Shalom uBeracha from Milano,
This is the continuation of my correspondence with wordpress, which has not yet responded nor reinstated the blog, nor even put a link to this new one or quoted the offending (so they say) post, which they could have just removed and told me about, instead of destroying hundred of hours of my work and smearing me without giving me a chance to defend myself, with an
accusation of theft.
I would appreciate your reaction to the following correspondence I have had with Wordpress which shut down my blog (whose ratings were decently rising) with a spurious claim of copyright infringement after two articles on Obama were hacked and graphically scrambled.
Please note that I tried to email this message also to David Brown and Lee Feldman but as soon as I typed their URL as specified in the Incisive Media website I got the "Address not recognized" message and the computer froze, in a way which makes me suspect an active intrusion.
So here is my censorship case:
Hi,Your blog consists entirely of scraped content. Providing a by-line and a link an unspecific link does not permit your blog to simply post content taken from other sources. We had a WordPress.com user (who you stole content from) report your blog, and as such, it was deactivated.Best,AnthonyAutomattic WordPress.com
Shalom Anthony, Nice to find out after the fact; should I not have been asked first by you or whoever complained? (90 % of the blogs I see are aggregations of items first posted elsewhere, and many of them are on Wordpress.
I am learning as I go along, and for instance a few hours before the deactivation, I sent the following letter to another blogger, asking for such a clarification: cflanagan@businessinnovationfactory.com
dateMon, Sep 15, 2008 at 8:47 PM
subject Shalom and Blessings from the Pizza Rebbe
mailed-bygmail.com 8:47 PM (13 hours ago)
Reply
Peace and Jerusalem's Blessings Chris, I am happy that you got in touch, even as I postpone the pleasure of reading the story about someone I honestly admire, in order to catch my plane to Italy.
Will be all over European Union, including ECOC in Brussels; had to miss IBC in Amsterdam for lack of available time.
I just want to tell you that I really enjoy your blog, and would like to know what is your copyright/straight/left about its contents; unless it is clear to me that it's OK to repost, for which I always quote the source, I generally post the first two or three paragraphs and end with a link to the rest of the story at its source.
As you might know by now, I am an inventor and social activist, artist, etc...so if I find myself near Providence, I would really like a chance to say hello in person; likewise, should you plan to visit the Holy Land, please allow me to properly welcome you by giving me a bit of advance notice.
So in the meantime I will post your comment as it is, and when I hear from you again and am more informed, will parse your blog's content for items o share with my readers.
Lately, I posted a number of articles to support the McCain/Palin ticket, and in those pieces, where I felt that the writer's intention is the same as mine, rather than just sell the stuff, I chose to quote in full, to spread a message I rated useful.
But I'll be so glad it's over when it finally is; the whole world is holding its breath at the circus instead of mending the nation's trousers' torn back seam; and in the meantime those who understand what is really going on in the economy have the mike cut off.
Warmest regards,
Eliahu Gal-Or - The Pizza Rebbe:
So why should I not know what mistake I made in order to rectify it?
the unspecific link is meant to generate more traffic to the source's homepage and show more content, but is generally followed by a specific link at the end of the article; I said generally because I may have missed it sometime.
Still, if I had known that I should not have posted the content in question I would have not posted it, and I feel that if not then, at least now I should be informed of the content's source so that I will not use it again.
So in the meantime Pizzarebbe will be at a new address, and as soon as I can, since I am now traveling, I will take my wordpress content and clear each item with its source before reposting it in its new home, as I will with every new item follwing this ugly experience.
The very purpose of a blog is, aside from personal musings and, where the setup allows, being a vehicle for paid ads, to share and publicize content one agrees with, and whose impact one wishes to increase.
In my case, as I said in my previous response, it is to see McCain/Palin elected, therefore I will continue to blog in their favor, which may lead to complaints by Obama supporters as well, but if a blog is closed another will open, so the losers are only those who toss the traffic out the window out of excessive zeal, AKA asskissing; due process is a keystone of American Justice, and I did deserve at least a warning and a request to remove the offending post, which could in any case have been withdrawn in the meantime by wordpress itself.
Having said theat, I would still prefer to remain on wordpress and make whatever due amends are required, besides scrupulously abiding to a policy of prior verification of content's source's reposting rights policy.
