Baghdadi does a beautiful job of presenting Slave to Sirens both as relatable young people and Middle Eastern women navigating the constant threat of oppression. She balances these themes, careful to never isolate or otherize her subjects. Rather, she lets the reality of daily life inform their individual choices and struggles.

Baghdadi spends a great deal of time on Mayassi, who teaches music at a primary school by day and lives on the outskirts of Beirut with her mother and younger brother. The film includes a number of interactions between Mayassi and her mom, who share a warm, humorous relationship underpinned with tension. Mayassi wants to move out, but her mother will not have it, citing the tradition that a daughter only leaves her mother once she is married and bearing children. Mayassi, who conceals her queer identity from her family, challenges the custom. What era is this? she asks. Youre talking like its the 1960s, when your mother had so many kids, they didnt even know each other. People would marry based on a photograph. Her mother, a quick-witted stoic, retorts: Now people are getting married over the internet. So you mean life has evolved?

Traces of news broadcasts act as foreboding narrators during these domestic vignettes. During one, Mayassi sits in her family living room as the voice of an anchor seeps from the TV: Article 534 of the law is vague. It says that any sexual relation contradictory to the laws of nature is punishable up to one year in prison. Later on, Mayassi and her mom tune into a report about local band Mashrou Leila, who were targeted by religious authorities and sent death threats for publicly supporting gay and transgender rights. Mayassi, downtrodden following Slave to Sirens lackluster reception at Glastonbury, stares wordlessly at the television set, perhaps imagining a bleak future for her band, and for herself as a queer woman in Lebanon. Across the room, a look of icy concern spreads across her mothers face.

The scene is subtle but integral. In a few frames, Baghdadi captures the independent fears of a mother and daughter, both emanating from political censorship but manifesting in distinct nightmares. The elder Mayassi dreads the loss of her daughter; Lilas fears the obliteration of her very being. In the next scene, members of the band are notified of a show cancellationthe venue cannot host metal groups, a common roadblock in a country that once banned albums by Metallica and Nirvana. I dont think theres actual freedom of expression in Lebanon, Mayassi says at one point. I would go online and check our videos, and people would call us sluts or whores Anytime a woman wants to be anything other than what society wants, its always an issue.

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Sirens, a Powerful New Documentary, Follows Lebanons First All-Female Metal Band as They Battle Sexism, Censorship, and Themselves - Pitchfork

After nearly two years of lobbying by representatives of the nations largest, wealthiest, and most pro-censorship media companies, after being killed in the House and then revived in the Senate, the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) is (temporarily) dead again killed by its champion, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), because Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) successfully added an amendment that would prevent media companies and tech companies from colluding on content moderation.

The core concept of the JCPA is allowing media companies to form a legal cartel in the U.S., for the sole purpose of negotiating with tech giants for special favors.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Mark Zuckerberg Smiles during testimony (Pool/Getty)

Sen. Cruzs amendment, which passed by a narrow 11-10 vote of the Senate Judiciary Committee, limits the scope of those negotiations: the media cartel would be allowed to negotiate with Big Tech on fair payments for their content, but on nothing else including content moderation.

In his remarks, Sen. Cruz made it clear that the purpose of his amendment was to prevent big media companies from negotiating the suppression of their competitors with tech giants like Facebook and Google.

What this amendment would do, is it would say [that] when the cartel sits down to negotiation, it would say were not going to discuss censorship, were going to discuss price,' said Cruz.

Sen. Klobuchars response was to pull the bill from proceedings rather than pass it out of committee with the Cruz amendment. In doing so, she effectively revealed that enabling collusion between Big Media and Big Tech on censorship has always been a core Democrat aim behind the JCPA.

Sen. Cruz successfully won over his colleagues on his amendment. In tense exchanges at this mornings markup hearing on the bill, a somewhat panicked-sounding Sen. Klobuchar attempted to persuade the lead Republican co-sponsor of the bill, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), that the amendment preventing censorship collusion between Big Media and Big Tech could not be allowed.

Senator Kennedy weve worked on this months. We wont be able to support the Cruz amendment here If this is in it, we cant support the bill.

I dont understand why, responded Kennedy. To me, the issue is supposed to be about money, and not about moderating content, and this [the amendment] just makes explicit what I thought was implicit in the bill.

Klobuchars last-ditch efforts to persuade Republicans were unsuccessful, and the Cruz amendment passed by a narrow 11-10 vote of the committee.

