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Facebook, Zuckerberg Sued For $1 Billion Over Intifada Page
An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from ZDNet: "Larry Klayman, the founder of Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch, has filed a lawsuit against Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg for their role in furthering a 'radical' Facebook Page called 'Third Palestinian Intifada,' which openly advocated another uprising against the citizens of Israel. The complaint reserves the right to be amended into a class action suit and prays for compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $1 billion. ... As a quick refresher, Facebook originally said it would not remove the page but would monitor it instead. The company later pulled the page after discussions degraded into violence and hatred."
As usual, this is my annual first post to the first story after the April Fools Day Denial of Service day on Slashdot. And boy do we have a good one tonight....
Where's the dropdown box to lower the number in the story to something more reasonable than a billion?
Facebook had it right. When the page was new there was no problem with it. When it devolved into hate speech by both sides, it was pulled. All's well, nothing to see here.
This will be tossed out instantly. #1: Where does the amount come from? #2: This random idiot can't sue on behalf of "society" or whatever the hell he's doing. The government, or possibly victims if any violence did occur, would have to do that. #3: I'd bet the farm that there's no proof. #4: Is not blocking hate speech a crime/tort? I don't think so.
WOOSH
Enough already, they are not even funny to begin with. Seriously, April Fools is overrated and the domain of the inferior intellect.
Most of the billion is punitive damages which basically wants to make an example of Facebook saying allowing anti-Israel speech should never be allowed. Kinda flies the the face of the US's 1st Amendment freedoms, but they have no such concept in Israel. Still, see my other post on the problems with picking a venue.
oh we're posting real stories now? In all seriousness, this lawsuit is frivolous.
...except for people I disagree with.
"The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all."
-- H.L.Mencken
93rd rule of Slashdot: No matter how obvious my sarcasm is, my comment will be taken seriously by someone.
Anyone can sue anyone for any reason at any time. I could sue a random stranger in the grocery store for kidnapping the Lindbergh baby. If a verdict was awarded, this might actually mean something.
-Arthur
Cave ne ante ullas catapultas ambules
They really should program the site for the East Coast USA audience because that's where the most Slashdotters actually live,
your hypothesis is not only 'out of ass' grade, but also incorrect.
Read radical news here
Nope, the April Fools joke stories were all marked with the fill-in-your-own-word combo boxes. We're now past 8pm ET which means it's past Midnight GMT and we're into April 2nd in GMT and half the world. They really should program the site for the East Coast USA audience because that's where the most Slashdotters actually live, but they're geeks in love with GMT.
Actually, they're not in love with GMT, they're in love with UTC...
WARNING! This girl exceeds the MAXIMUM SAFE standards established by the FDA for BRATTINESS
Is pimping a ZDNet editorial (propaganda piece). Sure doesn't read like a regular news story.
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
...but they're geeks in love with GMT.
No, they're geeks in love with UTC! [/pedantic]
WARNING! This girl exceeds the MAXIMUM SAFE standards established by the FDA for BRATTINESS
I'm a US / Israeli dual citizen. This lawsuit, and the types of people behind it, are an embarrassment. Stifling free speech goes against the values of both Israel and the United States -- and any other democratic society. These people definitely don't speak on behalf of their associated populations. (There's that old joke about there being 3 different opinions for every 2 Jews.) Furthermore, Facebook is not exactly a hotbed of intellectual activity. Why give these people any attention at all?
are you aware that something being 'more' than something else, does not necessitate acting on that extra amount ? what if the 'more' is just 2% more than world total, OR, maybe even the next statistical figure ?
percentages matter.
give us percentages.
Read radical news here
This guy being the founder of the 'Freedom Watch' ? exactly whose freedom is he watching ?
Read radical news here
there is little genetic difference in between arabs and jews. actually, the people of that region are practically from the same semitic ancestry.
moreover, their culture is totally the same. judaism, islam, christianity are only minor branches. ALL of these build upon established (thousands of years ago, even before themselves) traditions and legends and beliefs of the region.
they are one people. but one thing you are right about is, they are indeed the source of all the problems of the world - their culture has been one of control of a single person claiming divine ancestry and belief, over all others, even before sumerians. it still goes on till this day, albeit there are more than one controllers now, in compliance with necessities of modern times.
Read radical news here
So um, maybe I just read your post wrong but does not abs(X) > abs(Y) such that abs(X)+abs(Y)= 1.0 imply X = most. I mean it has to be at least over half. I base this off your statement "2% more than the world total". So, since obviously a subset of a whole can not be larger then the whole I assumed you meant 2% larger then all other countries combined.
Momento Mori
Yes, well, clearly Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot were religious folks. Athiests cant be repressive, violent, or murderous, no sir.
