World News

From the Bangkok Post

Vietnam's communist government has issued strict new press regulations that punish "denying revolutionary achievements" and require journalists to have articles reviewed before publication, officials and state media said Friday.

The new Decree on Cultural and Information Activities follows aggressive reporting in Vietnam's state-controlled press of a massive corruption scandal that forced the resignation of the transport minister and the arrest of his deputy over embezzlement of some 7 million dollars in state funds.

The press regulations came even as Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, in a speech to the National Assembly before his retirement, called for measures to ensure transparency and openness of state agencies. But added that the people's right to be informed must be clearly regulated.

Such regulations will be strengthened with the new degree that Khai signed in June and set to take effect July 1. Under the new rules, Vietnamese journalists can be fined 3 million dong (190 dollars) for publishing stories with anonymous sources and up to 7 million dong (450 dollars) for refusing to allow an interviewee to read an article before publication.

Disseminating reactionary ideology is banned, along with any articles that reveal Party secrets, state secrets, military secrets and economic secrets, which carry fines of up to 30 million dong ( 2,000 dollars).

Vietnam already has criminal laws on the books that punish "revealing state secrets" with up to 15 years in prison. Vietnamese journalists can also be fined for defaming national heroes , although the decree does not spell out who is a national hero.

Vu Xuan Thanh, head of the Ministry of Culture and Information Inspection Department, said the ministry would decide which national figures are considered heroes and said that the law would not be used to shield government officials from legitimate criticism.

A spokesman in Paris for the press freedom advocacy group Reporters Without Borders condemned the new press regulations as a step backward for Vietnam. In a period where we felt that something may be changing in this country, because a few journalists started investigating on corruption scandals, this is a very bad news, said RWB's Julien Pain.

From The Guardian

The trial of Oriana Fallaci, a journalist and author accused of defaming Islam in a book, was opened and adjourned yesterday in an Italian court.

The charge stems from a recent book, The Force of Reason , one of a trilogy she has published since the September 11 attacks on the US. In the book, Fallaci is alleged to have made 18 blasphemous statements, including referring to Islam as "a pool that never purifies".

She has been charged with violating a law that forbids defamatory statements about a religion acknowledged by the Italian state. The offence is punishable with a fine of up to €6,000.

Fallaci has frequently stirred debate with her views, which are largely based on the notion that Muslims are engaged in a plot to conquer Europe by immigration. She has been accused of trying to incite racial hatred, but has also been applauded by rightwing factions and free speech activists.

Adel Smith, head of the Italian Muslim Union, brought the lawsuit against her.

The judge ordered another hearing on June 26.

From The Times

The latest blockbuster of Bollywood’s most fêted star, Aamir Khan, has been banned in cinemas across the state of Gujarat after he joined a street protest against the building of a dam that will displace 35,000 people from their homes.

The film, Fanaa (Annihilation), which was released yesterday, would not be screened in the western state until Khan took back his remarks, cinema owners and members of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party said.

The actor took part in protests against the dam, which is regarded as essential for the state’s development, in Delhi last month, where he accused political parties responsible for its construction of being “thugs”. He said that farmers displaced by the dam had lost their livelihood and should be resettled.

BJP activists yesterday burned posters of the actor in the state’s capital, Ahmedabad, shouted slogans outside multiplexes and labelled Khan an enemy of Gujarat. Banning the film is a way of telling the world that we will not let anybody talk or act against the state’s development, said Amit Thakar, the national secretary of the party’s youth wing. He said that the dam was the lifeline of Gujarat and its opponents would be blacklisted.

Khan refused to apologise, saying that to do so would let down those people that the dam has displaced.

The controversy prompted Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister, to defend the actor’s right to free speech: Every citizen has the freedom of expression as long as he does not indulge in unconstitutional activities.

From The Guardian

One of France's most popular rappers will appear in court today charged with offending public decency with a song in which he referred to France as a "slut" and vowed to "piss" on Napoleon and Charles de Gaulle.

Monsieur R, whose real name is Richard Makela, could face three years in prison or a €75,000 (£51,000) fine after an MP from the ruling UMP party launched legal action against him over his album Politikment Incorrekt.

