long as you regularly refer to Israelis as Nazis and fascists.
And annie: like I said, this, in your words, “yes, i do think people just get disappeared. but that’s not that unusual around the internet” is somewhat unusual. At least for the places I check out. I can’t remember when TNR (you know, that site I mentioned that’s run by the dybbuk) has never disappeared anyone. And I’ve been harassed plenty over there. Though I could care less. If someone calls me a blithering idiot or bitch, who gives a crap.
poorwilly, you are pro-Zionist? Wow, I never ever thought I would finally meet a Zionist and hear their views. I mean, what with the pro-Zionist viewpoint completely banned from the MSM, and the complete dearth of the pro-Zionist viewpoint in newspapers and radio.
Anyway, can you tell us a bit about this “Zionism” you’re in favor of. We are all eager to hear exotic philisophical narratives, and isn’t it time somebody got the facts concerning what the Palestinians are really like into public view?
I joined mondoweiss recently after looking around for an open forum to discuss Middle East issues. After reading some of the posts and comments I have sensed a certain bias which is not borne out in the site’s comments policy. If anti-Zionism and opposition to principles like democracy are tenets of mondoweiss, why hasn’t your politburo been honest and officially enshrined them in the comments policy guidelines on this page. so we know where we stand? Or is honesty another mondoweiss taboo?
“If anti-Zionism and opposition to principles like democracy are tenets of mondoweiss, ”
Opposition to ethnic cleansing is not opposition to democracy. Thought I’d clear that up for you.
“If anti-Zionism and opposition to principles like democracy ”
Talk about Orwellian… The Zionists, in practice, keep have of the people under their control from voting and have for 40 years. So, as a consequence, being anti-Zionist is being for democracy (unless you are defining the “people” as Jews only.)
“I joined mondoweiss recently after looking around for an open forum to discuss Middle East issues”
But you became disenchanted when there were no ads for mail-order brides?
i have a technical question on posting comments….
how do people add italics/bold, post blocked quotes, or put a hyperlink on chosen text?
i assume i need to use some wordpress portal or something??? just using the blog itself from my browser, i see no options to do such… and am ignorant of another way to post.
thanks for the help in advance.
It would be nice if the powers that be gave some attention to requests for help about how to use this site. I think they are preoccupied with eliminating Zionists.
hi anon, one uses html links here just linke most other sites in the internet. if you google html links there are many sites that explain them. here’s one.
but for a really easy way to understand it, the way i learned actually was this site. go to any thread and click on ‘comments’ at the end and then scroll. there is a very simple instructional presented under “Allowed HTML Tags:”.
i would post them but they transform when you write them. good luck and ask again if you still cannot figure this out. people will help you and thanks for asking. ciao.
How long do we have to support Zionist centric policies in Middle East? Can anybody tell me how long? Until ve completely go bankrupt ? When? anybody? Why Israelis cannot do the dirty jobs themselves? If they want to attack Iran, be my guess, do not ask for our tax dollars our technology and certainly NOT our troops.
“If they want to attack Iran, be my guess, do not ask for our tax dollars our technology and certainly NOT our troops.”
Wow, a lot you care about the six-million Jews who perished in Hitler’s camps, buddy. I’ve never seen such crass selfishness. Have a nice day.
How long do we have to support Zionist centric policies in Middle East? Can anybody tell me how long? Until ve completely go bankrupt ? When? anybody? Why Israelis cannot do the dirty jobs themselves? If they want to attack Iran, be my guess–do not ask for our tax dollars our technology and certainly NOT our troops. The truth is, Israelis know they cannot fight without US and Western help. Further Israelis used to idea of free money getting free billions dollars without any condition from our tax dollars. How long are we going to tolerate these policies? For those in discontent with economy, living standards–protest your government’s foreign policies in the Middle East. These failed pro-Israeli policies to blame first.
I am very concerned about American Israel “firsters’ attempts to work toward deposition of President Obama in the coming election in favor of a president who will bend to Israel’s call for war with Iran, continued settlement building in East Jerusalem and the West Bank and so on. I also feel that Obama needs “numbers”: strong citizen support of his (what to me) is rational policy toward Israel, i.e. we’ll help you if someone attacks you, but not if you attack others. Can anyone put my mind at rest or suggest how we, common everyday citizens, can support the current administration’s policies toward Israel effectively? Sure: letters to the editor, contact with elected officials, but beyond that, what?