Please answer soon.
Best regards,
Eliahu Gal-Or - the Pizza Rebbe
יום שישי, 19 בספטמבר 2008
יום שני, 15 בספטמבר 2008
Obama Comes Up In Investigation
From the Philadelphia Bulletin
The IRS has expanded the investigation into Florida internet evangelist Bill Keller of Liveprayer, to now include comments Mr. Keller made about the faith of Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
In February of this year, the IRS launched an investigation into whether Mr. Keller violated his ministries tax exempt status when he declared "a vote for (Mitt) Romney is a vote for Satan." Mr. Keller defended those comments, stating that he has never told anyone who to or not to vote for or ever endorsed a candidate, but used that phrase in context to warn people that following the teachings of the Mormon cult will lead a person's soul to hell.
Mr. Keller is clearly frustrated by the expansion of the IRS' investigation, stating that he and his attorneys complied fully with their request for extensive documents and clarification on his comments about Mr. Romney back in February. He had anticipated getting a clean bill of health from the IRS by this time since the issue was pretty simple, they either feel he did or did
not violate his exemption by making those comments. Instead, Mr. Keller received a whole new package of requests for documents and questions to be answered, stating that the IRS had been unable to resolve if in fact he had violated his exemption. The new questions all had to do with comments made by Mr. Keller about the faith of Sens. Obama and Clinton
Keller stated, "Senators Obama and Clinton have been in the public, aggressively promoting that they were people of faith. Obama especially, has had a clear strategy to promote himself as a Christian. I have every right and responsibility under my exemption to deal with their statements and educate the public on these issues. You certainly can't expect a Biblically illiterate press to hold them accountable on these issues, especially when they lie to the public about their beliefs."
Mr. Keller added, "The fact is, I have also spoken about Sen. McCain's statements about his faith. The problem the IRS has is that I have been consistent in speaking out on these spiritual issues regarding ALL political candidates who have chosen to make their faith an issue."
The expansion of Mr. Keller's activities comes in the wake of an effort by a Christian advocacy groups plan to test a U.S. legal prohibition on clergy endorsing candidates from the pulpit
The Alliance Defense Fund maintains that the ban is unconstitutional and plans to try to make its point by having several pastors violate the Internal Revenue Service rule Sept. 28. Keller does not agree with the ADF strategy, stating that pastors have every right to speak out on the
spiritual issues of the day, even dealing specifically with political candidates, without telling people who to or not to vote for or endorsing anyone.
Some of the questions both the media and the IRS will have trouble answering are obvious. First, Mr. Keller never said not to vote for Mr. Romney, rather he only said which realm of the spirit a vote for Mr. Romney would benefit. Secondly, why is Mr. Keller being investigated when a plethora of churches have publicly announced their choices for candidates before their congregants and some well known ministers have also announced their choices of specific presidential hopefuls? Why shouldn't Bill Keller and any other ministers and ministries see this as an effort on the part of the IRS to keep clergy from speaking out on anything to do with politics? Must ministries give up first amendment rights to retain a 501-C (3)status?
What do Bill and other ministers really think of the ADF (Alliance Defense Fund) method of dealing with this investigation and what are some of the possible ramifications if they are successful?
Lastly, what will Bill Keller actually do if they decide against him? What will become of the ministries he has spent years developing. These looming questions are on the minds of quite a few other clergy as well and it is a controversy that we will certainly hear more about in the upcoming days.
Rev Michael Bresciani is an author of An American Prophet and His Message and columnist for several online and print publications. For articles on life, politics, news, current events, movie and book reviews visit http://www.americanprophet.org.
The IRS has expanded the investigation into Florida internet evangelist Bill Keller of Liveprayer, to now include comments Mr. Keller made about the faith of Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
In February of this year, the IRS launched an investigation into whether Mr. Keller violated his ministries tax exempt status when he declared "a vote for (Mitt) Romney is a vote for Satan." Mr. Keller defended those comments, stating that he has never told anyone who to or not to vote for or ever endorsed a candidate, but used that phrase in context to warn people that following the teachings of the Mormon cult will lead a person's soul to hell.
