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Tag: innocence of muslims

  • Muslims Protest Outside Google UK Headquarters Over “Innocence Of Muslims” [Video]

    On Sunday, thousands of Muslims (around 3,500 according to The Huffington Post, but more like 10,000 according to The Telegraph) gathered in protest outside of Google’s London HQ over the company’s refusal to remove the controversial Innocence Of Muslims film from YouTube.

    Some held signs saying, “Larry Page supports terrorism.”

    Here’s a video from the protest that has been uploaded to YouTube:

    Here’s a video the Telegraph has shared:

    Here is what YouTube (Google) has said in a statement (via The Telegraph) regarding its refusal to remove the video in question:

    “We work hard to create a community everyone can enjoy and which also enables people to express different opinions. This can be a challenge because what’s OK in one country can be offensive elsewhere. This video – which is widely available on the Web – is clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube.”

    If one goes to view the video on YouTube, they are met with the following message before they can click through to watch it:

    The following content has been identified by the YouTube community as being potentially offensive or inappropriate. Viewer discretion is advised.

    The option to not display this warning in the future is available.

    “Innocence of Muslims” is also the top search suggestion from Google’s autocomplete when you get as far as typing “Inn”.

    The protests were reportedly just the first in a series, which, according to the Telegraph, will include a “million-strong march in Hyde Park” in the coming weeks.

  • Nakoula Basseley Nakoula Arrested, Held Without Bail

    Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was arrested yesterday in California on the charge of a parole violation. Nakoula is the man behind the controversial anti-Muslim film “Innocence Of Muslims”, which has spurred violent protests in Pakistan and is currently banned from YouTube in Egypt and Libya. Some conservative commentators such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have suggested that his arrest is an attempt by Obama to punish him for exercising his constitutionally protected free speech.

    Nakoula was arrested after it was revealed that he has used at least 17 aliases–and gave one of them when he appeared in court yesterday–which is a violation of his five-year parole for bank fraud. He was arrested in 2010 for the crime. He is currently being held without bail because it is believed he is a flight risk.

    “The court has a lack of trust in this defendant at this time,” Judge Suzanne Segal said.

    If Nakoula faces new charges stemming from the probation violation, he could spend up to two years in jail. Since the purported outrage over his 14-minute film trailer, he has been in hiding, and hid his face with a scarf while being escorted to and from the courtroom. The film portrays the Prophet Muhammed as a child molester, among other things.

    The Obama Administration blamed the film for sparking a spontaneous protest at the American Consulate in Libya on September 11th, which resulted in four deaths, including that of Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Eventually, it was admitted by Obama and his Administration that it was a pre-planned terrorist attack by al-Qaeda and that the film was simply a useful pretext to justify the murders. Romney has attacked Obama for so quickly placing the blame on this film instead of telling the world that America has the right to free speech, even speech that many people disagree with.

  • Cindy Lee Garcia Wants YouTube To Take Down “Innocence Of Muslims”

    Cindy Lee Garcia, an actress who appeared in the trailer for the controversial film “Innocence of Muslims”, says she had no idea that it was an anti-Muslim work and was led to believe she would be starring in an Egyptian adventure film called “Desert Warriors”. She also contends that the dialogue in the film was dubbed over to contain hateful messages and racial slurs, none of which she was a part of.

    Garcia is now bringing a lawsuit against the filmmaker, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, for fraud and slander and has asked YouTube repeatedly to take down the video, saying it has caused her serious negative attention in the form of death threats; YouTube has so far denied her requests, but says their lawyers will meet with her in court today.

    “This lawsuit is not an attack on the First Amendment nor on the right of Americans to say what they think, but does request that the offending content be removed from the Internet,” the lawsuit states.

    The complaint also says that Garcia was “was fired from her job as a direct result of the film, in as much as she is now considered a target and the safety of those in her presence cannot be guaranteed” and that she is no longer permitted to care for her grandchildren.

    Garcia’s lawyer, M. Cris Armenta, said his client “wants to clear her name, get the content taken down and let the world know that she did not consent to have her image used in this way.”

    “This is not a 1st Amendment issue,” Armenta reiterated. “This is an invasion of privacy issue.”