Eh, Mr. Obama has been one of the biggest allies of Israel in recent history.
Even Bush I and II put up more obstacles to Israeli expansion… they ultimately were ineffective when faced down by the AIPAC-controlled Congress, but they had little palate for Israeli intransigence. Obama, on the other hand, has done nothing. He’s let Netanyahu run rough-shod.
So Wondering Jews comments telling us which Iranians deserved to die (along with the “collateral damage”) are just fine?
It is so obvious what is going on at Mondoweiss. You can just about hear the thoughts in the part that comes after Mondo: ‘But what if Israel and the Zionists prevail? Where will that leave me? Reliant on my murky and inchoherent writing and immature emotions, and bereft of philosemitism forever?’
“I joined mondoweiss recently after looking around for an open forum to discuss Middle East issues. After reading some of the posts and comments I have sensed a certain bias which is not borne out in the site’s comments policy. If anti-Zionism and opposition to principles like democracy are tenets of mondoweiss, why hasn’t your politburo been honest and officially enshrined them in the comments policy guidelines on this page. so we know where we stand? Or is honesty another mondoweiss taboo?”
I found this too, I’m not a troll, I’m not a racist, I’m sympathetic to Palestinian suffering, I’m not an idiot.
I even emailed Philip Wiess for a little clarification about moderators.
Disagreeing with the majority view of people here seems to be allowed only a certain amount of the time however. Usually not when supplying an effective counter argument it seems.
It’s fine to have a site for a certain point of view but don’t disguise it up as a discussion forum. If you do it will make people wonder what is it about the common themes espoused here that need such protection? Are they lacking in argumental integrity or just outright dogmatism?
“I’m sympathetic to Palestinian suffering.”
In a condescending way, yes. I mentioned in the other thread where I saw your comments how I have friends who sound like you. They “sympathize” with the Palestinians, and then proceed to twist the history in a way that puts most of the blame for their suffering on their own leaders. There needs to be a name for this kind of “liberalism”, because it’s very common. It enables people to take blatantly one-sided borderline racist stands and still think of themselves as not racist. Growing up in the south right after Jim Crow I also saw the same sort of thinking among whites who never used the N word and thought of themselves as non-racist, but who invariably put most of the blame for black poverty on blacks themselves and thought American blacks should be grateful given the fact that blacks in Africa were much poorer. Some other commenter from the south made a similar point the other day–if you grew up listening to whites talking about blacks in the 70′s and then start reading the rationalizations offered in defense of Israel one can’t help but notice the similarities in the arguments made. There are the crude bigots, of course, but there are also the people who insist on their sympathy for both sides who invariably whitewash (no pun intended) the crimes of the more powerful faction.
Incidentally, I’m on record as having some problems with the comment section here, but make it as civil as possible and people here, including me, will still find your stance morally repulsive.
that was an awesome comment donald.
“their sympathy for both sides who invariably whitewash (no pun intended) the crimes of the more powerful faction.”
no worries Donald they going to get blackwashed by and by.
“I’m not a troll, I’m not a racist, I’m sympathetic to Palestinian suffering, I’m not an idiot. ”
No, you’re a serial Nakba denier. That you haven’t been banned so far, but only had a couple (maybe 1) comments deleted makes me question this new policy.
Disagreeing with the majority view of people here seems to be allowed only a certain amount of the time however.
Wouldn’t time be space in the above context?
Usually not when supplying an effective counter argument it seems.
Do I understand this correctly. A comment disagreeing with what you perceived as the majority here is not allowed at all, or censored if it is an “effective counter argument”.
Now you really made me curious what you consider an effective counter argument.
Do you have a context and example?
“Now you really made me curious what you consider an effective counter argument.
Do you have a context and example?”
Supply me with an email address then, because that entire point is………
……..I can’t give you an example here because it gets modded away.