In the video for the song FranSSe , Makela appeared dressed as a gendarme with two naked women rubbing against the French flag as he rapped: France is a bitch, don't forget to fuck her till she's exhausted/You have to treat her like a slut, man .

When Daniel Mach, MP for Pyrénées-Orientales, heard the album last year, he proposed a law making it a criminal offence to insult the dignity of France and the French state. In November, when riots broke out in France's run-down suburbs, another UMP deputy, François Grosdidier, won the support of 152 MPs and 49 senators who demanded that parliament act against Makela's lyrics. But by then Mach had taken a personal action against Makela for making and disseminating "violent and pornographic messages" to which minors could get access.

Press Release from Sweet Entertainment Group

Sweet Entertainment Group (SEG) and Steve Sweet, will not be going to trial next month in Vancouver, British Columbia on charges of distributing films over the Internet in contravention of the British Columbia Motion Picture Act.

The British Columbia Film Classification Office (BC FCO) had taken the position that SEG fell under its purview and therefore had to have a license to distribute content over the Internet, and, in addition, to submit any content to the Commission for its review, rating and censorship. SEG balked at that idea and took the position it did not have to do so.

No doubt smarting from the acquittal of Mr. Sweet and SEG on obscenity charges, on June 16, 2004 the BC FCO decided to launch its own raid on Sweet’s studios. Assisted by the Vancouver Police Department FCO Inspectors seized computer discs and other corporate materials and then charged SEG, and Steve Sweet personally, for breaches of the Motion Picture Act; specifically for carrying on the business of an adult film retailer and distributor without being licensed to do so.

The Crown abandoned charges against Steve Sweet of obstructing a Film Classification Officer last month. Today Crown Counsel directed a stay of proceedings against all SEG corporate defendants and Mr. Sweet personally, bringing this latest prosecution to an end. SEG would like to once again thank its legal counsel, Paul G. Kent-Snowsell, for the tremendous job he did in defending these charges and bring the case to a successful conclusion.

Max Sweet

From The Telegraph

Iran has suspended publication of its official state newspaper after it published a cartoon that sparked violent ethnic protests in the northwestern city of Tabriz, a senior judiciary official said today.

The cartoonist and the editor-in-chief of the “Iran” newspaper were arrested over the lampoon that was deemed to insult Iran’s Azeri minority, Tehran’s chief prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi said: Some charges were brought against both of them and they were transferred to Evin prison. He did not specify the charges.

The official Irna news agency said the cartoonist, Mana Neyestani, and the editor-in-chief, Mehrdad Qasemfar, were detained for “further investigation”.

Furious members of the Azeri minority pelted government buildings and banks with stones in Tabriz last night, enraged by the cartoon, eyewitnesses in the city said.

The cartoon, which appeared in Friday’s edition of Iran, showed a boy repeating the Persian word for cockroach in different ways while the uncomprehending bug in front of him says “What?” in Azeri.

The Azeris of northwestern Iran speak a language related to Turkish. Although Azeris have many luminaries among Iran’s commercial elite, Iran’s majority Persians mock them in jokes.

From the Bangkok Post

The Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) yesterday announced a plan to introduce a rating system for online computer games to help parents screen the products to suit their children.

ICT deputy permanent secretary Maneerat Phalipat said the ministry had asked Thammasat University's Research and Consultancy Institute to study and develop a game rating model for Thailand.

The model was introduced at a workshop yesterday which was participated in by representatives from both the government and private sectors, including game producers and distributors, parents and teenagers.

The proposed model has two kinds of labels. The first is an age rating, which would categorise games for five age groups - all ages, 3+ years, 6+ years, 12+ years, and 18 years and over.

There is also a ''Rating pending'' for games that are in the process of being rated.

The other kind of label is a content description which consists of seven warning signs - Bad Language, Drugs, Gambling, Fear, Love, Sexual, and Violence.

For Thailand the study has added two more special signs, Contrary to Thai Cultur e and Endless Game for those that could cause addiction among players.

Games labelled Contrary to Thai Culture will be banned, while the Endless Game label would remind parents to limit their children's playing hours.

The ministry also plans to adopt marketing strategies to encourage game distributors and importers to voluntarily apply for ratings. They said the system is aimed at raising public awareness of the threats of online games, while calling for operators to show responsibility for consumers.

