GoDaddy president retracts pro-torture blog posting

Well, it looks like a day of protesting has actually had a positive effect.

Earlier today, GoDaddy.com, the most popular domain name registrar (and the registrar of many sites you may have heard of, such as dailykos.com) had the following words on its front page:

Close Gitmo? No way!! Think our interrogation methods are tough? Prisoners in the Middle East talk quick. Here's why.

It linked to this blog entry by the founder and president of GoDaddy, which has such choice quotes as, "Key prisoners at Gitmo still have not talked -- because our interrogation methods are so weak."

A whole ton of people protested, and various threads online (Daily Kos, MetaFilter) were filled with people vowing to leave GoDaddy and transfer their services elsewhere.  Now, at the end of the day, we see that his blog entry has changed to become this entry - similar format, but fairly different words throughout.  Note that he actually replaced the old entry with this entry, even though the old entry is still accessible via the above url.

At the end of his more recent entry, he has these words:

Since this blog article was posted I have been accused repeatedly of supporting the use of torture to get information from prisoners. This is simply not true. I do not, under any circumstance, support the use of torture. I do not consider the use of interrogation techniques such as sleep deprivation or the playing of rap music to be torture. That said, I now believe that even these mild methods are not necessary.

I have heard from a number of individuals who claimed to be professional interrogators. These readers have pointed out that the use of annoying or unpleasent techniques during interrogation simply do not work very well. After looking at the references they provided, and giving the matter some thought, I tend to agree and think that the there's a good argument for changing the way in which prisoners at Gitmo are interrogated. Thus things like sleep deprivation, playing loud rap music and other techniques that involve making the detainee physically uncomfortable would be completely done away with and replaced with psychological techniques that are more humane and as such yield better results. I have since modified the article that was originally posted here to reflect what I just learned.

I don't think his first paragraph really squares with his original contention that Gitmo's interrogation methods were not strong enough... but we do have a great example of someone publicly backing down in reaction to a strong public outcry.  Way to go!

Also, major kudos to Bradford in Jax, whose first every diary on this subject got the ball rolling.

•  please note

  That it isn't a total victory - he's still offering to post the video of the 9/11 jumpers if he gets enough requests.  Sheesh.

  It really is something, though, to compare his revised entry to his original.  I highly doubt it's just because of the professional interrogators that he changed his song.
  

  by tunesmith on Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 05:54:01 PM PDT

  •  Business risk with Godaddy?

    If you are using Godaddy for a serious purpose then you might want to consider that raving blog as a potential business risk not just to Godaddy but to you. With all of Parson's ranting and raving - no matter who is right or wrong - it just creates controversy which can lead to some nutbars deciding to take down his network. Where would that leave your site? your email?

    I have more practical issues with godaddy - such as how they screen your emails - but this blog business should be assessed as well when considering web hosting.

    I wrote a little summary of my dealings with Godaddy and their email "filter". If you are looking for an alternative I suggest Dreamhost - there's a promo code you can use that can also knock of $25 off their plan. It's here in the review.

    Cheers,
    Peter
    

    by byegodaddy on Thu Jul 28, 2005 at 08:12:27 PM PDT

•  too late

  My transfers are already made. The first post was from his "heart," this one is from his wallet.

  by voltayre on Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 05:59:04 PM PDT

  •  I agree

    That was too much.  

    After clicking around some links, it seemed kinda like namecheap was a consensus choice of where to go.

    by tunesmith on Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 06:03:37 PM PDT

  •  He's unclear on the concept

    of why detention without trial is a bad thing. He made this abundantly clear in his first blog post and from the excerpts here it appears he still doesn't understand that "guilty and tortured until proven innocent" just doesn't cut it in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

    by nuttymango on Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 06:05:51 PM PDT

  •  Transfered mine as well

    and will make sure the domains we have registered through work are NOT renewed with him either.

    What I find really funny, or stupid on his part, is his claim that he wasn't mixing business with his personal views.

    He puts that blog up on the front page of his COMPANY website, and he thinks that because he says it is his "personal" opinion we should just ignore where it is coming from?

    He needs a good PR person, and quickly.

    by SanJoseLady on Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 06:29:07 PM PDT

•  Fuck him anyway

  First of all this is typical right wing I'm-sorry-but-not-really bullshit.  He clearly still doesn't understand that holding people without charge is a violation of our constitution.  He's also setting up a strawman when he talks about loud music and sleep deprivation.  People have been beaten, raped and murdered at these camps.  He also clearly has no fucking clue what even these "mild" methods of torture can do to people.  He's still an asshole, in other words.  Typical little wingnut computer fuck who thinks his money makes his views worth something.  Fuck him and the company he rode in on.

  by Event Horizon on Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 06:07:36 PM PDT

•  Perhaps,

  like the current "Register the GOP Youth for the Military" and the "Yellow Elephant" campaigns being run via Jesus' General and Gilliard and others...

  We should run another campaign, which is "Subject Torture Apologists to the "Treatment""...

