On the matter of my apology to Syed Soharwardy...
[...]
The comments that prompted the human rights complaint appeared on an un-moderated blog, posted anonymously by someone who was not a Western Standard staffer or freelancer. I removed the comments when they were brought to my attention as they were offensive and did nothing to advance genuine discussion or enhance the reputation of the Western Standard. And I apologized to Syed Soharwardy as I am ultimately responsible for comments made on this forum, and, again, those comments were indefensible.
Just as the Western Standard magazine content was edited, the Western Standard website content will be edited. We simply want to provide our readers and advertisers with the best product we can.
Moderating the comments on our website will also protect the Western Standard from unfair attacks. For example, as online reader "OBC" noted, tonight we were forced to ban an IP address with 6 user names. This individual was actively working to discredit the Western Standard with anti-Semitic and racists comments that would never have come from any of the thousands of thoughtful readers who visit us online. I removed the comments and reported the IP address to our webmaster.
Kudos.
One point I should like to make, though, concerns the notion that the WS' new editor Matthew Johnston removed the comments "when they were brought to my attention". This is not a particularly credible claim. As Mr. Soharwardy has pointed out, the comments in question remained posted for more than two weeks, and as anyone who has posted to the Shotgun Blog can tell you, while perhaps their forums are technically speaking unmoderated, if the editors want your comments gone, they will be deleted within minutes.
But that aside, Mr. Johnston's actions are a necessary first step if the new editors want their product to be taken seriously beyond the ghetto of far right kooks that currently hover over the WS website. There ARE in fact areas where a Conservative critique can serve as a useful corrective to main-stream thinking, but only if their authors cannot be summarily dismissed as lunatics. I look forward to the day when this is the case at The Western Standard.
16 comments:
My own view is that the Western Standard brand is hazmat. Even if they manage to make themselves into a respectable operation some Liberal asshat blogger will be able to pull dozens of outright genocidal comments from Google cache to discredit them. Oh well, I guess they will find out the hard way...
How disappointing. When I read the title of the post I had thought maybe the were burning their headquarters down and abandoning ship altogether.
Just another whitewash.
We'll see. I don't need The Western Standard to find out about real and principled conservatism or Conservatism. And the weaknesses and failures of bad ideas supported by any political world-view reveal themselves easily and are discussed everywhere, mostly by liberals.
What The Western Standard is trying to do is to make complicated issues simple for simple-minded people and that has failure built right into it.
The first thing I'd do is can The Shotgun altogether. Why does "Liz J." (and any number of other online rightwing fixtures) need yet another outlet in which to express her chronic dyspepsia? It's just the same commentary, over and over again.
This is on the whole a positive development. Think FD will follow?
If they survive their libel suit, I would imagine. But that's a totally different kettle of fish.
Heh. No amount of comment moderation is going to improve the tone of that place, given that this is the standard to which these Westerners strive:
wallyj -
Down here in America we have the long tradition of admiring true heros who we call our Founding Fathers.
That is a powerful force (pride and honor) in battles such as this.
It often seems lonely and worthless to fight for mere words and ideals.
But when you think of your effort in terms of Truth, which it is, and Honor and Pride of home and family and community and nation, ALL FREE from fear and maintained strong and free by each member pulling on an oar, moving the boat forward, it can keep you going.
The destructive forces among us have terrible plans which separate and eradicate our families and even end the concept of children. That is a total disconnect from the future, and those same advocates of destruction of the family are the UNION TEACHERS who cut off the connection with history (you almost cannot find an American History course in our universities anymore).
This is NOT accidental. You may very soon find out how valuable it might be to post anonymously.
Lest I neglect to deliver the complete message, it is Communism my friends, in the Democrat Party down here and all your Leftist "liberals" up there. Communism = Atheist, Socialist Totalitarianism.
It's bad enough when Yanks lecture us, but it's really beyond the pale when droogs like that get the impression that they have something valuable to share with The Shotgun community.
The Western Standard has never been read or supported except by a tiny minority of people. WS has always been a fringe magazine, hardly representative of mainstream Convservative thought.
BCL, how about a blog on Quebec's Commission on Accommodation Practices Related to Cultural Differences? The issues or race, racism and tolerance (or lack thereof) that are coming out there are of much more importance.
Neither the Globe and Mail or National Post have given this Commission much press at all.
Interestingly, the New York Times saw the issue important enough to cover.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/23/world/americas/23canada.html?ref=world
- Paul S
Neither the Globe and Mail or National Post have given this Commission much press at all.
172 hits
Teh Google is your friend.
"This is on the whole a positive development. Think FD will follow?"
Speaking of asshat Liberal bloggers drooling at the prospect of playing gotcha with Google cache :-). How are things at the CBC these days Buckets?
I wish it were just playing gotcha with google cache. I actually subscribe to The Globe and read it six days a week.
The press that Quebec's Commission on Accommodation Practices Related to Cultural Differences has received has been remarkably tame. Almost no outrage or condemnation.
Instead of disussing this elephant in the room, BCL highlights the Western Standard instead.
Interesting focus.
- Paul S
Paul,
The recommendations to the Commission right now are just recommendations. They are quite revolting, and hypocritical, and I frankly suspect the whole thing will be allowe to die when nobody is looking. If anything were to get close to being actual law, I would probably write something about it (although I have written quite a lot on the whole hijab-in-Quebec issue).
On the other hand, it would be hilarious to see something enshrining the equality of the sexes passed, and then used against the Catholic Church.
BCL:
"I frankly suspect the whole thing will be allowed to die when nobody is looking."
Exactly, here is an official government commission uncovering instance after instance of odious racism and you and others just want to ignore it until it goes away.
Challenge racism? Forget it! Too close to home. Whistle long enough and it will disappear.
But the unimportant and non-influential Western Reporter? Now that's news.
Your lack of concern about equality in no religion except Catholicism also demonstrates tunnel vision on your part BCL.
Anyways, Merry Xmas to all, even ti-guy.
- Paul S
"Anyways, Merry Xmas to all, even ti-guy."
The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes...
I'm truly blessed by your peevish rejoinder to "Merry Christmas."
ti-guy, of all people you should be able to understand some gentle ribbing.
Merry Christmas . . . really.
- Paul S
Merry Christmas . . . really.
Don't. Bother. Seriously. I can survive quite well without showy (and phony) expressions of good will.
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