Maneerat said the proposed model would be reviewed before being officially submitted to the ministry and later to the cabinet. She expected the system to be implemented by the end of the year.

From Asian Sex Gazette

The lower house of Russian parliament, the State Duma,  has rejected a draft bill offering a definition of legal pornography last week. The bill, submitted by the nationalist Rodina (Motherland) faction, received the support of only 91 deputies, while 226 votes were required.

The authors of the draft suggested amending the provisions of the penal code governing punishment for dissemination of pornography and offered a legal definition of pornography. The authors hoped that would help prevent ambiguities in interpretation. But most deputies rejected the draft, saying it was not likely to help improve the situation, on the contrary, it would make law enforcement even more complicated.

The current Russian law, Article 228, Russian Criminal Code(1), reads as follows: The production, circulation, or advertising of pornographic works, printed publications, pictures or any other articles of a pornographic character, and also the trading therein or the possession with the goal of sale or dissemination... shall be punished by deprivation of freedom for a term of up to three years, or a fine of up to three months' minimum pay, with the mandatory confiscation of the pornographic articles and the means of their production.

Anyone who has been to Russia in the past six years would probably be surprised to learn that there is an anti-pornography law on the books or that it is still enforced. Certainly, a casual survey of the wares of table merchants in urban underpasses would reveal that pornography (although its popularity has declined) is still in abundance on the streets.

Based on an article from the Bangkok Post

The producer of Mak Te Lok Talueng (Lucky Loser), a comedy movie that pokes fun at a fictitious Lao football team, has cancelled the opening after complaints from the Vientiane.

We will not release the film on May 18 as scheduled in order to show good faith, said Wisut Pulworaluck, chief executive officer of GMM Tai Hub. We don't want to create any problems that may lead to conflicts between the two countries.

MWisut made his announcement at a press briefing after a meeting yesterday with Lao ambassador Hiem Phommachanh.

Lao officials complained the movie's jokes belittled Lao people and the film, about a Thai coach taking the Lao football team to the World Cup, contained inappropriate scenes. The film shows Lao footballers dyeing their hair and underarms to get a Western look, while the team practised in refrigerated containers to get used to the cold weather.

Wisut said the ambassador made several points that prompted the company to cancel the release.

There was no plan for film edits to make it more palatable.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon has advised Thai film producers to be more considerate and respectful of other nations. He said Thai films have high potential in the international arena but the industry needs to be more sensitive about other peoples' feelings.

It is the second Thai film in less than a month to offend a neighbouring country. Horror flick La-Tha-Pii (Ghost Game) brought protests from Cambodia, which complained it exploited the tragic history of its Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s.

From the BBC

Internet regulators have finally rejected plans to create a domain for pornography websites ending with the .xxx suffix. Internet regulator Icann's chief said the decision was not political.

Advocates of the exclusive domain had argued that it would make it easier for web users to locate - or avoid - pornography online.

Conservative opponents of the plan said it would legitimise pornography, while opponents in the porn industry warned it could lead to more state control.

From the Bangkok Post

Governments in Asia are considered among the world's worst ''enemies'' of internet freedom, as they increasingly censor websites and jail people who express views deemed dangerous online.

In comments marking World Press Freedom Day, today, experts said several countries including China, Vietnam and Nepal are feeling more threatened by cyberspace than ever as internet use booms among their populations.

Of 15 ''enemies of the internet'' named by Paris-based rights group Reporters Without Borders late last year, five were in East or South Asia - China, North Korea, Vietnam, Burma and Nepal. The 10 ''countries to watch'' included Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea.

Experts warn that, with less freedom of information, Asian societies risk seeing more corruption and abuse of government power, while public discontent will grow, leading to more social instability. They fear the internet will spread Western ideas of freedom and democracy which will lead to an overthrow of their power, said formerly imprisoned Chinese journalist Gao Yu, who won Unesco's Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom award in 1997.

Employing sophisticated filtering technology, forcing internet cafes to register users and internet service providers to reveal user information, the governments were trying to rein in a medium they realise they must also embrace to spur modernisation and economic growth.