Immediately afterward, Klobuchar pulled the JCPA from proceedings, saying she could not support the bill with the addition of the Cruz amendment, which she said would blow up the bill.

This was a surprise, this is a long-negotiated bill, stated a rattled-sounding Klobuchar as committee proceedings wrapped up.

The Cruz amendment effectively exposed what JCPA supporters have been attempting to conceal from Republicans: that one of the core conditions of Democrat support for the bill is that it allows media companies to collude with Big Tech to censor their competitors.

Presented to Republicans as a way for struggling news companies to fight back against Big Tech, and obtain more ad revenue from them, Sen. Klobuchars actions today reveal that Democrats intend the bill to be far wider in scope.

Sen. Cruzs attempt to limit negotiations just to payment exposed the true aims of the Democrats: not saving independent journalism, but crushing it with censorship, censorship, and more censorship.

Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News.He is the author of#DELETED: Big Techs Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election.

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Democrats Exposed: Klobuchar Delays Media Cartel Bill After Cruz ...

Keller ISD pulled 41 books, including the Bible and an adaptation on "Diary of Anne Frank."

FORT WORTH, Texas Some public school libraries in Texas are now on the frontline in the ongoing culture wars.

Officials in the Keller ISD yanked 41 books off the shelves throughout the district for further review after they were challenged by parents. That includes the Bible and Anne Franks Diary: The Graphic Adaptation.

State Representative Matt Krause is the state lawmaker who started his own book inquiry last fall when he asked schools if they had some 850 titles on their campuses. Many of the titles pulled in Keller were also on his list.

The Fort Worth Republican says he doesnt view it as subjective censorship, but instead finding the right balance for our kids.

I think it's always a good idea to ensure that the books that are in the library's bookshelves in your schools are appropriate, age appropriate, Rep. Krause said on Inside Texas Politics. And as you and I have talked about, what's appropriate in a Keller ISD high school may not be appropriate in a Keller ISD middle school. So, I think you always have those conversations. I think they're constructive.

As for the Bible, Rep. Krause doesnt think it will be off shelves for long. He thinks it was a tit-for-tat type challenge, where a parent or group said if youre taking books from our side, well take some books from your side.

But the Republican also firmly believes these decisions should remain local, even if in the future a new school board would decide to make a Bible ban permanent.

We've always said the power of what should be or should not be in these libraries is up to the local communities. And you're right, maybe in five, 10 years, Keller ISD, the parents, the taxpayers, the school board, the superintendent all decide this shouldn't be in our libraries. That should be up for them to decide, he told us.

The Republican also says he expects state lawmakers to consider more laws concerning library books when they return to Austin in January. He says they, too, have to find a balance.

You want to make sure you continue to allow for that autonomy and community input. But I do think the legislature will take a look at it, said Krause. It may be some guiding standards, some guiding principles on what you should do, and then the particulars will be addressed by the individual school districts.

Rep. Krause himself wont be there in January. Hes leaving office after giving up his seat to run for Tarrant County District Attorney. But he lost in a runoff to Phil Sorrells.

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State lawmaker says pulling books for review isnt censorship - WFAA

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) Administrators at a Nebraska school shuttered the schools award-winning student newspaper just days after its last edition that included articles and editorials on LGBTQ issues, leading press freedom advocates to call the move an act of censorship.

The staff of Northwest Public Schools 54-year-old Saga newspaper was informed on May 19 of the papers elimination, the Grand Island Independent reported. Three days earlier, the newspaper had printed its June edition, which included an article titled, Pride and prejudice: LGBTQIA+ on the origins of Pride Month and the history of homophobia. It also included an editorial opposing a Florida law that bans some lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity and dubbed by critics as Dont Say Gay.

Officials overseeing the district, which is based in Grand Island, have not said when or why the decision was made to eliminate the student paper. But an email from a school employee to the Independent cancelling the student papers printing services on May 22 said it was because the school board and superintendent are unhappy with the last issues editorial content.

The papers demise also came a month after its staff was reprimanded for publishing students preferred pronouns and names. District officials told students they could only use names assigned at birth going forward.

Emma Smith, Sagas assistant editor in 2022, said the student paper was informed that the ban on preferred names was made by the school board. That decision directly affected Saga staff writer Marcus Pennell, a transgender student, who saw his byline changed against his wishes to his birth name of Meghan Pennell in the June issue.

It was the first time that the school had officially been, like, We dont really want you here, Pennell said. You know, that was a big deal for me.