Mr. Keller is clearly frustrated by the expansion of the IRS' investigation, stating that he and his attorneys complied fully with their request for extensive documents and clarification on his comments about Mr. Romney back in February. He had anticipated getting a clean bill of health from the IRS by this time since the issue was pretty simple, they either feel he did or did
not violate his exemption by making those comments. Instead, Mr. Keller received a whole new package of requests for documents and questions to be answered, stating that the IRS had been unable to resolve if in fact he had violated his exemption. The new questions all had to do with comments made by Mr. Keller about the faith of Sens. Obama and Clinton
Keller stated, "Senators Obama and Clinton have been in the public, aggressively promoting that they were people of faith. Obama especially, has had a clear strategy to promote himself as a Christian. I have every right and responsibility under my exemption to deal with their statements and educate the public on these issues. You certainly can't expect a Biblically illiterate press to hold them accountable on these issues, especially when they lie to the public about their beliefs."
Mr. Keller added, "The fact is, I have also spoken about Sen. McCain's statements about his faith. The problem the IRS has is that I have been consistent in speaking out on these spiritual issues regarding ALL political candidates who have chosen to make their faith an issue."
The expansion of Mr. Keller's activities comes in the wake of an effort by a Christian advocacy groups plan to test a U.S. legal prohibition on clergy endorsing candidates from the pulpit
The Alliance Defense Fund maintains that the ban is unconstitutional and plans to try to make its point by having several pastors violate the Internal Revenue Service rule Sept. 28. Keller does not agree with the ADF strategy, stating that pastors have every right to speak out on the
spiritual issues of the day, even dealing specifically with political candidates, without telling people who to or not to vote for or endorsing anyone.
Some of the questions both the media and the IRS will have trouble answering are obvious. First, Mr. Keller never said not to vote for Mr. Romney, rather he only said which realm of the spirit a vote for Mr. Romney would benefit. Secondly, why is Mr. Keller being investigated when a plethora of churches have publicly announced their choices for candidates before their congregants and some well known ministers have also announced their choices of specific presidential hopefuls? Why shouldn't Bill Keller and any other ministers and ministries see this as an effort on the part of the IRS to keep clergy from speaking out on anything to do with politics? Must ministries give up first amendment rights to retain a 501-C (3)status?
What do Bill and other ministers really think of the ADF (Alliance Defense Fund) method of dealing with this investigation and what are some of the possible ramifications if they are successful?
Lastly, what will Bill Keller actually do if they decide against him? What will become of the ministries he has spent years developing. These looming questions are on the minds of quite a few other clergy as well and it is a controversy that we will certainly hear more about in the upcoming days.
Rev Michael Bresciani is an author of An American Prophet and His Message and columnist for several online and print publications. For articles on life, politics, news, current events, movie and book reviews visit http://www.americanprophet.org.
And Barack Came Down The Mountain
From the Philadelphia Bulletin
And he walked among the people ... no longer walking above them. He saw that he was not the only idol ... and Sarah and John walked among the people too. The people rejoiced and their joy for Sarah and John angered Barack. The heavens shook with his anger ... and he railed against the pigs who wore lipstick and the fish that stank. His wrath knew no bounds ... and he went from praising audacity to alleging duplicity ... and he no longer wished to build bridges ... they went nowhere ... he would no longer tear down walls ... that could expose him. He declared his word was not to be questioned, challenged or ignored. As Eve took Adam out of the garden, so Sarah has brought Barack down from the mountain.
Barack Obama is now among us. Rather than the image of a noble, sophisticated, Ivy league lawyer ready to serve, we are seeing a petulant, narcissistic, ambitious and inexperienced politician who can't handle criticism, competition or calls for clarity.
The questions now confronting us go beyond his inexperience ... they go to his temperament, his demeanor and his judgment under fire. We must now ask whether his judgment will be faulty based not only on his inexperience but also on his inability to be challenged. We must consider carefully what the next president will be facing.
Two critical issues facing the next president clearly show what could happen.The government of Iran has repeatedly defied the United Nations as well as the United States by continuing its effort to develop nuclear reactors capable of producing bomb grade fissionable material. Limited sanctions imposed by the U.N., (honored in the breach by many of its members) has had no impact on the Iranians. Mr. Obama has declared that if elected president, he would go to Iran and meet with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with no preconditions.