In China, the world's biggest jailer of journalists, the number of cyber dissidents imprisoned has exceeded the number of reporters locked up.

Vietnam, which lacks China's money and technology, has employed internet police to filter out ''subversive'' content and spy on cybercafes.

Burma blocks not only foreign news sites but also web-based email services and forces internet cafes to monitor their computer users.

North Korea only allows a few thousand privileged people to have access to a heavily-censored version of the internet.

Asian countries on the watch list, despite being perceived as more modern and open, also displayed worrying signs of trying to control the internet, the group said.

For example, in Thailand, the government extended its fight against internet pornography to censoring online news sites as part of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's effort to rein in the media. Defamation suits that once targeted newspapers now hit writers who publish online, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance said.

From Cyprus Weekly

Ankara is set to drag a Turkish Cypriot columnist before a Turkish court in unprecedented legal action that signals a serious escalation in the persecution of dissenters in the occupied north.

No formal charges have yet been laid against London-based columnist Serhat Incirli who writes for independent daily Afrika. But Turkish Cypriot police have questioned Incirli’s parents at their home in the north, seeking the columnist’s London address and telephone numbers.

Turkish Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Ferdi Sabit Soyer confirmed to reporters Turkey’s Attorney General is preparing a case against Incirli.

He said Ankara wants to file charges against Incirli for two of his articles published in Afrika that were deemed as a “direct insult” to the Republic of Turkey.

If the trial does go ahead, it would be the first time that a Turkish Cypriot journalist is tried in a Turkish court – a development Incirli said would mark a “dangerous” turn in how Ankara suppresses dissent in the north.

Incirli suggested a precedent-setting trial would make Turkish Cypriots easier scapegoats for Ankara to vent its mounting frustration over Turkey’s increasingly troubled EU entry bid.

Incirli said he “had no idea” why Ankara is preparing to sue him, but he suspects it pertains to his harsh criticism of Turkey’s double standards over Cyprus and its own long-standing Kurdish problem. He said Ankara openly favours the partition of Cyprus, but it quashes any discussion over Kurdish demands for heightened autonomy within its own borders.

Incirli, who holds a Republic of Cyprus passport, pondered the legal ramifications of Turkey trying a citizen of an EU-member country it doesn’t recognise.

From MSNBC

A prominent Turkish journalist went on trial on Wednesday charged with undermining the authority of the armed forces by writing in support of a young man who refused to do military service.

Perihan Magden is one of several journalists and writers who face the courts this week as nationalist prosecutors inside the criminal justice system try to silence opinion and comment that, they argue, threaten Turkey's unity or the integrity of the state.

Magden's trial, which was adjourned until late next month, is being closely watched by the European Union. Brussels is taking an increasingly hard line with Turkey over restrictions on freedom of expression.

Separately, some staff at TRT, the state broadcasting network, demonstrated in Istanbul yesterday against alleged censorship and interference by the government, which has its roots in political Islam. Some 150 people, mostly employees of state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), staged a demonstration on Wednesday to denounce the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for what they called censorship, pressure, partisan appointments and increased religious broadcasts.

The group demonstrated outside TRT's radio building in downtown Istanbul, holding up posters that read: "No to censorship, end pressure" and "Allow us to do our jobs" and accused TRT of becoming a mouthpiece for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government.

The employees were members of a journalists' trade union. Representatives of journalists associations and other nongovernmental organizations were present in a show of solidarity.

Freedom of expression in Turkey, which has frequently clamped down on dissident views in the past for fear of stoking separatist or leftist strife, is one of the most contentious issues in Ankara's relations with the EU. It is expected to feature high on the agenda at a bilateral meeting on Monday aimed at making progress on Turkey's bid to join the Union.
 

From The Times

A British artist is facing up to three years’ jail in Turkey for exhibiting a collage that depicts its Prime Minister as a dog being awarded a rosette by President Bush in a pet show.

Police in Istanbul seized Michael Dickinson’s Best in Show — in which he superimposed the head of Recep Tayyip Erdogan on to a dog’s body — from his exhibition in the city.

He has been told that he is likely to be charged with insulting the dignity of the Prime Minister . The show’s organiser, Erkan Kara, will go on trial on September 12 on the same charge.