Northwest Principal P.J. Smith referred the Independents questions to district superintendent Jeff Edwards, who declined to answer the questions of when and why the student paper was eliminated, saying only that it was an administrative decision.

Some school board members have made no secret of their objection to the Sagas LGBTQ content, including board president Dan Leiser, who said most people were upset with it.

Board vice president Zach Mader directly cited the pro-LGBTQ editorials, adding that if district taxpayer had read the last issue of the Saga, they would have been like, Holy cow. What is going on at our school?

It sounds like a ham-fisted attempt to censor students and discriminate based on disagreement with perspectives and articles that were featured in the student newspaper, said Sara Rips, an attorney for the Nebraska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Nebraska Press Association attorney Max Kautsch, who specializes in media law in Nebraska and Kansas, noted that press freedom is protected in the U.S. Constitution.

The decision by the administration to eliminate the student newspaper violates students right to free speech, unless the school can show a legitimate educational reason for removing the option to participate in a class that publishes award-winning material, Kautsch said. It is hard to imagine what that legitimate reason could be.

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Nebraska school officials close newspaper after LGBTQ issue

Our new series will feature our favorite authors talking about their work. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images hide caption

Our new series will feature our favorite authors talking about their work.

This summer, a library in Lafayette, Louisiana, was forced to remove a Pride Month display after conservative Christian activists joined its board of directors.

In Iowa, a proposed bill would give city councils the power to overturn librarians' decisions about what books to buy and where they're displayed.

And librarians in Missouri canceled their bookmobile to several schools after a law passed in the state criminalizing anyone who makes visually explicit content available in schools.

So far, the American Library Association has reported 681 challenges to more than 1,600 titles this year. That puts 2022 on track to see the highest number of book challenges in decades.

What future do public libraries and library workers have in this climate of unprecedented censorship? And what role do larger, out-of-state libraries play in combating it?

The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom's Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the former director of Boundary County Public Library in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, Kimber Glidden, the Michigan Library Association's Deborah Mikula, author and professor of English, the University of Mississippi, Kiese Laymon, and freelance writer and literary critic, Connor Goodwin all join us for the conversation.

Like what you hear? Find more of our programs online.

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The Strain Of Censorship On Public Libraries : 1A - NPR

CHINAS CENSORS are fast. When a mysterious illness struck Wuhan in December 2019, relevant content was swiftly scrubbed from the internet. But Chinese citizens also went looking for forbidden information. A virtual private network (VPN) can mask the location a user is browsing from. That allows Chinese netizens to get around the great firewall, the digital barricade the state has built to block sensitive online content. In late January, when Wuhan and surrounding cities locked down, VPN downloads jumped. So did searches for politically sensitive content.

A paper published in PNAS, an academic journal, argues that covid-19 inspired Chinese citizens to circumvent censorship and access sensitive content on banned websites. Although most VPN applications are blocked in China, the researchers found one available on Chinas Apple App Store. They noted a sharp increase in downloads of the app, sending its App Store ranking higher, just as Wuhan, and the wider Hubei province of which it is part, went into lockdown (see chart). This, say the authors, opened a gateway to other politically taboo information.

Twitter, for example, is banned in China. But in Hubei the number of Chinese-language accounts geo-tagged, or assigned a location, in China grew by 40% between January and mid-March 2020, when the lockdown was lifted. By July activity was still 10% higher than in January. Hubei, the area worst hit by covid-19, gained more users than any other Chinese province. Twitter volume there doubled from its pre-lockdown average.

The new Twitterati flocked to Chinese citizen journalists, who gained 42% more China-based followers between December 2019 and April 2020, as well as to foreign media (31%) and political activists (23%). By contrast Chinese politicians, entertainers and state media saw no significant increase. (Though Twitter is banned in China, many officials and state-run media accounts use the platform to broadcast the party line.) This trend was sustained: one year after the pandemic began roughly 90% of these new Twitter-joiners were still following accounts that were likely to disseminate politically sensitive information.

Activity on the Chinese-language edition of Wikipedia tells a similar story. Its daily page views increased from 12.8m in December 2019 to 13.9m during the lockdown period between January and March 2020. The trend continued even after the lockdown was lifted, with daily page views reaching 14.7m by the end of April 2020.