Jimmy Carter also made that offer. Mr. Carter offered to meet with the Ayatollah Khomeni to secure the freedom of the American hostages held in Teheran. Their response was to keep them locked up. U.S. diplomats were held hostage for 444 days from Nov. 4, 1979 to Jan. 20, 1981 in the capital city of Iran at what was the American embassy. The hostage-taking was widely seen as an outrage violating international law regarding diplomatic immunity. This disregard for traditional diplomatic protocols has continued uninterrupted since the Muslim clerics took over Iran 29 years ago.
Mr. Obama claims that when he becomes president, he will modify their behaviors by force of his charisma, wisdom and vast experience in matters of state. In almost 30 years, no diplomatic undertaking has succeeded with the Muslim clerics who rule Iran. How will Mr. Obama react when Ahmadinejad not only rejects his entreaties, but mocks him, as they have done with other American presidents? Will he throw a tantrum? Will he refer to pigs and lipstick or smelly fish in defining Iran's defiance? On the other hand, consider what John McCain, navy pilot, war hero and U.S. senator for over twenty years has said about Iran's intentions. "... new severe sanctions with substantive economic consequences must be put in place. Iran must be told unequivocally, failure to cease the development of a nuclear bomb reactor would put them at risk of military action ..." No equivocation, just plain talk shaped by experience.
How about our energy crisis? The United States is currently dependent to a great extent on foreign oil for its energy needs. Both candidates agree that alternative sources of energy must be developed within the U.S. to make us independent of foreign, sometimes hostile nations.
Mr. Obama proposes a comprehensive program of government funded and supported research for the development of alternative energy sources. At the same time however, he also proposes an increase in the capital gains tax, an increase in the dividend tax, an increase in corporate taxes and no investment tax credits to industry based on capital investment in alternative energy. What businessman is going to commit shareholder money to investment if the outcome of this investment is higher punitive taxes? Mr. Obama's plan wouldn't pass Economics 101 . Will he stomp his feet and call in the CEO's of the Fortune 500 demanding their compliance with his plan regardless of the consequences to their shareholders and employees? Mr. McCain, on the other hand, is proposing a comprehensive energy development plan which enlists business and academia in a Manhattan Project type of undertaking ... with incentives, support and coordination.
In the coming days of this campaign, the polls will show the true sentiments of the American voter. They will not be influenced by media bias, show business staging or rock star road shows. Mr. Obama obviously knows his personal deficits. He has refused to meet with Mr. McCain in a series of town hall meetings across America. He has refused to abide by his earlier commitment to limiting his fund raising by accepting the constraints of the Campaign Finance law. He vehemently continues to challenge any examination of his friendships and early career experiences and characterizes such efforts as personal attacks and dirty campaigning. You can bet the house, our international adversaries can't wait for him to get to the White House.
Abe Bernstein is a retired business executive. He can be reached at abebernstein@e-datasend.com.
And he walked among the people ... no longer walking above them. He saw that he was not the only idol ... and Sarah and John walked among the people too. The people rejoiced and their joy for Sarah and John angered Barack. The heavens shook with his anger ... and he railed against the pigs who wore lipstick and the fish that stank. His wrath knew no bounds ... and he went from praising audacity to alleging duplicity ... and he no longer wished to build bridges ... they went nowhere ... he would no longer tear down walls ... that could expose him. He declared his word was not to be questioned, challenged or ignored. As Eve took Adam out of the garden, so Sarah has brought Barack down from the mountain.
Barack Obama is now among us. Rather than the image of a noble, sophisticated, Ivy league lawyer ready to serve, we are seeing a petulant, narcissistic, ambitious and inexperienced politician who can't handle criticism, competition or calls for clarity.
The questions now confronting us go beyond his inexperience ... they go to his temperament, his demeanor and his judgment under fire. We must now ask whether his judgment will be faulty based not only on his inexperience but also on his inability to be challenged. We must consider carefully what the next president will be facing.
Two critical issues facing the next president clearly show what could happen.The government of Iran has repeatedly defied the United Nations as well as the United States by continuing its effort to develop nuclear reactors capable of producing bomb grade fissionable material. Limited sanctions imposed by the U.N., (honored in the breach by many of its members) has had no impact on the Iranians. Mr. Obama has declared that if elected president, he would go to Iran and meet with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with no preconditions.