Dickinson said: It’s such an Alice in Wonderland feeling. The law is so absurd . . . This law exists in Turkey about insulting ‘Turkishness’ or the State. You’re not allowed to state your opinion.

The case could greatly embarrass Turkey and Britain, for it raises questions about Turkey’s human rights record as it seeks EU membership, with Tony Blair’s backing.

Dickinson has lived in Turkey for 20 years, teaching English at Yeditepe University. His exhibition was staged in Istanbul by the Global Peace and Justice Coalition. The collage, hung with anti-war images, refers to the Prime Minister having taken legal action over cartoons depicting him as various animals.

Charles Thomson, of the Stuckist art movement, to which Dickinson belongs, has told Blair that it is intolerable for an EU applicant to censor political comment: I trust you will communicate your strongest condemnation and ask for this case to be abandoned, he wrote, urging Blair to oppose Turkey’s EU membership until it changes its stance on human rights.

Thomson has also written to Olli Rehn, the EU Enlargement Commissioner, saying that in the Union the collage would be considered acceptable free expression.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said: Everybody will have to wait and see whether the court decides if this is about freedom of expression or not. A spokesman said that Turkey’s laws should be respected and suggested that the international community was too hasty in condemning it.

From Asian Sex Gazette

In a landmark decision, the Hong Kong High Court ruled recently that current laws on the age of consent discriminate against homosexuals.

Justice Michael Hartmann acted in favor of William Leung, 20, who launched a Judicial Review against the government for what he considered unfair laws against gays.

Hartmann said existing laws were "demeaning of gay men," stereotype them as "deviant," and interfere with their private lives on the assumption that homosexuality was "morally reprehensible." Hartmann declared that four sections of the law covering homosexual acts, on the books since 1991, were unconstitutional.

Previously, sexual intimacy between two men below the age of 21 was a criminal offence even though sexual intimacy between heterosexuals and lesbians is allowed after the age of 16. Group sex between gay men, even though in private and conducted by consenting adults, was also criminal, while such activities between heterosexuals and lesbians above 16 was allowed. An act of sodomy, submitted as the natural sexual expression of gay men, below the age of 21 was a criminal offence with possible life imprisonment if it was conducted between two men.

During the trial in July, the government conceded that three of the four sections were in breach of the Bill of Rights and Article 25 of the Basic Law safeguarding equal rights because they unfairly distinguished between homosexuals and heterosexuals.

However, it maintained that the criminalization of sodomy between men under the age of 21 was not in breach of the constitution since sodomy between a man and a woman under 21 was equally a criminal offence.

Hartmann also declared that criminalizing sodomy for homosexuals below the age of 21 was indirectly discriminatory of gay men since it deprives them of their natural sexual expression. Put plainly, heterosexual couples may have sexual intercourse under the age of 21, homosexual couples may not, he said.

Law Yuk-lai, director of the Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor, said the ruling was long overdue: The Hong Kong government should have reviewed its legislation in 1994 when the United Nations Human Rights Committee declared that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was a violation of human rights.

From the Jakarta Post

Artists, public figures, and members of ethnic groups from throughout the country are planning to march through Central Jakarta on Saturday to show their cultural opposition to the pornography bill.

Organizers say the parade organizers will demonstrate Indonesia's cultural diversity as part of a national movement to reject the bill.

The legislation, supported by Muslim leaders and the Indonesian Ulema Council, contains articles which could make it illegal for women bare their thighs, breasts or navels in public.

Those opposed to the bill say it could also end up outlawing the traditional costumes of non-Muslim ethnic groups in the country, along with the traditional kebaya and kemben dresses used in ethnic dances throughout the country.

Artist, activist and march organizer Ratna Sarumpaet said Thursday in Jakarta that around 5,000 people were expected to join the parade, gathering at 11 a.m. at the National Monument.

Ratna said the parade would present traditional dances, including Aceh's Seudati and West Java's Jaipong, a series of Papuan performances and Central Java's mesmeric Kuda Lumping.

Activist Yeni Rosa Damayanti said that the parade was not about debating religious values. Instead it was about protecting Indonesia's cultural diversity, which the bill had put under threat.

From the China Post

Dancers, musicians and models rallied in Indonesia on Saturday against a proposed anti-pornography bill that could impose jail terms for kissing in public or baring "sensual" body parts.

