The Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience

Dear non-bahai observer:

Please note how Steve Marshall has corrupted my signature file
at the very bottom in his reply message censoring my legitimate
post to talisman9. It reveals a great deal about his "moderating"
tactics on talisman9.

--
FG
The Bahai Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/


----- Original Message -----
From: "FG" <fg...>
To: [identity suppressed due to fundamentalist harassment]
Cc: <jrcole@... >
Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2004 4:27 PM
Subject: [personal] talisman9 - ao forum


> Juan & [identity suppressed due to fundamentalist harassment],
>
> Is there a reason you're tolerating Marshall's continual censoring and
> harassing people? He openly slandered me as a covenant breaker early
> on, as did others, when I first began to post excerpts from Sohrab and
> terrorized others into silence. I repeatedly documented how such
> tactics were at variance with talisman9's purported Description, which
> is obviously only intended to work one way.
>
> I want it stopped now. Not in two weeks. Or stop the charade. Openly
> state talisman9 exists as a deceitful forum for the contemptible
> underlings of the administration.
>
> Allowing it to go on reflects poorly on both of you and on anyone else
> involved with talisman9.
>
> FG
> The Bahai Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
> https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/
>
> --
> Date: 7/08/2004 12:20:59 -0000
> From: "Steve Marshall" <asmarsh@es.co.nz>
> To: "FG2003" <fg... >
> Subject: Message not approved: Whatever happened to the Justice List?
> All headers
> Hi Fred and everyone on TRB,
>
> "Talisman is a discussion list not a chat list. Messages are expected
> to be constructive. Posters should back up their opinions with
> evidence and argument."
> https://groups.yahoo.com/group/talisman9/
>
> Thanks for offering this message to Talisman. Unfortunately, lone
> rhetorical questions, particularly ones as cryptic as this is, don't
> meet the Talisman rules. I look forward to seeing this message on TRB,
> though, and hope my response is good enough to merit publication there
> as well.
>
> cheers
> Steve
>
>
> > Baha'u'llah's Justice or the incorporated organization's justice?
> >
> > Which does talisman9 represent?
> >
> > My, how so many questions are rhetorical....
> >
> > FG
> > The Bahai Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
> > [highlighting added]
>
>


 

Dear Frederick,

Thank you for the information. I sincerely share your concerns, but as
one moderator I have no real input on anything. Apparently only the
list owner Juan Cole can make this decision. Juan's address is
<jrcole@umich.edu>
Steve's moderating shift began July 3. I will take over beginning on
July 17 for two weeks. You are welcome to send your posts to talisman
at this time and I will post them.

Sincerely, Marleen

FG wrote:

>FYI
>
>Marleen,
>
>Steve Marshall is censoring and suppressing my messages. See below. It
>is to be noted he and others slandered my early posts on Sohrab,
>tactics supposedly not acceptable according to talisman9's
>Description. If you're running an honest forum, he should be removed
>from "moderating."
>
>FG
>The Bahai Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
>https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/
>
>
>------
>
>Date: 7/07/2004 02:45:19 -0000
>From: "Steve Marshall" <asmarsh@es.co.nz>
>To: "FG2003" <>
>Subject: Message not approved: Why is T9 a bastion of social
>alienation? All headers
>Hi Fred,
>
>"All messages about list moderation are to be sent privately to the
>acting moderator, or to the list owner and moderators at
>talisman9-owner@yahoogroups.com. Do not send messages about moderating
>to the list."
>https://groups.yahoo.com/group/talisman9/
>
>cheers
>Steve
>
>
>
>
>>--- In talisman9@yahoogroups.com, [identity suppressed due to fundamentalist harassment] wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Dear William,
>>>
>>>I can't remember if what I am going to attempt to paraphrase was
>>>originally posted on talisman or another list. A past or present
>>>
>>>
>>member
>>
>>
>>>of the US NSA (Firuz K.?) was reported to have said that when
>>>
>>>
>>Americans
>>
>>
>>>choose to became Bahais they voluntarily give up some of their
>>>
>>>
>>civil
>>
>>
>>>rights which conflict with Bahai principles, such as free speech
>>>
>>>
>>to
>>
>>
>>>criticize political leaders. Perhaps someone else on the list can
>>>provide more information.
>>>
>>>[identity suppressed due to fundamentalist harassment]
>>>
>>>
>>--
>>
>>My prediction is that if anyone attempted to provide more
>>information it would be censored "for the good of the faith"....
>>
>>FG
>>The Bahai Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
>>https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/
>>
>>
>
>
>Date: 7/06/2004 12:18:57 -0000
>From: "Steve Marshall" <asmarsh@es.co.nz>
>To: "FG2003" <>
>Subject: Message not approved: Sohrab > impulse to Bahai Obscurantism
>All headers
>Hi Fred,
>
>As I said in my last message, these extracts from Sohrab's book have
>been running for some weeks now. They've contributed little to
>discussion and appear to do little more than advertise Sohrab's book.
>I think you have saturation coverage by now, so I'm introducing a
>2-week break from them during my stint. The next moderator may well
>feel differently and may well let them through.
>
>cheers
>Steve
>
>
>
>>This is indeed what the bahai faith has become:
>>
>>
>>"The impulse to Bahai Obscurantism, or to any other form of
>>obscurantism, arises from a deeply rooted, if not an inherent,
>>tendency in human nature to distrust free inquiry. This tendency
>>becomes aggravated when it operates in the sphere of religion. An
>>uneasy suspicion of knowledge and its results; a dislike for a
>>liberal and inquisitive mind, and a feeling of fear in regard to
>>independent investigation of the truth as for something not wholly
>>good for any one--these sentiments have contributed to the evolution
>>of Bahai Obscurantism, which is the herald of professional or class
>>exclusiveness in the Cause as exemplified by the National Spiritual
>>Assembly, and the local assemblies" (271).
>>
>>--
>>Mirza Ahmad Sohrab. Broken Silence. The Story of Today's Struggle
>>for Religious Freedom. New York: Universal Publishing, 1942.
>>Reprinted. H-Bahai: Lansing, Michigan, 2004.
>>https://www.h-net.org/~bahai/diglib/books/P-T/S/sohrab/BS.htm
>>
>>Sohrab's entire book may be downloaded in one click. 21 megabytes.
>>https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/archives/SohrabBrokenSilence.pdf
>>
>>
>>--
>>FG
>>The Bahai Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
>>https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/
>>
>>--
>>See Professor Juan R. I. Cole, University of Michigan,
>>"Fundamentalism in the Contemporary U.S. Baha'i Community,"
>>Religious Studies Review, Vol. 43, no. 3 (March, 2002):195-217:
>>https://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrcole/bahai/2002/fundbhfn.htm
>>
>>In his book Modernity and the Millennium, published by Columbia
>>University Press in 1998, Professor Cole observes the Baha'i
>>administration has increasingly come under the control of
>>fundamentalists, "stressing scriptural literalism . . . theocracy,
>>censorship, intellectual intolerance, and denying key
>>democratic values (196)."
>>
>>
 