Sorry, here is the corrected version of the post
Frequently we hear “no option is off the table”. What are the options: sanctions and threats of air strikes. A tenet of good faith negotiations is to offer a benefit. Could there be a win-win scenario? We know what Iran has to offer– a cessation of uranium enrichment, that is adequately monitored to the satisfaction of Israel & the West. But what could the Israeli’s and Americans offer? To those saying no offers, please realize that threats only harden positions. Pushing America to a war may spawn USA’s bankruptcy, sunken air craft carriers and 10,000 body bags.
What to offer? Iran will not be satisfied with money, factories or the like. Offer Iran something that fits its ideology. Practically we can not establish Shia states, or even free Shia areas of the Gulf. Iran’s regime is committed to the Palestinian fate. In sense what has been dealt the Palestinians drives the Iranian animosity to the west as in “Great Satan” and “Little Satan”.
Perhaps a substantial benefit to the Palestinians will be a quid pro quo that is accepted in exchange for cessation of nuclear armament. What is the substantial benefit? The benefit must be real and relatively immediate. The benefit must be measurable and profound. A promise to pull back the settlements will not appeal to the mullahs. A benefit with an element of truth and justice will appeal worldwide.
Iran’s Ayatollah Khameineh may agree upon Israel allowing the return of a fixed number of indigenous Palestinians to Israel. Trade potential bombs for the exercise of the right of return. Israel and its apologists then decide between its fear of Palestinian returnees and of nuclear bombs. Pick a number 500,000, 700,000 or 1,000,000 returnees in exchange for nuclear non-proliferation.
I would like to sign an internet petition to this effect.
An admirable thought. From a purely geopolitical point of view though, it’s clear that Iran has been granted a huge post-Iraqi war opening and is doing what all countries do given such: act in its self-interest. There are 70+ million Iranians, met only with a similar number of Turks. All the other countries vying for influence in the gap opened in Iraq are much smaller in population.
What I’m getting at is that no matter what “concessions” Iran presently makes, they have no time limit on their goal of nuclear capability. Every government knows this, including Israel. What is happening in the region right now is theater, the intended hope on each party’s part of being some modest advantage going forward. MAD is a stand-off; only madmen would act on it.
to the satisfaction of Israel & the West. But what could the Israeli’s and Americans offer?
it’s not about ‘israel and the west’ or ‘ Israeli’s and Americans offer’. quit gluing us together. it’s israel driving this madness.
.A promise to pull back the settlements will not appeal to the mullahs.
that is not for you to decide. you’re just taking it out of the equation because it’s not what you want, and pretending it has something to do with iran.
Pick a number 500,000, 700,000 or 1,000,000 returnees in exchange for nuclear non-proliferation.
1 million to israel ‘proper’ and the 67 pullback plus palestine’s capitol in jerusalem and some people might take you seriously. but either way iran has as much right as anyone to have a nuclear program.
miko, the intended hope on each party’s part of being some modest advantage going forward.
not israel. as usual israel is willing and eager to pressure the US into another war so it can get on with their land theft and ethnic cleansing. there’s nothing modest about that. it’s theatre all right, just not the kind you’re envisioning.
“not Israel. as usual Israel is willing and eager to pressure the US into another war so it can get on with their land theft and ethnic cleansing. there’s nothing modest about that. it’s theatre all right, just not the kind you’re envisioning.”
Ha! As I stated, countries do what is to their own self-interest. It is certainly modest when all parties know a war won’t happen. The countries are not likely biting on any of this; only the public mob. It’s illogical on any deep strategic level for the US to attack Iran when the Straits of Hormuz are indefensible. What you have done in your first sentence is jump past the first modest move (pressure on the US), and assume an outcome without logically entering the innumerable counter-moves which make up the chess match that is foreign policy. Every party involved has a similar “fantasy” outcome which by your definition would be immodest.
2. No Nakba or Holocaust denial. We’re not going to tolerate any discussion of the Jewish role in the rise of the Nazis which is used as a pretext for blaming Jews for the Nazi rise, a form of Holocaust denial we want no part of. Similarly, this policy includes Nakba denial as well, and efforts to blame the expulsion of Palestinians in 1948 on Palestinian actions.
this one is really annoying the hell out of me, and makes me think twice about Phil. it was not until i started learning about Edwin Black, Rabbi Weissmandel, and Benjamin Freedman that i started piecing together the reality of what actually happened. this is a hidden reality that wasn’t shown to me in either my public education, or popular narratives shown in the media. talking about what the Zionists did to the Jews is not Holocaust denial, it’s Holocaust acceptance. these Zionists are no more Jewish than the Nazis are Christian. and just as Germany could not be redeemed without dealing with the Nazi issue, neither can Israel be redeemed without dealing with the Zionist issue.
