'Burn A Koran Day' Church's Website Gets Pulled By Rackspace

TechCrunch:

Surely by now you've heard of the Dove World Outreach Center, the Florida church that plans to hold a "Koran burning day" on September 11, the nine year anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Pretty much nobody think it's a good idea, from Palin to Obama, from Gen. Petraeus to the FBI. Now involved: Rackspace. Yes, the popular Web host has pulled the plug on the church's Web site, citing a violation in its service's "hate-speech provision of [its] acceptable-use policy."

Read the whole story: TechCrunch

Comments

[iamvalid]

12:36 PM on 09/12/2010

I see the south is still rising.

[JKennedy]

12:58 PM on 09/11/2010

All this talk here about net neutrality - the Huffington Post is one of the most heavily censored blogs online. Hasn't it ever occurred to any of you why you never see any comments that that are way different than yours? For example if someone has a highly negative opinion of Pres. Obama it will never see the light of day on this blog. All your comments aren't connecting with anyone in the real world, except people that think like you do. It's the equivalent of talking to yourself. So enjoy your little closed community delusion.

[Toonguy]

03:01 PM on 09/11/2010

Nothing that you say makes any sense. First of all, net neutrality is about making sure all people have access to the same internet at the same speeds and that service providers do not relegate certain content providers to the "backwoods" of cyberspace because they have less clout. It has nothing at all to do with the content that those content providers deliver. HP is not the government and they have no obligation to run their site in a way that pleases you. If you wish the government to force them to do so, well then the government will be doing the same to sites that you favor. You might not like the change you see.

[Truth In Voting]

08:24 PM on 09/10/2010

Yes, Terry Jones has every right to act like a village idiot.

Rackspace also has the right not to let him use them as a channel to express those rights.

Rackspace is under no obligation to host speech it doesn't agree with.

Funny how some who hide behind "freedom of speech" and use the 1st Amendment as a shield, complains when the privately-owned Rackspace uses the 1st Amendment as well. Terry Jones is free "speak" whatever he wants to say, but no media channel is under any obligation to be the medium to help him disseminate his message.

:)

[HoldenLitgo]

03:27 PM on 09/10/2010

No shoes, no shirt, no service. And oh, yeah... no hate speech.

[runtwelds]

01:48 PM on 09/10/2010

It's not a violation of this kook's free speech, if he can read, perhaps the disclaimer against hate speech was posted when the site was published.

[duckzilla]

02:03 PM on 09/11/2010

The constitution doesn't guarantee the right to a website. Web hosts, just as newspapers , TV channels and magazines are privately owned, and are not required to display any media they choose not too. The man still has his freedom of speech and can say whatever they want, but the Web Host still has it's freedom of press and can display any media it wants to.

[TTEchidna]

05:32 PM on 09/11/2010

It's not like he can't host the site himself if he truly wanted to so bad. It's more costly, sure, but that never stopped anyone.

[duckzilla]

02:04 PM on 09/11/2010

BTW, I forgot to mention i agree with you. I don't want my comment to come of as opposition to what you said

[Angelus2007]

01:32 PM on 09/10/2010

While I completely disagree with this guy, and think he is nuts. If we want real net neutrality we shouldn't be shutting him down. We can't be hypocritical if we want real net neutrality.

[docbungle]

03:35 PM on 09/10/2010

This kook could actually be putting us in danger. As well publicized as this event is, there are protests in the middle-east about it. All we need is a bunch of backwoods hatemongers shouting "Bring it On!" on national television. The only possible outcome is more hate, more xenophobia, more insanity.

[Angelus2007]

06:01 PM on 09/10/2010

First off that doesn't change the fact he has every right to do it. Hate speech is protected speech, and if we want net neutrality to mirror our printed and spoken speech, that should be no different.

Secondly, the irony is the fact he may be putting us in danger shows how irrational islamic radicals are. If the mere burning of a book by one guy and his chuch can rile up large protests overseas show how insane many of these radicals are. If some mosque in Istanbul was burning bibles, would there be Christian protests all over the U.S.? I doubt it.

[Toonguy]

03:07 PM on 09/11/2010

Net neutrality has nothing to do with the content provided on any given site.