Jimmy Carter also made that offer. Mr. Carter offered to meet with the Ayatollah Khomeni to secure the freedom of the American hostages held in Teheran. Their response was to keep them locked up. U.S. diplomats were held hostage for 444 days from Nov. 4, 1979 to Jan. 20, 1981 in the capital city of Iran at what was the American embassy. The hostage-taking was widely seen as an outrage violating international law regarding diplomatic immunity. This disregard for traditional diplomatic protocols has continued uninterrupted since the Muslim clerics took over Iran 29 years ago.
Mr. Obama claims that when he becomes president, he will modify their behaviors by force of his charisma, wisdom and vast experience in matters of state. In almost 30 years, no diplomatic undertaking has succeeded with the Muslim clerics who rule Iran. How will Mr. Obama react when Ahmadinejad not only rejects his entreaties, but mocks him, as they have done with other American presidents? Will he throw a tantrum? Will he refer to pigs and lipstick or smelly fish in defining Iran's defiance? On the other hand, consider what John McCain, navy pilot, war hero and U.S. senator for over twenty years has said about Iran's intentions. "... new severe sanctions with substantive economic consequences must be put in place. Iran must be told unequivocally, failure to cease the development of a nuclear bomb reactor would put them at risk of military action ..." No equivocation, just plain talk shaped by experience.
How about our energy crisis? The United States is currently dependent to a great extent on foreign oil for its energy needs. Both candidates agree that alternative sources of energy must be developed within the U.S. to make us independent of foreign, sometimes hostile nations.
Mr. Obama proposes a comprehensive program of government funded and supported research for the development of alternative energy sources. At the same time however, he also proposes an increase in the capital gains tax, an increase in the dividend tax, an increase in corporate taxes and no investment tax credits to industry based on capital investment in alternative energy. What businessman is going to commit shareholder money to investment if the outcome of this investment is higher punitive taxes? Mr. Obama's plan wouldn't pass Economics 101 . Will he stomp his feet and call in the CEO's of the Fortune 500 demanding their compliance with his plan regardless of the consequences to their shareholders and employees? Mr. McCain, on the other hand, is proposing a comprehensive energy development plan which enlists business and academia in a Manhattan Project type of undertaking ... with incentives, support and coordination.
In the coming days of this campaign, the polls will show the true sentiments of the American voter. They will not be influenced by media bias, show business staging or rock star road shows. Mr. Obama obviously knows his personal deficits. He has refused to meet with Mr. McCain in a series of town hall meetings across America. He has refused to abide by his earlier commitment to limiting his fund raising by accepting the constraints of the Campaign Finance law. He vehemently continues to challenge any examination of his friendships and early career experiences and characterizes such efforts as personal attacks and dirty campaigning. You can bet the house, our international adversaries can't wait for him to get to the White House.
Abe Bernstein is a retired business executive. He can be reached at abebernstein@e-datasend.com.
A clarification from the Pizza Rebbe
I know it will not happen here, and it has happened elsewhere so I have just found a new home and hopefully I will be found at this new address just as easily if not more so, given Google's power; had I known it I would have started my blog here in the first place.
Granted mistakes do happen, and I am not laying the blame on all of wordpress for one quick-triggered employee who paralyzed my blog on a spurious accusation, wherever it came from, of non-compiance with their advertising policy, whereas all I was doing was vigorously endorsing John McCain and Sarah Palin bid for the White House because they deserve to win and America deserves them.
In a nutshell, it went like this:
Shalom uBeracha Abe,
I have been supporting the McCain/Palin campaign with my blog www.pizzarebbe.wordpress.com and last night I wanted to include your lates article but at login I was surprised by:
=================================================================== This blog has been deactivated because we believe it does not comply with the WordPress.com Terms of Service or advertising policy.
=====================================================================
as of this morning the blog has not been reactivated, and it would be nice if you or anybody else at the Bulletin ran an item about this case.
I was getting rising ratings with the blog, and while I was not a paying customer, it is obvious to me that the blog, which was previously hacked twice when I posted critical articles on Obama, has been messed with by someone on behalf of the Democratic Party, and deserves protection in the name of American Democracy, which means something else altogether, and specifically a fair chance to elect McCain/Palin, based on competence which exists even without the benefit of sending e-mail with war-torn tendons.
