Hard To Find Information (banned, censored, "pri-vished," obscured, "disappeared")

peridot

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Jul 28, 2018
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I looked through the forums, but didn't see anything on this specifically. (if you know there is a similar topic, please let me know)

EDITED: https://vigilantcitizenforums.com/threads/fahrenheit-451-aka-book-burnings.8626/
looks like @Karlysymon did something similar Dec. 2020.

Have any of you had information suddenly NOT be available? Or at very least, very hard to obtain by regular methods? I'm taking mostly about books, documents, recordings that have "controversial information," but this could be extended other items that could fall into that category.

There was one time I would have thought it was a passing phase of supply and demand. But given the more "progressive" environment of the world, I have slowly begun to think there is more to this. The nature of this website seems like a great place to see if anyone else has had this experience. I'd love to hear about your story. In the meantime, let me tell you mine...

Into The Buzzsaw
In about 2003ish I heard of some interesting books on the radio that talked about "power elite" type of topics, and tried to find them in my local library. The specific book I wanted this time around was "Into The Buzzsaw." The radio show explained it was a small anthology by journalists that had had articles or news refused or destroyed by their employers (tv and print news, publishing companies, etc) Thankfully my local library did have about 3 copies, and I was able to check it out about 3 times (because that's how busy people have to read library books). But it was after the ~3rd check out that something kind of strange happened.
I returned my book after hours in the library drop box, and later on checked online to make sure the library got the book so I wouldn't be charged any fees, AND so I could check it out again. Within about 48 hours, the library indicated it had been received, but the book wasn't available for check out. In fact, NONE of the copies were (remember, there were about 3 copies). Figuring the library might be doing some maintenance, I waited several days, and tried again. This time two of the copies were listed as LOST, and the one I just returned was still unavailable. It STAYED unavailable until some time later (a few months later) when NONE of the books were listed in the library catalog anymore.

Here are 2 more innocuous potential theories of what could have happened.
One: library lost all three copies around the same time. Two: no one checked the item out, so it was removed from the system. That particular library system would track books that had not been borrowed for ~ 3 years, and then hold an annual library book give away with all these "forgotten books." Even though I had checked it out at least 3 times within a 6 month period, and the books disappeared within about 1 month of this. And just because the book was about several controversial stories that got censored in the wider world of media (flight 800, rBHT, dirt on influenctial families, etc) of course doesn't mean it would get censored somehow in a library...

After The Ball
Just heard about this book (written ~ 1989 by Marshal Kirk and Hunter Madsen) around the last part of 2020. Sounded interesting enough for me to actually buy, so headed to Amazon et. alt. The cheapest copy I saw then was about out $35, which is outside my price range. Thinking like a capitalist, I decided to wait a month or two, and check if the price went down. This time there was no copy less than $100. I just check yesterday. See the attachments for some of the current prices. Note that the subject matter would definitely NOT be popular nowadays,

The Lost Ways
What really prompted me to write this post is the book The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies. There is a website lostways.org that is target for preppers and sold it, and I noticed that it is flagged by ripoff websites as a company that has had some kind of bad business practices. I heard about this from that same radio show I mentioned earlier: the host interviewed a guy about how supposedly common yard weeds are actually nutritional powerhouses (think dandelions). I knew he wrote a book, but I could never remember the interviewee's name or the name of his book or even which broadcast of said radio show I heard. Wasn't sure if he had a website or not. And I did internet and book searches. After at least a decade later I recently saw an ad that looked awfully similar to that vague memory I had. Decide this would be a good time to buy the book, for research if nothing else, before I forgot again.
I was able to find one of his books (the lost ways) on Amazon, and three of them ebay. At least, an item search on ebay said it had these three books: when you selected the listing, the page said item could NOT be found. There were ~10 listings of them being offered for sale, but selecting the listings sent me to the ebay error page. Have any of you ever searched ebay or other reputable website, gotten several listings, and had the site "error" every listing?
By some fancy foot work, I was finally able to access an actual listing on ebay. At least the items were not in the hundred dollar range, for now, but at $30 plus dollars, they are much more expensive than other books on similar topics nowadays.

I find these events odd. But maybe you have different perspectives...?
 