Most of the nearly 1,000 protesters were women dressed in colorful traditional costumes that showed off their shoulders, cleavage, calves and midriffs. This bill defies logic, said rally coordinator Yeni Rosa Damayanti as they marched through the streets of the capital, Jakarta, under a light drizzle. The state shouldn't try to dictate how women dress.

The protesters said they fear traditional dancing, skimpy clothes and even bathing in rivers could be declared illegal if it is passed.

Muslim groups should not be allowed to force their beliefs on the whole country, said the demonstrators, who included actors, writers, beauty pageant finalists, and a truck loaded with transvestites.

From Asia Media

Around 1,000 supporters of a proposed anti-pornography bill that would ban kissing and sensual dancing in public rallied in the Indonesian capital on to demand the immediate adoption of the law.

The protesters, dressed in black, and some driving motorbikes, gathered at Jakarta's main downtown roundabout, about a week after the same number of people demonstrated against the bill.

Thursday's demonstrators called on leaders to impose the law sooner to prevent "public displays of women's sensuality." We support the bill because it could protect the moral of the people, said Sarkawi, a protest organiser.

The anti-pornography bill that was originally drafted in 1999. It is currently being considered by a special parliamentary committee.

From the Jakarta Post

Some 5,000 people under the banner of The Nationalist Network will take to the streets Thursday in another protest against the Indonesian pornography bill. The protesters will comprise some 42 community groups,

They will start marching from the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta, passing through Semanggi flyover toward the House of Representatives in South Jakarta.

While the porn bill is still being deliberated at the House of Representatives, with some revisions made, many groups, particularly artists and people interested in the study of culture, are still trying to convince the House to drop the bill, saying it would deny the people freedom of expression.

Network coordinator Nur Aini said it was important to keep the cause alive because the porn bill only served the interests of politicians and not the general public.

From the BBC

More than 10,000 people have taken part in an anti-pornography rally in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. They were supporting a bill before parliament which would include a ban on public kissing and erotic dancing.

The bill would make organising erotic dancing punishable by up to 10 years in prison and public kissing on the mouth punishable by five years or a fine.

Critics of the anti-pornography bill say it would curtail artistic freedom and violate women's rights. Anyone performing dances deemed erotic could also be punished by up to five years in prison.

Supporters of the hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia were amongst those who marched on the parliament building.

Women and children joined the protesters, many of whom held banners reading "Pornography can destroy nation's morality" and "Indonesia should be civilised".

From the BBC

The House special committee on the pornography bill will rework its draft to focus on curbing the prevalence of obscene materials, a development that brings the heated discussion about its contents back to square one.

The decision was made after committee members agreed that the current draft denied people's basic rights and also was rife with inconsistencies.

Lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari said: Proponents of the bill have repeatedly said that it was to protect women and children, but there was no mention in the bill about laws that protect women and children as its legal consideration.

She said that after taking into account the demonstrations for and against the bill, committee members also agreed to focus on measures to curb the production and distribution of pornographic materials, instead of restricting individual behaviour: Preparation of the new draft alone will take at least three months .

Special committee Chairman, Balkan Kaplale, insisted the deliberation of the bill to be completed by mid-June, with only a plenary session necessary for its endorsement.

Based on an article from CTV. See also Little Sisters Bookstore

Little Sisters, the Vancouver gay and lesbian book store that has been fighting government censorship rules for 20 years, is back before the Supreme Court of Canada this week, asking for financial help to pay for its latest court challenge.

The cost of the store's fight against bureaucrats who label books and magazines obscene and block them at the border is far beyond its resources, says Jim Deva, co-owner of Little Sisters.

A lower-court judge in British Columbia ruled that the case was important enough to deserve federal financial aid, but the provincial court of appeal decided otherwise last year.

The store won a key Supreme Court ruling in 2000, with a decision that said Customs had a right to censor material, but had to change the way it did so.

Little Sisters, though, says Customs has not changed. Its latest censorship case involves four publications that were ruled obscene in 2001 and 2003, including two series of comic books and two books on bondage and sadomasochism.