Seriously, every time someone makes this claim I wonder if they were asleep through all of their history classes. The story of mankind is one of tyranny and violence whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Israeli courts have moved the course of the wall several time based upon Palestinian territorial claims, for example.
The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell
The Six Day War doesn't matte now. The old rhetoric about driving the Jews into the sea probably doesn't matter either. I think thus far the problem has been :
(a) The Palestinians have never had a really credible peace directed leader.
(b) Israel only rarely has leaders who credibly want peace.
If even a significant minority of the Palestinians were following some strong Imam who preached peace, well that'd likely inspire the Israelis to elect someone sane. Instead : The PLO/PA's leadership focusses more upon their own bank accounts. Hamas' are a bunch of religious psychopaths. Israel's right wing are equally psychopathic. And Israel's moderate politicians cannot retain power without acquiescing to the right.
The wall is helping though.
The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell
Furthermore, Facebook is not exactly a hotbed of intellectual activity. Why give these people any attention at all?
You underestimate their (including Twitter's) value in spreading lies and propaganda, and of course advertising. The papers just reported that most of the traffic comes from very few users, many of them sockpuppets. And I would speculate more than a few bots. It's bright future ahead for this method of dispensing 'information'.
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
Usually my allergy to stupid becomes more manageable around on Friday around 5pm Eastern... This just sent it flaring up again.
To understand recursion, you must first understand recursion.
I call for an intifada against you and Unity100!
Death to Math Geeks!
Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
Nope, the April Fools joke stories were all marked with the fill-in-your-own-word combo boxes. We're now past 8pm ET which means it's past Midnight GMT and we're into April 2nd in GMT and half the world. They really should program the site for the East Coast USA audience because that's where the most Slashdotters actually live, but they're geeks in love with GMT.
If you read the actual complaint, you will see that it is indeed an April Fool's joke. Let me quote one particularly telling passage from the complaint,
As depicted in the award winning film “Social Network,” Defendant Zuckerberg in particular lacks strong ethical and moral character, having cheated his partners out of their shares and/or ownership in Facebook early on, for which he was forced to pay large settlements once sued.
No one would use a fictionalized Hollywood film to back up a claim as to the character of the defendant in a legal document submitted to the court. This is a joke folks. Let's move along.
If I can be modded down for being a troll, can I be modded up for being an orc, or a balrog?
Only 1 billion? Facebook is worth at least 20 trillion.
If Facebook is going to ban one side's speech, let's see them do the same for the others. And yet Facebook pages with such titles as "mavet laaravim" (Death to the Arabs) abound...
Just because you can't imagine ever learning a language other than your own doesn't mean no one else will. A good portion of Europeans speak English to varying degrees, especially the younger generations.
From my experience (I know, citation needed) English is also becoming more and more common in the former east block countries, I have several friends in Poland and Hungary who I communicate with in English.
Myself? I'm Danish, but that doesn't mean I don't speak and understand English. Please take your opinions on only speaking one language somewhere else.
-=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
I realize it's hard to tell, but it is on Freedom Watch's web site.
http://www.freedomwatchusa.org/
It's a strange-looking filing.
http://www.freedomwatchusa.org/pdf/110331-Fbook-Complaint.pdf
It doesn't have a stamp from the court, it doesn't have a filing number, and it doesn't cite any statutes or court cases. He says he's filing pro se.
Doesn't look very serious.
When they said they would not pull it, but would monitor it, they opened themselves up for litigation. This is the sort of thing that's allowed common carriers at least the illusion of immunity from persecution over what goes through their networks. As soon as Facebook said they would monitor it, that was a statement that they are not a common carrier. By "monitoring" it, they assumed responsibility for it.
Bad move on their part, no matter what you might think of the subject.
"I am an Adept of Tantric VAX."
I live in Germany, so I can tell you, you are not allowed to say anything against the Jews. It does not matter what they do, how many kids they kill, how many lives they destroy. You are an anti-Semite if you say anything other than, jews are awesome and can do no wrong.
I have zero issues with GMT as it provides a standardization that has been agreed upon for time tracking. It wouldn't matter to me if if was titled something else and set somewhere else as long as it's agreed upon and enough people use it.
Facebook originally said it would not remove the page but would monitor it instead. The company later pulled the page after discussions degraded into violence and hatred.
Facebook allowing free speech, only removing things once they get to the TOS (and law)-breaching point of hate-speech? It it still April 1st over there? o_O
I mod down anyone who says "I will be modded down for this", regardless of the rest of their comment
No, they just demand the personal information of the people that "may have been involved". re: Twitter, Bradley Manning, Julian Assange, Birgitte Jonsdottir et al.
I think they should also sue the ISP used to discover/watch said page, and then also the manufacturers of both the server hardware as well as of the computer used to view it.
it's totally all right to, for example, steal more and more land from the Palestinians...