Additionally, when Jones decided to put up his website, he entered into a contractual agreement with a private business. His actions constituted a breech of contract. Since he agreed to those terms, he cannot now say that they are treating him unfairly.

[booker52]

11:24 AM on 09/10/2010

Now the media needs to quit giving this bozo media time.

[Perry Clease]

06:29 PM on 09/10/2010

Spot on! They created this monster.

[Madmac]

10:57 AM on 09/10/2010

Don't mess with the Geeks or The Acceptable Use Policy. It'll be enforced every time

[Conk]

09:39 AM on 09/10/2010

What is hate speech? Isn't it just an opinion? A thought? Hate speech laws or policies are just more devisiveness and serve no real purpose. And it should never be against the law to have an opinion. There are people in jail for having one. It's absurd.

For the record I think these church people are angry, unhappy haters and need a little injection of the real teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus, a man who if alive today would likely frown upon this church's actions and upon churches in general.

[Cryostatic]

01:07 PM on 09/10/2010

It's not against the law for these guys to have an opinion. But it is against their web hosting provider's terms of use.

[GeorgieMark]

09:39 AM on 09/10/2010

Despite my revulsion towards this particular brand of religious nuttiness I say that democracy's inherit tolerance can even accommodate such twisted personas as Terry Jones and his roving band of baboons.

The article cites that the website was removed by rackspace because the website was in violation of a clause in the contract that forbids the use of rackspace services to promote hate speech. If this is the case, rackspace should have acted a lot sooner, but better late than never!

If on the other hand the anti-hate speech clause does not exist and rackspace acted on impulse then they are liable for suppressing the baboons leader's right to freedom of speech.

[Toonguy]

03:09 PM on 09/11/2010

The article does not state at what point the site started promoting the burning or how soon the company became aware of it.

[Quizmos]

08:46 AM on 09/10/2010

Does anyone know what time on Saturday this guy will pull the trigger on our sons and daughters serving in Iraq?

[Gohatto]

08:43 PM on 09/09/2010

And the will not get rid of GODHATESFAGS.com These are people who protest at soldiers funerals and make a mockery of the US Armed Services.

[Riyter]

03:28 PM on 09/10/2010

Those people are so offensive!!

[TTEchidna]

05:40 PM on 09/11/2010

Is that actually hosted on Rackspace, though? Those dumbasses could have their own servers, you know. Most of their visits come from people still in disbelief that the site exists...

[GerryS]

08:33 PM on 09/09/2010

fool can not even spell Quran correctly---------------

[henrypapillon]

11:58 PM on 09/09/2010

Actually there area at least 2 ways to spell it in accepted usage.

[Jim Elkins]

09:09 AM on 09/10/2010

Before calling someone a fool...

The Qur’an ([qurˈʔaːn] pronounced koor-AHN; Arabic: القرآن‎ al-qur’ān, literally “the recitation”) is the central religious text of Islam,[1] also sometimes transliterated as Quran, Kuran, Koran, Qur’ān, Coran or al-Qur’ān.

[RJPasadena]

08:10 PM on 09/09/2010

The IRS should revoke his 503 (C) exemption and whatever agency that ordains him as a minister should revoke him as a minister.

[Giverny]

09:55 AM on 09/10/2010

Not all ministers are ordained but self proclaimed.

[nexxtep54]

06:03 PM on 09/09/2010

Take the time to research anf see the name of the book is The Quran.

[roald]

11:02 PM on 09/09/2010

Qur'an. And if he doesn't, another hater will. As Gohatta noted above, see
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/09/09/2211078/topeka-church-says-it-will-burn.html

[rtb61]

06:42 AM on 09/10/2010

If your, going to be nit picky, that sure doesn't look like Arabic to me. Qur'an or Koran http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koran see wikipedia has a foot in both camps. As far as I know each copy must be identical to the original as such it is inappropriate to translate it or even it's title.
Now, would the web site have been pulled in the language associated with the event had not been so hateful, perhaps the international barbecue banger http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banger and marshmallow toasting, "Quran, Kuran, Koran, Qur’ān, Coran or al-Qur’ān" cook out, promoting tolerance by mocking intolerance, "Palestinians In Nativity Church
Used Bibles As Toilet Paper" http://www.rense.com/general25/bibles.htm, it seems that intolerance is shared by all religious extremists.