But that fight is on hold while lawyers argue the financing. What we're after is some financial help so we can actually get the court case to court, Deva said. Precedents say that people can get government funding for court challenges deemed to be of major importance. Deva is upset that the appeal court didn't see his case as important.

The latest case has drawn a flock of intervenors, including the Canadian Bar Association, Egale Canada, the Canadian Aids Society, the Sierra Legal Defence Fund and Environmental Law Centre and the attorneys general of both Ontario and British Columbia.

From Iran Focus

The Supreme Court reserved judgment Wednesday in the case of a Vancouver gay and lesbian bookstore that wants Ottawa to pick up the legal tab for a lawsuit against Canada Customs.

The arguments drew pointed questions from the justices for both sides, which lawyer Joseph Avray saw as a good thing he said after the hearing: I think they understand that this is a complex question. As they are wont to do, they like to explore it from all sides. They like to have their questions answered, they like to be helped with what's troubling them. They posed tough questions to all counsel.

He said the suit would never have been filed if Customs had followed the last ruling and improved the way it makes obscenity decisions: The court's order last time around simply didn't have enough teeth and we're here to get a court order with plenty of teeth.

From Iran Focus

The new Palestinian culture minister has set his sights on stamping out pornography — and belly dancing.

Atallah Abu Al Subbah, a senior official of Hamas, said belly dancing was “a form of striptease”: I do not regard forms of pornography and striptease as culture. They are destructive.

Abu Al Subbah blamed Israel for the spread of pornographic movies in Gaza and the West Bank. He vowed to confront the vice by boosting the “culture of resistance” and Islamic values. Israel spreads pornographic movies among our people as a means to recruit them, the minister said.

From the BBC

Chinese authorities have added Rough Justice from the Bigger Bang album to the Rolling Stone's banned list of  Brown Sugar , Honky Tonk Woman , Beast of Burden and Let's Spend the Night Together .

Lead singer Sir Mick Jagger said the band were not worried by the censorship and had fully expected it.

The Rolling Stones do not have such a devoted Chinese following and it is widely expected the majority of the audience will be non-Chinese. Sir Mick sarcastically added: I'm pleased that the Ministry of Culture is protecting the morals of the expat bankers and their girlfriends that are going to be coming.

Based on an article from Mac User

The online meeting place Myspace has been ejecting tens of thousands of profiles from its service. According to reports, it has removed some 200,000 'objectionable' profiles from its service on grounds ranging from racist comments to being too risqué.

The MySpace social networking service, which claims millions of regular users, was acquired by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp last year. It is now cracking down on those who do not abide by the rules of online behaviour as set by News Corp.

Under the safety tips on the site, Myspace states Harassment, hate speech and inappropriate content should be reported. If you feel someone's behaviour is inappropriate, react. Talk with a trusted adult, or report it to MySpace or the authorities. It also warns that people should think twice before posting a photo or info you wouldn't want your parents or boss to see, and that If you lie about your age, MySpace will delete your profile . MySpace users should be at least 14 years old.

News Corp, which also owns the noxious Fox News in the US, is particularly concerned by a possible backlash from parents and teachers who complain about objectionable content visible to the millions of American teenagers who use the service.

From the Bangkok Post

New Internet technologies such as podcasting and videocasting cannot be used for disseminating political information during the upcoming Singapore general election, the government said in a recent published statement.

Bloggers are allowed to discuss politics but will have to register their sites if they consistently espouse a political line.

Streaming of "explicit political content" by parties or individuals has been banned under election advertising rules set in 2001.

The latest clarifications are supposedly aimed at curtailing the scope of those who hoped to use the internet to influence the polls, said Dr Balaji Sadasivan, senior minister of state for information, communications and the arts, in a breakdown of the new rules in The Straits Times.

Increasingly popular is podcasting, an Internet audio feed. Podcasting is not among the "positive list" of regulations which spells out what political parties, candidates and election agents can do to promote themselves during the campaign, Balaji said.

In the November 2001 polls, online electioneering was limited mainly to political parties posting their candidates' biographies and rally information on websites. In elaborating, Balaji said that websites of political parties and those who take an avowedly political stance have to be registered by the Media Development Authority (MDA).