When will the extremists on both sides stop frustrating every step towards a solution...
Privacy is terrorism.
I thought the same when I saw the following story:
UN staff beheaded as Afghans rage against pastor who burnt Koran
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/un-staff-beheaded-as-afghans-rage-against-pastor-who-burnt-koran-2260108.html
There are certain parts of the world that could be sucked in to the bowels of the earth with nothing of value being lost save some interesting lamb dishes.
-- Using the preview button since 2005
ah, as an Israeli it's always nice to see comments like "... If the Israelis would stop committing crimes against humanity ...", that's right "crimes against humanity" as exactly what we do here in Israel, every day in the morning i wake up and think what new crime against humanity i can do today AND how can i make Palestinians to suffer more.
let me tell explain what "Third Palestinian Intifada" means to a regular 27 year old Israeli like me who have served in IDF for 3 years, and did NOT forget the "Second Palestinian Intifada". it means I'm gonna wake up every morning, open my TV and find out another Palestinian blow him self out in a bus/train/whatever, I'm gonna first call my parents and ask if they are OK, and then I'm gonna think witch one of my friends might have been there, and call them too, hoping they are OK too.
I know Palestinians people did suffer a lot (so did the Israelis), but look around us, look at Egypt, Libya, Syria, Lebanon, i promise you, the Palestinians in occupied territories have a lot more rights, freedom and are safer then citizens in this countries. everyone who see in "Third Palestinian Intifada" something legitimate just don't know that this three words mean. hope Palestinians will start thinking with their brains instead their "honor" and continue building their state with the help and money they are provided with instead fighting Israeli citizens, a fight they can't really win.
Many of those countries have 'long form names' which like those who call "America", calling it "Mexico" is incorrect, you should refer to it as the "United Mexican States". "Republic of Costa Rica", "Republic of Nicaragua", etc Also, I'm sure that you're insulting someone by using the English spellings. It's called a nickname, Skippy.
The force that blew the Big Bang continues to accelerate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SLAPP
No comment about whether the page is right or wrong, but the reaction might be considered against free speech.
A strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) is a lawsuit that is intended to censor, intimidate and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.
http://www.metafilter.com/102139/If-I-had-known-then-what-I-know-now-the-Goldstone-Report-would-have-been-a-different-document
Summery : Israel has committed fewer war crimes than people imagine.
The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell
I'm glad Facebook took down the page; it was pretty vile hatred. I do support freedom of speech, but it should be on your own dime. A corporation like Facebook is not under any obligation to serve as a platform for speech and it can and should impose rules about what can be posted.
On the other hand, I don't think the lawsuit is a good move. The plaintiff doesn't have a leg to stand on. Facebook did the right thing; it's time to move on.
Just as French was once the international language of diplomacy 100 years or so ago, and Latin the universal scientific language before that, English is currently the international language of business.
My employer's corporate HQ is in the EU - yet the last time we held a quick (informal) meeting, in German, w/ a few counterparts at HQ, we'd get along just fine and get things done - then a VP gets wind of it. He promptly emails all involved, reminding us that corporate policy requires all cross-border phone/teleconferences be held in English (even if native English-speaking citizens weren't present- e.g. if it was a meeting between folks who were Germans and Spaniards).
It ain't just Europe, either. Do business with anyone in China, and even if you bring along Mandarin speaking co-workers, the meetings will be held in English more often than not these days. Anyone requiring a commercial aircraft pilot license, anywhere on the planet, is required to speak English.
Just the way it is at this time.
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
PS: The time zone thing was a holdover from the railroad days, and was created to address serious safety problems w/ timing and multiple trains on a given track.
Me, I wouldn't mind GMT. Just have to convince a billion or so others (at least) to use it as a single set time.
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
It'll never end. The fight for a bunch of sand that imaginary superheroes shat on at one point in time goes on and on, the song that never ends.
You want to know how to help your kids? LEAVE THEM THE F*&K ALONE. --George Carlin
Has anybody actually read the complaint? IANAL by a long shot, but I would have no trouble whatsoever writing a better complaint. And this guy seems to have a law degree!
The suit starts with a rambling recitation of accusations, none of which is even properly stated as an allegation, none of which is supported, and many of which are completely irrelevant to the alleged harm. Then it makes two complaints: assault and negligence. The assault charge is unsupported on its face, since it alleges damage without specifying what damage occurred. The negligence is apparently based on the same unsupported claim of damage.
So the suit will be thrown out instantly for failure to state an actionable claim. But I doubt that it'll make the news at that point.
Well, there is plenty of brain washing against palestinians as well. Like maps showing West Bank as a part of Israel, not mentioning the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and showing jews only as innocent victims and things like this: ‘Foreign Policy’ runs piece describing Israel’s ‘carnival of hate’ toward Palestinians