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Amazon refuses to sell book on Covid-19 and lockdowns

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Re: Amazon refuses to sell book on Covid-19 and lockdowns

#51

Post by kazinator »

code4tee wrote: post #18

There’s a difference between censorship and a book publisher deciding they don’t want to publish or sell a book. This appears to be a case of the later. He’s free to print and distribute his book, but no private company is under any obligation to help him in that endeavor.

> There’s a difference between censorship and a book publisher deciding they don’t want to publish or sell a book.

If the publisher is actually pressured by the government, then that is a sneaky form of censorship masquerading as the choice made by a private-sector enterprise.

In a system that falls short of pure, unbridled capitalism, there is no such thing as a purely private-sector decision.

Corporations have to comply to regulations and rules, and those can perpetrate censorship.

Re: Amazon refuses to sell book on Covid-19 and lockdowns

#52

Post by lol139189 »

whoisjuan wrote: post #39
zepto wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

‘who decides what is bullshit’ Is the usual problem with this.

Well, with ideas like the one that claims COVID is spread to 5G networks, it's pretty easy to draw the line. But I get what you're saying. The closer you get to a rational argument the harder it is to scrutinize it.

Oh, go lie down in a fucking ditch, you censorship-hungry cunt. It's only easy to draw the line because you think you're the one who gets to do it.

Re: Amazon refuses to sell book on Covid-19 and lockdowns

#53

Post by kazinator »

FeepingCreature wrote: post #48
code4tee wrote: post #18

There’s a difference between censorship and a book publisher deciding they don’t want to publish or sell a book. This appears to be a case of the later. He’s free to print and distribute his book, but no private company is under any obligation to help him in that endeavor.

You can always just move to another country. Censorship is a complete myth.

Right except no, you cannot always just move to another country, either. Sometimes you get shot in the back climbing a barbed-wire fence.

Re: Amazon refuses to sell book on Covid-19 and lockdowns

#54

Post by reaperducer »

guscost wrote: post #17

Official sources are continuing to mess up, and causing more destruction than this book ever could. The Lancet is about as official as it gets: https://www.thelancet.com/lancet/article/s0140673620313246

Official sources are continuing to mess up

It's a new disease. That's why it has the word "novel" in its name. People are working on it. Mistakes will always happen when dealing with unknowns, until they're known. The difference is that The Lancet will be fixed, and isn't making mistakes maliciously.

causing more destruction than this book ever could

Not provable hyperbole.

Re: Amazon refuses to sell book on Covid-19 and lockdowns

#55

Post by lol139189 »

misiti3780 wrote: post #41
guscost wrote: post #17

Official sources are continuing to mess up, and causing more destruction than this book ever could. The Lancet is about as official as it gets: https://www.thelancet.com/lancet/article/s0140673620313246

I'm generally confused why you are being downvoted for pointing this out.

Are you new here?

Re: Amazon refuses to sell book on Covid-19 and lockdowns

#56

Post by throwanem »

I wonder why he hasn't used his freedom of speech to make the text of his pamphlet freely available on his own website, instead of depending on a publisher to carry it.

Granted, it would be harder to monetize this speech, that way. He'd have to find a payment provider, take payments directly, et cetera. But I don't see why those ancillaries should detract from upholding a principle that clearly means so much to him.

Re: Amazon refuses to sell book on Covid-19 and lockdowns

#57

Post by [deleted] »

panzagl wrote: post #44
akerro wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon is still selling Mein Kampf, they don't seem to care about it as long as it brings profit?

Mein Kampf is an important document for understanding one of the most significant and tragic events in history. Only the truly ignorant would try to remove it.

[deleted]

Re: Amazon refuses to sell book on Covid-19 and lockdowns

#58

Post by irq11 »

Reedx wrote: post #3

Never thought we'd see wide support for book restriction or censorship again. Are people not reading history or considering the second order effects? Heck, you don't even have to go back that far. Just look how badly "official sources" handled Covid-19. For example, remember what the official word was, even despite being a self-contradiction: masks don't work, but save them for health workers. You may say that's a no…

”Remember what the official word was...masks don’t work, but save them for health workers.”

Three things:

One, nobody’s recommendations have changed with regard to “saving” masks: you should not be using medical-grade equipment, such as N95 masks or surgical masks. There is a shortage, and hospitals need it more.

Two, the CDC changed recommendations. The WHO still says they’re necessary only if you’re sick or caring for someone who is sick. Recommendations vary wildly by country, and there is far from consensus.

Three, the science is far from clear on the effectiveness of masks for the general public. At this point, it’s become more religion than science:

https://www.oralhealthgroup.com/features/face-masks-dont-wor...

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/04/commenta...

(pre-emptive rebuttal: the WHO report which came out last week was a meta-review, and was very clear that there is no significant evidence supporting the use of non-medical masks for the general public. The review freely mixed source-control and PPE studies, which is questionable, at best. It showed that there may be a small effect if people wear medical equipment...the effect was actually about the same as for eye protection.

The only new papers with new, non-review data on masks since the beginning of the year are Leung, et al., which was statistically insignificant for all but one experiment, which was barely significant, and based on <10 data points. The other paper was about separating cages of hamsters with surgical mask material, which while interesting, is not a paper about masks.)

Re: Amazon refuses to sell book on Covid-19 and lockdowns

#59

Post by reaperducer »

762236 wrote: post #38

This use of the verb 'spike' does not conform to any definition I found in the dictionary. Is it commonly used this way?

Yes. It's very common, especially in publishing and media circles. It's also in the dictionary that's built-in to macOS.

Re: Amazon refuses to sell book on Covid-19 and lockdowns

#60

Post by guscost »

reaperducer wrote: post #54
guscost wrote: post #17

Official sources are continuing to mess up, and causing more destruction than this book ever could. The Lancet is about as official as it gets: https://www.thelancet.com/lancet/article/s0140673620313246

Official sources are continuing to mess up It's a new disease. That's why it has the word "novel" in its name. People are working on it. Mistakes will always happen when dealing with unknowns, until they're known. The difference is that The Lancet will be fixed, and isn't making mistakes maliciously. causing more destruction than this book ever could Not provable hyperbole.

It is ridiculous to assume that one group making mistakes is always operating in good faith, while another group making mistakes is always operating in bad faith. It is even more ridiculous to censor one group because of this assumption.
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