It is factually false to say “what THE Zionists did to the Jews “. Most Jews were Zionists or became Zionists who were Nazi victims. As a comparison in this forum, it would be false to use the phrase “the Palestinians” to describe the actions of specific Palestinians. Had you stated what specific people did to other people, I can accept the facts; I can’t accept attempts to re-write history. In your small inclusion of the word “the”, you make the huge implication that those who followed Zionism, just as those who followed Naziism, were responsible for the deaths of Jews during the Holocaust. Accuracy matters. I assume you would take offense to being called a Holocaust denier.
I do agree though, that the forum should stay open to all discussion about past events.
There is no facility to communicate with the moderators or those managing the site over site issues.
I have a couple of questions:
1. The search facility should return items in chronological order – at the moment items are returned in no particular order so it is very hard to find a particular item that you might be looking for.
2. The facility to display a person’s list of posts in Mondoweiss is constantly broken
3. There should be an opportunity for us mere mortals on MondiWeiss to initiate or make discussions. At the moment as you can see in this section people make postings under a specific topic that are not relevant to the topic but they do it because that is the only way to express something they would like to say
“There is no facility to communicate with the moderators or those managing the site over site issues.”
Not true, Mayhem, not true at all! As a matter of fact, Mondoweiss is one of the most open, inter-active sites on the web. Now, as to why the moderators are avoiding you, I don’t know. But I have my suspicions. Maybe they’ve been kvetched at carped at, lied to or rhetorically bullied enough today, and they’ll get to you tomorrow.
BTW, Mayhem, if you want to “initiate or make discussions” there are many free blogging services on the web. Why do you think Mondoweiss owes you an audience?
Why do you think Mondoweiss owes you the validation of posting privileges on the site? BTW, Mayhem, you want all the search and list and archive services to work as they should? That takes bandwidth, and that costs money. Send Mondoweiss some.
How do you communicate with a moderator? Other sites also have members with email addresses who can chose whether they want to communicate with other members or not. Only trying to make it easier to discuss and exchange ideas.
“Only trying to make it easier to discuss and exchange ideas.”
Who needs ideas when you’ve got the power of the will, and the bonds of blood and soil! And tht’s the kind of stuff you just can’t put in a comment. People have to experience it for themselves!
“5. No imposture. You can use any pseudonym you like, but if you represent yourself as someone you’re not, you’re outta here.”
Oh, that’s very tricky! You say you want Zionist voices to be heard here, too, and then you make a rule that pretty much leaves them all out in the cold, y’know? I mean, they all can’t sign themselves “Judah Maccabee”, can they?
If I post comments that are perfectly acceptable according to Mondoweiss policy guidelines I find very often that my post does not appear. There is a selective, censorious policy to block those who post comments that may defend Israel too strongly. On the other hand those who disparage Israel get free reign to abuse and say whatever they like, whether it is true or not.
In fact Mondoweiss condones dishonesty and untruths for the sake of the Palestinian cause. If I post something that challenges the Mondoweiss ethos it won’t get published because it is seen to undermine the basic message that Mondoweiss wants to deliver. It is no wonder that we are as far from a peace agreement as ever, because such disingenuity and intransigence is typical of the Palestinian position. There is no willingness to admit being wrong on any major issue; the essential attitude is to stubbornly oppose reconciliation or any form of compromise.
This ultimately reveals the great fallacy behind Mondoweiss’ agenda. If the Palestinian cause cannot withstand every challenge it will buckle under the weight of its deceptions. This is a delusional policy which believes prolonging the Israeli/Palestinian conflict will eventually enable the Palestinians to jockey themselves into a more powerful negotiating position to put more and more pressure on Israel. This is exactly what Omar Barghouti admitted in his justification of BDS in the debate with Waskow, when he affirmed that BDS aims to improve the ‘balance of power’ in the conflict.
>> It is no wonder that we are as far from a peace agreement as ever, because such disingenuity and intransigence is typical of the Palestinian position.