"Nuff said, please let me hear from you and please, let Wordpress hear from the Bulletin.
Eliahu Gal-Or - The Pizza Rebbe:
Granted mistakes do happen, and I am not laying the blame on all of wordpress for one quick-triggered employee who paralyzed my blog on a spurious accusation, wherever it came from, of non-compiance with their advertising policy, whereas all I was doing was vigorously endorsing John McCain and Sarah Palin bid for the White House because they deserve to win and America deserves them.
In a nutshell, it went like this:
Shalom uBeracha Abe,
I have been supporting the McCain/Palin campaign with my blog www.pizzarebbe.wordpress.com and last night I wanted to include your lates article but at login I was surprised by:
==============================
If your blog is designed to promote affiliate links, get rich quick programs, banner ads, consists solely or mostly of duplicate or automatically generated material, or is part of a search engine marketing campaign, WordPress.com is not the place for you. Please use the Export feature to move your content to a more appropriate hosting service.
Occasionally we make mistakes. If you believe we have misclassified your blog, please click here to contact us as soon as possible so we can fix the problem.
==============================
to which I replied:
==============================
I may have copied an ad or two because of the interest it had for the readers, but never at the behest of the original advertisers, nor did I ever request, accept or receive compensation from the advertisers for doing so.
I have never sought, solicited or accepted advertising, paid or otherwise; the audience figures are too low to justify even dreming about it.
The blog has been hacked twice already. and always in connection with my posting of an item about Barack Obama; I believe that the complaint you may have received is based on my legitimate attacks against the kind of future I do not wish on my children and the rest of the world, the kind of future Barack Obama is a harbinger of.
I will continue to support McCain/Palin for presidency, and should the blog not be reactivated within 24 hours, with a full apology and explanation of the charges being leveled at me, and their source, will seek legal redress, besides opening as many blogs as possible with other service providers wherein to show this absurd attempt at silencing my campaign for McCain/Palin.
I do not recall seeing a prohibition against advertising, although should there be one buried in the terms of service, it hs never been breached, nor could be, by simply reporting on ads considered newsworthy, such as announcements of events, exhibitions and the like.
Please inform me of the detils, you should already have done so without my having to ask!
As for Barack Obama, he is doing a very nice job of political suicide, but his is not one of the cases the suicide prevention organization which I run is willing to handle, so swing low sweet chariot...
Eliahu Gal-Or - The Pizza Rebbe:
BLOG: www.pizzarebbe.wordpress.com
AMEN: www.jstraight.org, www.parnassa.org http://www.facebook.com/pages/
HANNAH: Healthy Approach to Natural Nutrition Achieves Holiness:
http://www.facebook.com/group.
Kerem Bnei Shlomo: http://www.facebook.com/group.
Intellectual Stock Exchange: http://www.facebook.com/group.
Schengen, Artists for Peace: http://www.facebook.com/group.
SNAP http://www.facebook.com/group.
Sukat Shalom, Dar Al Salaam. The Peace Tabernacle
http://www.new.facebook.com/
YAEL, Yeshiva for art, Ecology and Light: http://www.facebook.com/group.
My Paintings: http://www.facebook.com/album.
Lightwave Communication Svcs, Ltd. www.kotl.tv
Lightwave Int.l Mediation & Investments, Ltd. - Israeli RE Broker Lic. 12.597 www.shuk.net
POB 31403 Jerusalem 91313 ISRAEL: +97254-9059329 - ITALY: +39331-7573033 - HUNGARY: +3620-4131394 BELGIUM: +32494-786393 SWITZERLAND: +41762879359 FRANCE: +33625960465==============================
as of this morning the blog has not been reactivated, and it would be nice if you or anybody else at the Bulletin ran an item about this case.
I was getting rising ratings with the blog, and while I was not a paying customer, it is obvious to me that the blog, which was previously hacked twice when I posted critical articles on Obama, has been messed with by someone on behalf of the Democratic Party, and deserves protection in the name of American Democracy, which means something else altogether, and specifically a fair chance to elect McCain/Palin, based on competence which exists even without the benefit of sending e-mail with war-torn tendons.
"Nuff said, please let me hear from you and please, let Wordpress hear from the Bulletin.
Eliahu Gal-Or - The Pizza Rebbe:
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