I was looking through my YouTube account postings a few weeks ago and noticed that a comment that I posted on a video by Birdieupon had “received too many negative votes”…
…and was therefore hidden until you clicked the option to show the comment.
I had a number of clashes with Peter Byrom aka “Birdieupon” on the (alas, now defunct) Premier Christian Community online debating forum and Unbelievable? Facebook page a few years ago.
Byrom/Birdie memorably asked Ann Widdecombe why it was fine for a woman to become an MP but not to become a priest at the Intelligence Squared debate on the Catholic Church in October 2009 and was rather curtly ridiculed by the corpulent cleric for his “vast ignorance” of Catholic theology.
Although Birdie initially posted a warm and encouraging comment on this blog following the Intelligence Squared debates, since then he has made a hobby of making silly pastiches on YouTube, generally mocking Richard Dawkins over “Elevatorgate” and his refusal to confront Craig in debate when the latter’s (ironically monikered) “Reasonable Faith” tour reached these shores in October 2011, and posting vicious attacks on atheists (myself included) on debating forums to the extent that he morphed into a bile-spewing troll.
I am not surprised that my comment received a large number of negative votes from Birdie’s viewers. What does amaze me is that YouTube have a policy of hiding comments that receive a certain number of negative votes. At least I cannot complain that they take them off altogether, but why this dismal and pointless half-measure at censorship?
I have viewed YouTube’s comment policy and there is no mention of hiding comments that receive a certain number of negative votes, much less the method behind this madness. Threads on Yahoo Answers, WikiAnswers etc. indicate that a mere four negative votes will get a comment hidden, but there are only “best guesses” as to why this limp-wristed measure is in place at all.
You have probably have already seen it on other blogs, but I want to give my applause to Aussie YouTube auteur NonStampCollector’s latest Paint Brush masterpiece debunking the idea that the 20th Century’s most notorious mass-murderer was in any way motivated by his alleged lack of belief in the Christian God, as opposed to Zeus, Thor or Dionysius.
Watch out for the fabulous rundown of the various offences for which the Catholic Church has and has not excommunicated its members.
manicstreetpreacher is pleased to present the latest offering from the God of YouTube counter-apologetics. Make sure you check out the other classics on his channel.
manicstreetpreacher is pleased to report that NonStampCollector has done it again!
At the end of last year, I compiled the best of Aussie YouTube genius, NonStampCollector. I am thrilled that the turning of the new decade has only enhanced his satirical skills when it comes to all things theocratus lunaticras. Watch the video below which reconstructs a typical creationist interview with an atheist evolutionary scientist. P Z Myers has described it as “Every creationist argument I’ve ever had” and the video has also been posted on RichardDawkins.net.
Enjoy:
The clip is based on P Z Myer’s infamous radio debate in 2008 against Discovery Institute hack Geoffrey Simmons: someone with doctoral qualifications who didn’t know the scientific meaning of the word theory, and used it as a pejorative. Quite a few elements of the script clearly came from that exchange (whales, ignorance, etc.). See the relevant threads on Pharyngula and RichardDawkins.net: apparently there was a thread briefly posted on William Dembski’s blog Uncommon Descent where the commenters handed the debate to Myers, even though they disagreed with his point of view!
manicstreetpreacher unveils the clip that he has replayed the most in this Year of Our Lord.
It has been a great year for the ‘Tube. I have watched many brilliant lectures and debates and even appeared in one of them myself. Certainly, NonStampCollector is the one YouTube user who has provided me with the most joy. I wish I could include them all. However, the clip I have played the most is the this wonderful “re-edit” of BNP leader Nick Griffin’s appearance on BBC One’s Question Time on 22 October 2009 by cassetteboy.
At over a million views, I’m probably not the only one who would class it as the cream of the crop for ‘09.
Many thanks to my friend, the anti-fascist blogger Edmund Standing, for forwarding me the link.
manicstreetpreacher compiles the greatest hits of the Aussie YouTube auteur.
I have referred to and embedded the videos of this YouTube genius who goes by the name, “NonStampCollector”, soooooooo many times that I thought it was high time I posted a list of my favourite videos. Funny, irreverent, yet philosophically brilliant; these videos are a must when you absolutely have to put down vacuous theistic arguments straightaway and make the other guy look like a complete fool.
What Would Jesus NOT Do?
In a similar vein to Christopher Hitchens’ 94,000 – 98,000 Year Wait Gambit, NSC shows just how useless and capricious the Christian myth really is.
Special Investigation – 20th Century Killers
Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot clearly acted they way they did because they didn’t believe in Yahweh, Christ, Allah and Zeus.
Hitler’s Atheistic Regime
“I have studied the Holy Scriptures. I just don’t think they are that good. I think that religious ideas should be given no more respect than the Easter Bunny. We have to learn to think for ourselves and reject dogma. For this reason I want you all to kill six million Jews.” Right…
Jepadah (Judges 11)
Wonderful pictorial re-telling of that Sunday school favourite:
The thing that made the things for which there is no known maker
All arguments from design end here! William Lane Crag: “When considering how all this could have come about, we reach a point where the zeros after the decimal point are too many, it’s all to complex and improbable for my tiny mind, it must have been…”
Free Will – “God Style”: a gift?