Disingenuity and intransigence – that’s pretty heavy stuff!
But what is much more likely keeping peace at bay is the existence of an oppressive, colonialist, expansionist and supremacist “Jewish State” in Palestine, created by means of Zio-supremacist terrorism and ethnic cleansing, and maintained and expanded by means of a 60+ years, ON-GOING and offensive (i.e., not defensive) campaign of aggression, oppression, theft, colonization, destruction and murder. Plus refusal to be held accountable for any of its past or ON-GOING and tremendously (war) criminal behaviour. Plus refusal to enter into sincere negotiations for a just and mutually-beneficial peace.
But, yeah, disingenuity and intransigence…
LOL. Yeah, I know, you censor every post complaining about censorship too. So how about e-mailing me the reason if you don’t want to say it here?
My tally of comments goes up as I post but nothing is appearing. Any explanation?
Slightly off topic but interesting none the less….for the truth about Liebler/Davis/Millis/Hoffman click here: link to hoffmanchronicled.wordpress.com
For more than two hours Friday night, the lead photo on the New York Times website was a photo from Gaza of several men identified as “Hamas supporters” burning an American flag. It ran under a headline of ‘Protests flare beyond Mideast.’
Last time I checked, Gaza is pretty much front and center in the Mideast. But more significant to me was that the picture wasn’t particularly noteworthy in a visual sense, nor much in terms of news, given that elsewhere in the Middle East, American facilities were under direct threat or even breached. Yet the Times put that up front.
That says plenty about what’s on the Times’ agenda. Never miss a chance to confirm a negative stereotype of the Palestinians, no matter what the context. The news for the last two days has been about threats to US embassies, consulates and so forth and the killing of Americans. But there is absolutely no US government presence anywhere in Gaza. Moreover, Hamas has never killed or even injured an American. But the Times feels it must highlight a handful of Hamas “supporters” burning an American flag — something that more than a few Americans have been know to do over the years. But I suspect many Times’ readers were led to believe that Hamas is taking part in the violence against American facilities and Americans. Yes, Hamas, and by extension, Palestinians, want to kill Americans. Mission accomplished, New York Times.
OK, so in itself a minor insult. But also gratuitous. And frequent. It seems that many of your regulars cannot post a comment in disagreement without an unnecessary backhand.
If you really want this place to be something other than an echo chamber you should work to change the tone and climate.
============================================
Cliff says:
January 10, 2013 at 1:57 pm
Yea mondonut, the Mandate of Palestine was mostly Palestinian Arab.
What gave Zionist Jews and the British the right to divide the land and give the best parts (and slightly more) to Jewish colonists?
Practice what you preach, Zionist tool.
The comments policy should be amended to reflect the fact that the editors wish to exclude letters that do not help the discussion. The updated policy regarding editing should be included in the comments policy.
yonah, not sure what kind of letters you mean but wrt exclusions that ‘do not help the discussion’ there’s this:
we are not interested in commenters whose only aim is to disrupt or sabotage the discussion.
@Annie I agree with yf that sometimes comments get delayed if they are not in line with the objectives of the post. I know that when I post obtuse or brief or skeptical (sarcastic?) comments, they are delayed or moderated.
What I don’t agree with yf about is that any of that matters even one little bit.
Keep on doing what you’re doing.
annie- If i keep a copy (from now on) of all my excluded comments, will you verify that they were excluded because my only aim was to disrupt or sabotage?
yonah, i just took a little trip to the trash pile on the hunch this might be related to some message close to your heart that didn’t make it thru today.
a little tip for you. the next time you post a comment, for example (hypothetically of course!) ‘I want to say a word in defense of Meir Kahane…..not the this Meir Kahane who does yada yada yada or that Meir Kahane who does yada yada yada etc but the Meir Kahane who said this and that,’ i would just turn around, look for your thinking cap, put it on and figure how to say whatever it is you want to say, another way.
and the next time you get that urge to denigrate one of our valued contributors by calling him a demagogue (not once but several times in one comment) go over and post it on stand with us, because we probably won’t be publishing it on mondoweiss.
see ya!
Could someone at Mondoweiss please tell me why the two comments I posted this morning have been “awaiting moderation” all day, one since 8:39 AM?