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JoChris

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Because they are in copyright still you have to borrow them again every hour. Membership is free.
 

polymoog

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By some fancy foot work, I was finally able to access an actual listing on ebay. At least the items were not in the hundred dollar range, for now, but at $30 plus dollars, they are much more expensive than other books on similar topics nowadays.
i found this for 19 USD, but you need to confirm that this is the same book.


into the buzzsaw, 3.80 USD.


amazon sellers will gouge your eyeballs out on hard to find books, like david paulides` missing 411 stuff, which is much, much more than it is on his own website. the books are available somewhere, but you have to dig for them.

yes, i agree that specific books are getting difficult to get. this shouldnt be a surprise considering how the war on information is progressing through FB and YT. i suppose a phone call to a few publishers is all that is needed in order to stop printing new editions of a specific book.

Every year, the American Library Association records hundreds of attempts to remove books from libraries and classrooms. Help them fight back during #BannedBookWeek – typically at the end of September each year. See complete book lists and learn more at http://www.ala.org/bbooks/banned.

from: https://www.thriftbooks.com/b/banned-books-list/

who is to blame? in my opinion, progressive/lib organizations hell bent on supressing free speech like the SPLC and the ADL, among others. i cannot discount some radical far right groups wanting to remove any newer LGBTQIA themed books, but the trend today (speaking as someone on the right) seems to be simply boycott the book/item rather than ban it outright.

2 articles on the SPLC website today dealt with "hate" literature.
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch

its the usual procedure: a few calls by their underlings to school boards, etc. are all that is needed to get something banned, with or without the threat of cancelled funding.
it would be naive to think that the pressure to ban a specific book would end at social or politically themed books. big pharma surely would like to put pressure on the FDA to target authors discussing anti-vax information or curing ones own health problems (kevin trudeau?). would they go as far as interfering with wildcrafting and herbal remedies? if i was one of the bad guys, i certainly would.
 

peridot

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Jul 28, 2018
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255
i found this for 19 USD, but you need to confirm that this is the same book.


into the buzzsaw, 3.80 USD.


amazon sellers will gouge your eyeballs out on hard to find books, like david paulides` missing 411 stuff, which is much, much more than it is on his own website. the books are available somewhere, but you have to dig for them.

yes, i agree that specific books are getting difficult to get. this shouldnt be a surprise considering how the war on information is progressing through FB and YT. i suppose a phone call to a few publishers is all that is needed in order to stop printing new editions of a specific book.

Every year, the American Library Association records hundreds of attempts to remove books from libraries and classrooms. Help them fight back during #BannedBookWeek – typically at the end of September each year. See complete book lists and learn more at http://www.ala.org/bbooks/banned.

from: https://www.thriftbooks.com/b/banned-books-list/

who is to blame? in my opinion, progressive/lib organizations hell bent on supressing free speech like the SPLC and the ADL, among others. i cannot discount some radical far right groups wanting to remove any newer LGBTQIA themed books, but the trend today (speaking as someone on the right) seems to be simply boycott the book/item rather than ban it outright.

2 articles on the SPLC website today dealt with "hate" literature.
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch

its the usual procedure: a few calls by their underlings to school boards, etc. are all that is needed to get something banned, with or without the threat of cancelled funding.
it would be naive to think that the pressure to ban a specific book would end at social or politically themed books. big pharma surely would like to put pressure on the FDA to target authors discussing anti-vax information or curing ones own health problems (kevin trudeau?). would they go as far as interfering with wildcrafting and herbal remedies? if i was one of the bad guys, i certainly would.
That's why I put "banned" and "censored" in parentheses. This information usually IS available, just not "easily"
... during a time in history that's reputed to to be the easiest one in history to gain access to information.

I also agree with you that you see more instances of publications getting "cancelled" or taken off shelves due to complaints. Outright banning sounds like a fascist censorship. Calling it response to a concerned citizen sounds much more civilized, despite the same outcome.

I also mentioned "privishing." (Hope I'm spelling that right; I just recently discovered the term) The idea is that the expected publishing of the book (widespread, etc) is NEVER done, and the book's contents are either held by the publisher (in some cases) and/or never republished, or given a wider audience. Instead, the publisher makes a small special publishing (private publishing) of a book, but only to legally fulfil the contract with the author.

The result is the same as above: information is blocked from widespread dissemination. In some cases the author can have the book republished elsewhere, but at this point, other reputable publishers are much less likely to publish stuff rejected by their peers/competition.
 

peridot

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Because they are in copyright still you have to borrow them again every hour. Membership is free.
I saw this the last time I went on that particular book hunt. Thanks for that. It reminds me of an option to scribd.org when it first got started.
 
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