“I love you. I want you to make your own choices in life. But if you don’t do exactly what I want, then I’m going to punish you for it, even though I love you and I don’t want to do it.”
The reputation of history’s most hated dictator will never survive this.
UPDATE: 11 MARCH 2010
I have been writing this blog for just over a year now. I love blogging. It is a very involving hobby that has expanded my mind and made me engage with a wealth of new issues relating to science, history, politics and philosophy. I love the buzz you get when the notification email arrives when someone has posted a reply to a thread, links to one of your posts on their blog, sends a message of praise or constructive criticism. I love the feeling of, “Perhaps this argument will make me change my mind?”
Of which posts am I most proud? Well, my report of the Hitchens/ Fry debate on the Catholic Church in October had a lot of views and comments. My rubbishing of William Dembski’s Intelligent Design “theory” ranks very high as well. Just to think, I nearly gave up on it halfway through I was so bored, and then an “unsolicited” email to Dembski’s college account and it ended up on his Uncommon Descent blog not once, but twice! Victor Stenger liked my analysis of his 2003 debate against William Lane Craig so much that he posted it on his own website and from where I get c. 20 referrals per day. And of course there’s my castigation of Craig’s appalling interpretation of Yahweh’s commandment to his chosen people to wipe out every single one of the Canaanites of which I am rather pleased.
Are any of these my highest viewed post? No. My highest viewed post is THIS: the result of a rainy Saturday afternoon dossing on YouTube coming across an Internet craze butchering the best scene in a brilliant study of history’s most infamous tyrant.
Posted on 26 August 2009. 11,700 views and counting. It’s getting ridiculous!!
The Hitchens/ Fry debate report was my PB with c. 600 views in one day. Now it is “The Hitler Meme” which has been getting 700+ per day of late. I really can’t explain why it is getting so many views. No one has left a comment. The post hasn’t been linked on any other blog or website. My WordPress stats monitor says that viewers are finding it through the search engine term “hitler”. Except I have searched for it on Google and it doesn’t come up in the first 10 pages of hits!?!?!?!?!?!
Anyone viewing this post now, how are you finding this page? What’s so great about it? Please leave some comments and put me out of my misery!
I don’t know whether to delete the post yet, but I may well do so. This is just getting silly! Answers in the comments box, please.
ORIGINAL POST CONTINUES
I recently became aware of a massive YouTube trend sending up Hitler. The clips are culled from Oliver Hirschbiegel’s 2004 film, Downfall, which depicts the Führer’s last days in his Berlin bunker with the Allied forces closing in on all sides in the spring of 1945.
Except instead of throwing a wobbler at his aides and military commanders for the collapse of the German army in the face of the enemy, Adolf – played by Swiss actor Bruno Ganz – is getting all hot under the collar at slightly less profound matters, such as the live act for his birthday party…
Tasteless, spoiling a great film and above all funny. Very, very funny. Hundreds have been produced. Here is a selection of my favourites from a rainy afternoon’s viewing:
Hitler gets banned from Xbox online…
…finds out that Michael Jackson has died…
…hears about Sarah Palin’s resignation…
…complains about being stuck in slow motion…
…assumes the role of Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, over the NDP-Liberal Coalition…
…and finally, rants at the amount of spoofs about him from the film Downfall…
manicstreetpreacher 
I am censored
02/09/2013I was looking through my YouTube account postings a few weeks ago and noticed that a comment that I posted on a video by Birdieupon had “received too many negative votes”…
…and was therefore hidden until you clicked the option to show the comment.
Byrom/Birdie memorably asked Ann Widdecombe why it was fine for a woman to become an MP but not to become a priest at the Intelligence Squared debate on the Catholic Church in October 2009 and was rather curtly ridiculed by the corpulent cleric for his “vast ignorance” of Catholic theology.
Birdie also asked Richard Dawkins why he refused to debate William Lane Craig at Intelligence Squared’s debate on atheist fundamentalism a few weeks later. Dawkins’ reply was not much more respectful: he made clear that he thought Craig was a “professional debater” and viewed him in a similar light as creationists; a group that he has consistently refused to share a platform and supply with the oxygen of publicity.
Although Birdie initially posted a warm and encouraging comment on this blog following the Intelligence Squared debates, since then he has made a hobby of making silly pastiches on YouTube, generally mocking Richard Dawkins over “Elevatorgate” and his refusal to confront Craig in debate when the latter’s (ironically monikered) “Reasonable Faith” tour reached these shores in October 2011, and posting vicious attacks on atheists (myself included) on debating forums to the extent that he morphed into a bile-spewing troll.
I am not surprised that my comment received a large number of negative votes from Birdie’s viewers. What does amaze me is that YouTube have a policy of hiding comments that receive a certain number of negative votes. At least I cannot complain that they take them off altogether, but why this dismal and pointless half-measure at censorship?
I have viewed YouTube’s comment policy and there is no mention of hiding comments that receive a certain number of negative votes, much less the method behind this madness. Threads on Yahoo Answers, WikiAnswers etc. indicate that a mere four negative votes will get a comment hidden, but there are only “best guesses” as to why this limp-wristed measure is in place at all.
Any suggestions, people?
Tags:Birdieupon, censorship, comment has received too many votes, Elevatorgate, Peter Byrom, richard dawkins, William Lane Craig, youtube
Posted in christianity, Religion | 2 Comments »