If they violate your policy please tell me how. If you simply don’t like my face, please tell me why. This isn’t the first time it’s happened, nor the first time I’ve asked for an explanation.
Thank you.
yeah, comments come in faster than staff moderates. mornings staff work on getting drafts up, so moderation is slow. what thread are they on. i think all the threads have many unmoderated comments.
They’re up now, thanks.
your welcome. in the future if you leave a note below them (using the reply function to the unmoderated comment)it becomes easier to find the comment. there’s no way to check for unmoderated comments by a poster’s name.
“If you simply don’t like my face”
It’s nothing personal, Walker. Everyone loves me, and yet I had one that waited nearly a week to be moderated! Right now have several that have been waiting at least two days.
I know it is frustrating to see a comment remain in limbo until everyone has forgotten about the topic you were commenting on (and doubly frustrating when your comments are as brilliant and incisive as mine) but there just don’t seem to be enough moderators to get through them all.
Perhaps Phil and Adam could get some funding from AIPAC to hire more moderators. If not, the only recourse is patience.
Builds character.
True, but makes it hard to carry on a conversation.
I’m guessing the way that moderations is set up is on a per-article basis rather than with a dashboard of comments to be reviewed that lists from oldest to newest. So some comments are falling through the cracks.
annie ~ perhaps you and Phil can request your developer add some kind of alert system where if a comment remains unmoderated for, say 24h, moderators are sent a notice by email or on screen in the moderator’s area.
I feel your pain. It is one thing to throw pearls before the swine, but to throw them just to have them linger in the inbox of the moderators is painful indeed.
Clearly, someone has to moderate is there is such a policy, and the policy is justified by the goals of this site. I thought that there could be a fundraiser for the stipend for the moderators.
Moreover, many sites have that problem and commercial sites like newspaper have efficient methods. I think that the good approach is like that: very quick and superficial review of a post, and a “complain” button. Posts with complains can be reviewed again and removed.
i would urge concerned readers to email both adam and phil and let them know you’d appreciate their attention directed towards resolving the timeliness of comment moderation. we were going to be dealing with this soon a few months ago, a couple months ago, a month ago, a few weeks ago, a couple weeks ago, last week and then again this week.
alas, we get distracted with other urgent issues. i have confidence at the pace we’re going things will get more streamlined sometime soon, this year, or next, or within the decade.
Or, annie, you can institute a “pay up and play” system. Like you can have a “trusted commenter” system, for those who are “never ever bad”, a “semi-trusted commenter” for those who are suspected of having occasional bound-overstepping tendencies, a “could-be trusted commenter” for those (like me?) who are tempted to throw a good rant now and then, during which period they cannot be trusted with anything at all, not even with the cats, and an “always moderate” group who are in perpetual purgatory (ie, give them a finger and they take the whole arm). the system can be infused with extra cleverness by instituting a “penalty box’. If a “trusted’ commenter is found to over-step the mark, they will be sentences to an entire day of moderating comments on MW. If a “semi-trusted” one does so, lower them a rank and put them on probation, or send to a re-education camp where they learn the art of avoiding run-on sentences, till they shape up.
Joking aside (which is what the above was), I can imagine what a thankless task moderation must be for this site. Now and then I notice something slipping through the cracks – usually while high on ziocaine. Once I thought a comment or two of mine should have been [kind of] moderated – at least enough to put in a a few periods (note: I never forget the commas, but do now and then get carried away with adjectives).
Anyways, I am with RoHa and would be game for having a special fund-raiser for moderators, to include a part-time psychologist to treat PTSD. or it could be used for one of those specialty softwares that at least filter out the worst trolls. I do understand that MW can attract the many waywards out there, looking to get their daily kick. And one wouldn’t want to see the comment section degenerate into endless bickering and one-liner retorts. The latter have certainly been culled in the past year thanks to the time delay, but there seems to have been a price to pay….
danaa, we are not at a loss for ideas or plans. in fact i keep hearing how it’s going to be improved shortly.
i have probably written at least 100 emails regarding streamlining the comment moderation over the last 6 months. how many have you written?
Comments on threads are now being curtailed after a story has been up only for a few days.
How about some disclosure here?
Those who post on Mondoweiss and sustain it get treated very poorly indeed.