  I think that people like Charles Johnson, GoDaddy's big daddy, Jonah Goldberg, Trevino, Krempasky, Charles "Bird Dog" Bird, Hinderaker and the PowerLine crew, InstaPundit, and the rest of the Right Wing, Chickenhawk, Piece of Shit, Cowardly Sacks of Garbage should VOLUNTEER to PROVE that these techniques are not torture.

  I want to see videos of the above volunteering for and being subjected to being chained hand and foot in a concrete cell for 24-36 hours, being kept awake by loud music and bright lights, rolling in their own excrement, and suffering alternating bouts of 100+ degree heat and 35-40 degree chill.

  I want to see them experience the things they are pooh-poohing.

  If they refuse to step up and PROVE that these techniques are "not so bad" then they should simply STFU.

  by RedDan on Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 06:22:46 PM PDT

  •  I agree

    and sent him a comment along those lines, asking him when he was going to willingly subject himself to these "mild" methods.

    by SanJoseLady on Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 06:30:57 PM PDT

  •  Exactly

    I want to see videos of the above volunteering for and being subjected to being chained hand and foot in a concrete cell for 24-36 hours, being kept awake by loud music and bright lights, rolling in their own excrement, and suffering alternating bouts of 100+ degree heat and 35-40 degree chill.

    I want to see them experience the things they are pooh-poohing.

    If they refuse to step up and PROVE that these techniques are "not so bad" then they should simply STFU.

    I almost said the same thing.  Pampered little shits all of them.  They have no clue what this stuff really does to people.  They would be shitting themselves and hallucinating bugs under their skin the first day.  Just another example of wingnuts out of touch with science.  In this case the sciences of psychiatry and psychology.  Big surprise there.  That's the thing that really infuriates me about the present moment in history.  These nutballs may have always lived in this kind of fantasy world.  Until Bush we didn't have to live there with them.

    by Event Horizon on Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 06:33:23 PM PDT

•  What's with his 9/11 fetish?

  Anyway, that's great news, his bubble needed popping in a big, big way.

  by mrblifil on Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 06:40:06 PM PDT

•  He now has a new title up as well:

  This is the original one:

  Close Gitmo? No way!! Think our interrogation methods are tough? Prisoners in the Middle East talk quick. Here's why.

  And now he has changed the title to this:

  Should we close Gitmo? No way. Instead, let's fix it. Remembering 9-11.

  by SanJoseLady on Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 06:43:01 PM PDT

•  BREAKING!

  Can I say that in a comment? LOL. Anyway, he changed the title again! It's now "Should we close Gitmo? No way. Instead, let's fix it. Remembering 9-11." (I bolded the new part.) Better look fast, though, since I don't know how to do that page-cache thingy and he'll probably change it again.

  by pattyp on Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 06:44:14 PM PDT

•  He has also

  STOPPED posting the comments (have sent in at least three and not one new one has been added, I am sure he is getting blasted)

  by SanJoseLady on Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 07:34:27 PM PDT

•  We DID it!

  WOW! When I posted my first diary this morning, I figured "Meh, a few people will read it and nothing will come of it." Boy, was I ever wrong. Kossacks spread the word across the globe. This is the most empowered I've felt since the Dean campaign ;D You guys rock.

  I'm HOOKED!

  by Bradford in Jax on Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 07:38:56 PM PDT

  •  Great job!

    I actually missed your diary so I'm really glad tunesmith mentioned it. I've been planning to cancel my godaddy domain for a while but this made me stop procrastinating. I think if your future diaries are like your first, you'll be popular here.

    by pattyp on Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 07:56:09 PM PDT

    •  I took some

      pity on "Bob" and gave him some PR advice, after today he needs to hire a PR firm and realize that his mouth is costing him money.

      this case is a CLASSIC in the world of PR...my Lord, what I wouldn't give to have a few words with him in a "professional way."

      by SanJoseLady on Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 08:03:42 PM PDT

  •  Awesome.

    First. That you stepped up to do something that you believed in.

    Second. That you covered the subject pretty clearly.

    Third. Though you probably re-worked it a few times you fought of the temptation to go fully mediaeval on his ass and still expressed enough clear outrage that he and his comments "were" the story.

    Fourth. You made everyone at dKos feel they were part of something that was right and successful. We get the "part of something right" quite a bit...

    I'm sure to get blasted for screwing with Chairman Mao's quotes 'cause we are all commies and such but when you look at the march of 10,000 miles you got to start with "one big leap."

    by Bill Section 147 on Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 11:18:19 PM PDT

    •  thx

      Thank you so much for your kind commentary :)

      by Bradford in Jax on Tue Jun 21, 2005 at 10:17:09 AM PDT

•  I would never

  I would never ever get a registration from someone who can't even renew their own SSL security certificate. And I direct a lot of registrations for clients.

  Public companies are often propped up by Wall Street when execs do stupid shit. Private businesses easily and quickly fail under the same circumstances.

  Ha.

  by PBnJ on Mon Jun 20, 2005 at 09:49:19 PM PDT