Dear non-bahai observer:

Please note how Steve Marshall has corrupted my signature file
at the very bottom in his reply message censoring my legitimate
post to talisman9. It reveals a great deal about his "moderating"
tactics on talisman9.

--
FG
The Bahai Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/


----- Original Message -----
From: "FG" <fg...>
To: [identity suppressed due to fundamentalist harassment]
Cc: <jrcole@... >
Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2004 4:27 PM
Subject: [personal] talisman9 - ao forum


> Juan & [identity suppressed due to fundamentalist harassment],
>
> Is there a reason you're tolerating Marshall's continual censoring and
> harassing people? He openly slandered me as a covenant breaker early
> on, as did others, when I first began to post excerpts from Sohrab and
> terrorized others into silence. I repeatedly documented how such
> tactics were at variance with talisman9's purported Description, which
> is obviously only intended to work one way.
>
> I want it stopped now. Not in two weeks. Or stop the charade. Openly
> state talisman9 exists as a deceitful forum for the contemptible
> underlings of the administration.
>
> Allowing it to go on reflects poorly on both of you and on anyone else
> involved with talisman9.
>
> FG
> The Bahai Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
> https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/


Original Message -----
From: ** CAUTION > Bahai Censorship **
To: jrcole@umich.edu
Cc: [identity suppressed due to fundamentalist harassment]Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2004 4:43 PM
Subject: Open Letter to Juan Cole & [identity suppressed due to fundamentalist harassment] - talisman9

FYI

Again, I request that something be done immediately instead
of tacitly approving Marshall's "moderating" and corrupting my
signature file as detailed below: "babytorturer." That's inexcusable.
Or remove your "Description" to reflect the type of venue you then
are apparently supporting.

FG

 

  ---

I see. A putative moderator perverts my message, smearing me as 
a "babytorturer," and all of you have to "consult" about it.... 

FG
The Bahai Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/

 

Dear Frederick,

I will contact Juan Cole about the moderating issues you have raised 

and let you know of the results.

Sincerely, [identity suppressed due to fundamentalist harassment]

---- Original Message -----

From: "** CAUTION > Bahai Censorship **" <BI*P*GS@LIBERTY.COM>

Newsgroups: alt.religion.bahai,talk.religion.bahai

Sent: Friday, July 09, 2004 9:49 PM

Subject: Re: Open Letter to Juan Cole & [identity suppressed due to fundamentalist harassment] - talisman9

 

> From: Cal E. Rollins (crollins@webtv.net)
> Fred, Steve, Rabia,
>
> Is it legal to change somebody else's signature file?  It sure doesn't
> sound like it would be.  To me it's like forging a check. I doubt that
> the authorities would accept, "Gee, Your Honor.  I was just having fun
> when I forged that check." --Cal
> --
>
> Appears to be great fun to talisman9 "moderator" Steve Marshall and
> people like bahai scholar Susan Maneck.... and tells us a lot about the
> moral condition of the bahai administration....
>
> --
> FG
> The Bahai Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
> https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/
>
> Join a new Yahoo Group, Bahai Censorship!
> https://groups.yahoo.com/group/bahaicensorship/
>
 

Juan Cole wrote:

>However, if this was a matter of private communication, it is none of my 
>business,
   

It isn't a simple matter of private communication when Steve is 
communicating with a subscriber in the capacity of a moderator.

[identity suppressed due to fundamentalist harassment]

>
>> [identity suppressed due to fundamentalist harassment],
>>
>> Thanks for your note.
>>
>> Cole's equivocations call into question whether he's even
>> an honest participant. I continue to believe he should
>> resign from being the list owner of talisman9, if he refuses
>> to remove Steve Marshall for his actions. Yahoo should
>> remove Cole or delete the entire group. There can be no
>> excuse for smearing me as a "babytorturer," and THAT
>> is what Cole is seeking to justify....
>>
>> FG
>> The Bahai Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
>> https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/