No proper avenue with which to communicate with moderators, authors and other commenters.
No transparency.
is there a particular thread you are referencing?
One in particular Alex Kane’s “Boston bombings unleash a new wave of Islamophobia” which has only been up for 5 days. I have seen this happening with other postings as well.
mayhem, i have no idea why the comments on that thread were turned off and wasn’t even aware of it until now. a decision of that gravity only comes from up top, not moderators. write adam and phil, their emails are on the about page.
i can reveal from past experience threads have been turned off as a result of email complaints about a discussion that call attention to a particular thread. adam and phil are busy guys and often do not have time to follow the thread discussions, unless and until we get complaints. then they check them out and sometimes delete already published stuff. (iow, you may not find the offending comments by reviewing the thread). i’ll add the lion’s share of email complaints i have been privy to come from pro zionist advocates.
annie: i’ll add the lion’s share of email complaints i have been privy to come from pro zionist advocates
As I’d expect. That’s been the case from time immemorial for any blog that deals with I/P issues. there’s mainly one side that resents too much truthfullness, and is easily offended at the drop of a hat. the worst complaints usually come from those on the side of the greater power in the real world. That’s true on almost any issue where ordinary people aim to take on some PTB. I’ve seen that most recently on established energy blogs that critique say, fracking, or big agri-business.. It’s usually the side that seeks to defend potentially harmful practices that complains the most about commenting rebel rousers poking holes in the officially-sanctioned propaganda.
Lazy Mayhem.
Did you ever think to look on the ABOUT page at the top of every page. There are 7 different email addresses, 6 different twitter addresses and a postal address.
What about the CONTACT page at the bottom of every page? There is message window there.
PS Have you “sustained” Mondoweiss lately by donating financially?
Exactly.
Have you donated to MW?
There is no comparable anti-Zionist community commenting on a Zionist blog.
MW is unique in that sense (Zionist commentators posting on a anti-/post-Zionist blog/website).
You come here to vent/discuss/rant like the rest of us but have you donated to the site to ‘sustain’ it as you imply YOU have simply by being you?
Sumud
هل أنت العربي
?
gamal ~ no.
thanks
لماذا؟ ما يهم
إذا كان العربي الذي يجعل من بشكل ملحوظ أكثر فعالية من
An interesting proposition – I should pay a subscription to a site that obliterates most of the posts that I try to make.
I should pay for the opportunity to be abused!
And Sumud thanks for the email addresses that facilitate one-way communication. I have an email address that I provided when I joined MW, but not once I have received any communication from MW. I can’t see an email address there for the moderators – those faceless, nameless people who control the complexion of MW.
Annie Robbins says:
April 25, 2013 at 1:46 am
“is there a particular thread you are referencing?”
are you being serious – i would say that 50% of my comments make it through
why is that i rarely post anything controversial-are you overworked ? underpaid ? image problem ?underfed ?or do i simply not make the grade
tell what i will swap you a free farmers prophecy if you allow 75% of my posts through
fair deal ?
mcohen, hmm, what can i say. there’s a lot code stuff going on about winds and storm or something. not sure if it’s end of times talk or what. try not ‘going there’ or at least explain what you are referencing because we’re not interested in comments with stuff inserted moderators can’t understand.
Annie Robbins says:
April 25, 2013 at 12:08 pm
“comments with stuff inserted moderators can’t understand.”
what the farmers prophecies-i thought i was quite lucidational-
take “wave of sand”
chomsky visits gaza -hurricane sandy
sandy hook massacre
obama,s last day in israel-dust storms
boston marathon
bds before american congress-earthquake in california
and so on……………..
You Don’t Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows,
however i might donate-if you had paypal
farmers prophecies- “wave of sand”
link to google.com
of course, harry potter..why didn’t i think of that?
mchosen, I regularly have comments ‘disappeared’ (I wouldn’t say anything like 50%, but i’m not counting either) or take days for seemingly innocuous statements to be published. if you’re suggesting that you and yours are being singled out for special treatment, that’s not the case.
Some of the comments I post go up fairly promptly, while others take much longer or do not appear at all. Is the difference due purely to a backlog of work, or are comments screened beyond your contents policy as stated above? I do not see a pattern; everything I say offends someone; if it didn’t there would be no point in saying it.