Wikipedia pages on covid saw the largest increases. But traffic also jumped on the pages for Xu Zhiyong, a human-rights lawyer awaiting trial for subversion; Tibetan Uprising Day; Ai Weiwei, an activist artist; and the bloody crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square in June 1989. During normal times Chinese citizens may be content to browse within the firewall. But a crisis can change incentives. Longer-term trends are not accounted for in the paper, but with millions of people still in lockdown, Chinas censors may continue to be challenged.

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Covid-19 inspired people to circumvent censorship in China - The Economist

In March 2022, the IndyStar reported that Indiana legislation received a bill (Senate bill 17) proposing that teachers and librarians have the potential to be criminalized for exposing students to books and materials that could be viewed as inappropriate or harmful to minors. This vague bill was promptly shut down and rejected by legislators, but other states have not been so fortunate. According to PEN America, a free speech advocacy organization, 122 bills of a similar nature have been proposed in 33 different states since early 2021, 12 of which have become law. While it is understandable to want to protect minors from inappropriate content, it begs the question: what is inappropriate content for minors, and who decides that?

The banning of books in public schools has been an ongoing issue. From classic novels, such as Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird to more recently published LGBTQ novels like All Boys Arent Blue by George Johnson, beloved stories are the targets of many school districts wishing to restrict minors access to information, as suggested by research done by PEN America. The American Library Association (ALA) states that a book can be challenged by any group or individual, but the final decision of officially banning a book is typically up to the school board of that district.

There are several reasons why a book may be challenged. For example, in 2020, the ALA reported that the most common reasons for a book to be banned were sexually explicit content, vulgar language or because it was deemed unfit for an age group. More disturbingly, PEN America found that 33% of recently banned books are centered around LGBTQ content and protagonists, and 41% of banned books feature a protagonist of color.

When it comes to book banning, there is a fine line between the protection of minors and unnecessarily censoring content. To strip students of their access to stories centered around minorities and those within the LGBTQ community,that is censorship. It is valid to want to limit minors exposure to explicit content, but the statistics suggest a double standard. There are several books that feature content that could be seen as inappropriate and are still allowed in school libraries. For example, the Bible features sexual content, graphic violence and death, and yet it can be found in most school libraries across the nationbut that same reasoning could be used as an excuse to remove a book that parents might disapprove of on a personal level.

Not only does banning books limit the diversity of stories that a student can experience, it ensures that LGBTQ students and students of color are not represented in the media they consume. Representation is very important, especially when it comes to minors who are just starting to figure out who they are and what is normal. Representation in media is beneficial to the development of an individuals self-confidence and identity. It allows them to experience characters and stories that mirror their own lives; they are able to see that they are not alone. When books that can provide that representation are taken out of school libraries, that makes it so much more difficult for LGBTQ students or students of color to feel seen by the world around them.

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Issues of representation: censorship in schools The Reflector - The Reflector Online

Prince was so filthy that apparently a plumber once wrote I wish my wife was this dirty with their index finger on his back. The guitar God lothario strangely coupled sensual eroticism with spiritualism in a style akin to the loving Al Green who came before him. He then wove these sordid tales seamlessly into radio-friendly pop provided you were lyrically hard of hearing, so to speak.

However, there were some folks who thought that his sexy stylings were a little too full on, and they rallied against it. In 1985, one of his raunchiest hits and a single incident that it spawned would change the music industry forever. Purple Rain is a record that tells a liberated narrative, but one chapter of the tale drew the attention of censors.

The track, Darling Nikki, portrays Princes encounter with a nymphomaniac who he finds in a hotel lobby masturbating with a magazine before she takes him back to her castle, complete a cornucopia of sexual devices that change the little maestro for life. In the morning, this dominatrix is no longer by his side, but she sure did teach him how to grind. Then, in trademark Prince fashion, he ends the track with a biblical analogy, singing: Im fine because I know that the Lord is coming soon, coming, coming soon.

Now, thats certainly a song with some overt adult overtones. Thus, when a mother (Tipper Gore, the wife of Al Gore) found her 11-year-old daughter singing along to it, she set about stopping it from reaching young ears thereafter. The mother in question was the founder of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). The PMRC then proceeded to collate tunes that they deemed unsuitable for minors and presented them to the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Frank Zappa, Dee Snider and John Denver were among the artists who spoke out against the censorship of music amid the wave of discussion that followed. However, the PMRC demanded that a system must be put in place for parents to decipher what music was deemed suitable. Thus, the RIAA came up with a route around censoring the music itself and came up with the explicit content warning sticker on albums. And Gores children, as expected, are now well-adjusted adults with Princes perversions clearly not affecting them too much.

