Fitna pulled off of LiveLeak

Yesterday I blogged about Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders’ just-released 15 minute film Fitna, which was posted on numerous video sites, removed from some sites, and reposted at other video sites. LiveLeak was one of the few multimedia sites that kept up the anti-Islamofascism video instead of deleting it everytime a user posted it.

Tonight we learn that LiveLeak decided to take the film off its site due to serious threats:

Following threats to our staff of a very serious nature, and some ill informed reports from certain corners of the British media that could directly lead to the harm of some of our staff, Liveleak.com has been left with no other choice but to remove Fitna from our servers.

This is a sad day for freedom of speech on the net but we have to place the safety and well being of our staff above all else. We would like to thank the thousands of people, from all backgrounds and religions, who gave us their support. They realised LiveLeak.com is a vehicle for many opinions and not just for the support of one.
Perhaps there is still hope that this situation may produce a discussion that could benefit and educate all of us as to how we can accept one anothers culture.

We stood for what we believe in, the ability to be heard, but in the end the price was too high.

I rec’d this tip from Michael van der Galien, who runs the Dutch blog Poligazette. However, as of this writing, if you click on that link you will see that the site has been suspended. Jimmie at The Sundries Shack, who sometimes blogs at Poligazette, heard from Michael and both of them believe the blog was suspended because Poligazette, though not endorsing the content, supported the release of the film and was critical of the Dutch government’s reaction to it.

In the meantime, Gates of Vienna has posted the English translation of the transcript to Fitna. You can read it here.