Bloggers who "persistently propagate, promote or circulate political issues relating to Singapore" are also required to register with the MDA. During the election period, these registered persons will not be permitted to provide material online that constitutes election advertising, he said.

From CBS News

A play about an American peace activist killed in the Gaza Strip has opened in London instead of the previously planned off-Broadway home.

My Name Is Rachel Corrie, a one-woman show starring Megan Dodds, began a six-week run this week at the Playhouse Theatre in London's West End.

The play had been due to open this month at New York Theatre Workshop, one of the city's leading off-Broadway spaces. But the production was suspended indefinitely in February.

The show's director, British actor Alan Rickman, said the theater had canceled the run, and accused it of "censorship born out of fear."

The Playhouse stepped in to stage the story of Corrie, who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer while trying to stop the destruction of a Palestinian home in the southern Gaza town of Rafah in March 2003. Corrie had traveled to the Middle East with the International Solidarity Movement, an activist group that tries to stop Israeli military operations in the Palestinian territories.

From Reuters

A play about an American human rights activist who died in the Gaza Strip will now open in New York in October, six months after it was pulled from the schedule at another theater amid charges of censorship.

My Name is Rachel Corrie is a one-woman show based on the U.S. human rights campaigner killed by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003, trying to prevent demolition of a Palestinian building.

Producers Dena Hammerstein and Pam Pariseau said in a statement on Thursday the play would open at the off-Broadway Minetta Lane Theatre on Oct. 15, for a limited run to Nov. 19.

Press release from www.anonymizer.com

Anonymizer Inc., the leader in online identity protection software and services, today announced the launch of Operation Anti-Censorship. This new privacy software, created specifically for Chinese citizens, will enable safe access to the entire Internet by circumventing the Web filters put in place by the government. In addition, the new solution protects users from detection, persecution, and retribution by shielding their personal identities and related information that the Chinese government is currently able to monitor.

Citizens of China can download the free software today at www.xifuchun.com. The success of this program relies heavily on word-of-mouth promotion, and "Tell a Friend" functionality has been added to the site. All people are encouraged to share the news about Operation Anti-Censorship with their friends and family. Bloggers, reporters, and other media outlets are also urged to spread the word by promoting this Web site today.

Anonymizer is excited to provide this free service to the people of China, said Lance Cottrell, president and chief scientist, Anonymizer Inc. Our goal is to make the Internet an even playing field for everyone, including those under the rule of repressive regimes. We've had great success in other areas of the world, including our current work in Iran, and we're looking forward to bringing safe Internet access to others.

The Web site that currently hosts the software download is www.xifuchun.com, however please note that this URL will be changed on a regular basis to avoid blocking by the Chinese government. Anonymizer relies on early adopters to share the regularly changing URLs with their friends and family members so the number of people able to safely access the Internet continues to grow.

How to Get Started

To download the software, users must first submit a valid email address atwww.xifuchun.com to receive regular updates containing new configuration directions and the latest location of the download site.

From Pestiside.hu

The Hungarian National Radio and Television Board (ORTT) is taking a stand against foreign-produced porn channels broadcast on cable and satellite TV, even though laws prohibiting them have been in effect for four years. But even as Hungarian TV attempts to button up its blouse, the chances are still good that it is going to get well and truly fucked up the ass.

It all boils down to the usual and deliciously subjective debate on the gaping grey area between art and porn, not to mention the fact that many channels broadcast from abroad. ORTT spokeswoman Éva Vékony told index.hu (in an article indignantly headlined "Fighting Windmills against Anal Fisting") that the organization is redoubling its efforts to enforce the 2002 law prohibiting pornographic programming at all times. This is more of a challenge than it sounds, largely because the law doesn't give any definition of porn, here in Hungary or anywhere else in the EU.

Predictably, the Swedes lead the way. There, nothing is porn that happens with the consent of two or more adults, even if the camera zooms in really, really close. Even the "Television without Borders" EU directive that allows regulatory bodies like the ORTT to punish porn channels with the help of foreign authorities has proved as useless as a pair of crotchless panties in the courts. And although no one likes to admit it, these channels do have their followers. Annual polls carried out by UPC indicate that few people are interested in adult TV, but that complaints come raining in whenever a porn channel is considered for cancellation.