Darling Nikki isa mark of Princes uncompromising approach as an artist. When a commercially damaging Parental Advisory label was slapped on the record, he refused to yield on his tale of a sex fiend. He felt safe in the knowledge that he was not living a life of sin, and any messages he extolled wouldnt be harmful if sense and sensibility were applied.

The lude recital of Darling Nikki is a daring one and it still gives the song a bristling edge even if his liberated approach to sexual lyricism is now widespread. In truth, Prince was a daring artist and the sparse instrumentation of the track seems to lay that bare. On top of that, youve got a groove that would even encourage a condemners hips to shake at least a little bit.

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The Prince song that started a wave of artistic censorship - Far Out Magazine

Pennsylvania tried to make sure this picture STAYS a man

Look, Ill be the first one to admit that numbers scare me a bit. Anything above 13 makes my left eye itch. And coding? Outside of that small period where teenagers using Myspace had to be Matrix level hackers to add music to their home page, I know nothing of the sort. Even so, when I first heard about the Girls Who Code books, a series aiming to address the dearth of girls and women involved in tech, I was happy to discover that it was a thing. The number allergic of us notwithstanding, who would oppose that?

Pennsylvania apparently.

A school district inPennsylvaniatemporarily banned the Girls Who Code book series for young readers, according to an index of banned books compiled by the free expression non-profit, Pen America.

I think this actually may be worse than Florida not accepting dictionaries for fear that the woke agenda would toxify their fragile minds as they browse to figure out what an aardvark is. Considering that the ban may have just been temporary, Im not sure how it ranks with Oklahoma banning Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglassby, you know, Fredrick Douglass. If youd like to see a bigger breakdown of the 1,648 books banned in the Land Of The Free which, unless Im missing something, does not include Mein Kampf this article has a link to the compilation.

I am generally opposed to censorship. That said, if we really want to use censorship as a way to protect children, maybe we could stop making movies that teach kids that stalking is romantic? Or that abduction flows from true love? Or that being a Peeping Tom is just boyish playfulness instead of violations of autonomy? Maybe not though that too could be written off as part of the liberal agenda. If kids saw that and took it to heart, maybe they wouldnt celebrate when a grown man brags about how when youre rich you can just grab women by the pussy.

Pennsylvania School District Accused Of Banning Girls Who Code Book Series [The Guardian]

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord in the Facebook groupLaw School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim,a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email atcwilliams@abovethelaw.comand by tweet at@WritesForRent.

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Now That The Evil Of Blacks Learning American History Is Covered, New Censorship Laws Are Targeting Girls In Tech - Above the Law

AEW has been noticeably more laid back when it comes to censoring language on episodes of AEW Dynamite since the show first launched back in 2019. But this week's Dynamite saw multiple censors during a segment between MJF and Wheeler Yuta. Friedman casually dropped the s-word and got bleeped for it, while the crowd was censored when it began chanting "Shut The F Up!" at Max.

Jim Ross, AEW's play-by-play commentator, said fans could expect swearing to be reduced on AEW programming during a recent Q&A on AdFreeShows. He explained, "As long as the storylines and character development are based in some degree of logic, you have to position talent, to some degree, that he or she can best identify with the audience. It sounds simplistic, it really is, quite frankly. I thought WWE, at one point, I was there and part of it, tried too hard to become PG and appease all the advertisers. I think you just have to use common sense. We had a string in AEW where there was a lot of controversial language. I think you'll see less of that. It's unnecessary and shows a lack of creativity if you can't come up with an adjective or adverb that is better than something a little coarse. The times are going to dictate that.

"The old time slot, we would raise the sensationalism in the second hour of Raw, you could be a little more risky and rougher," he continued. "It's all case-by-case, there is no rule, we all just have to use common sense and logic. I'm guilty as anybody. I remember one time, I said, 'WWE Dynamite.' That didn't make me real popular with some, which is amazing because it's called human error. That's it, I made a mistake, I was sorry about it. I haven't done it since, knock on wood."

Friedman and Wheeler agreed to have a match next week, will which mark Max's first time competing in the ring in an official match since Double or Nothing. He made his surprise return from hiatus at All Out earlier this month, though his involvement in the Casino Ladder Match consisted of him getting handed the poker chip to win the bout.

h/t Fightful

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AEW Censors MJF, Crowd Chants When They Start Swearing on AEW Dynamite - ComicBook.com