Daily Archives: January 29, 2022

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., argues that the Democrats have done nothing to introduce the spending bill to Republicans.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., penned an op-ed Monday announcing hes embarking on anexodus from Big Tech, starting with YouTube, over what he describes as rampant censorship and an "almost religious adherence to the edicts of government bureaucrats."

"Many in Congress, on the Left and the Right, want to break up or regulate Big Tech, but few of these loud voices have actually stepped up and quit using Big Tech," Paul wrote in a piece for the Washington Examiner. "So today, I announce that I will begin an exodus from Big Tech. I will no longer post videos on YouTube unless it is to criticize them or announce that viewers can see my content on rumble.com."

RUMBLE GOING PUBLIC IN CHALLENGE TO 'BIG TECH'

"Why begin with YouTube? Because theyre the worst censors," he added.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Dec. 13, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Paul complained that whenever he posts content that challenges the current White House narrative concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, no matter how well sourced and researched, YouTube deletes the videos. He saw his account suspended for a week in August for violating the sites COVID-19 misinformation policy over a video claiming surgical masks and cloth masks dont protect against the coronavirus.

"The gall to delete constitutionally protected speech!" Paul wrote Monday. "It is indeed ironic that the censors likely think of themselves as progressive but their actions are more suggestive of the diktats of the Medieval church. Think about it. In the U.S. in 2021, you are being told there are ideas or opinions that are too dangerous for you to see. It is disinformation they admonish, so if you want to stay on their platforms you must conform to their approved opinions."

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., questions National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci on Nov. 4, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

Paul said he may still post a video or two in the future only to decry YouTubes censorship and promote its competing platforms, but that his plan is to eventually quit Big Tech altogether and take his business elsewhere, and he encouraged others to do the same. He also said he created a libertarian news aggregator site called libertytree.com.

"About half of the public leans right," he wrote. "If we all took our messaging to outlets of free exchange, we could cripple Big Tech in a heartbeat. So, today I take my first step toward denying my content to Big Tech. Hopefully, other liberty lovers will follow."

More:
Rand Paul quits YouTube, citing censorship | Fox Business

Blogging platform Tumblr, once a powerhouse of content for millennials, has censored a wide swathe of hashtags on its Apple iOS app, in what the social media company says is an effort to remain within the Apple App Stores community guidelines. Some of the censored terms include girl, suicide prevention, and testicular cancer.

According to a list compiled by a Tumblr user, the censorship extends to seemingly-mundane hashtags.

Millennials in a Tumblr photobooth (Mat Hayward/Getty)

Apple CEO Tim Cook and his V for Victory (Kevin Dietsch/Getty)

Via the Verge:

Another Tumblr user, aptly named bannedtags, has been keeping track of all the blocked tags in a Google Doc. The user notes that most of these tags have been banned on iOS not on all devices and that the listed tags are subject to change. Some banned tags are blatantly related to sexual, violent, or harmful content, but others dont seem to belong on the list, and may actually do more harm than good by staying on it.

For example, girl, sad, and oddly enough, Alec Lightwood, an actor from the show Shadowhunters, has been banned (because even Tumblr cant handle those eyes). Single dad, single mom, single parent, suicide prevention, and testicular cancer are also on the list, potentially harming those who want to seek support in any of these areas.

To make things even weirder, Tumblr blacklisted some tags that basically function as unspoken social cues on the site. Me and my face are blocked, both of which are tags that bloggers use to label their selfies (oh, and did I forget to mention that selfie is banned, too?). The platform appears to have blocked queue as well, a tag thats typically applied to posts that were placed in a queue and serves as a signal to followers that they may not be online at the moment.

Apple and Google, which control approximately 99 percent of the market share in operating systems for mobile devices worldwide, operate an effective duopoly on access to smartphones.

While it is possible to install apps on Android devices without going through the Google Play Store, it is not possible to install apps on iOS devices without going through the App Store, meaning that a ban from the App Store means total loss of access to the market of iOS users.

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.

Read the original:
Tumblr Escalates Censorship to Placate Apple

On Wednesday, a Tennessee county school board pulled "Maus" Art Spiegelman's award-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust from its eighth-grade curriculum, sparking outrage amongst liberals who accused the board of engaging in censorship. But on Thursday, commentators online attempted to push back against this narrative by downplaying the board's vote and accusing the left of apparent hypocrisy.

To make their point, many critics pointed tominutestaken by the McMinn County Board of Education during its meeting on earlier this month, arguing that the board was not motivated by antisemitism but concerns over instances of obscenity and nudity. Throughout the transcript, board members made such objections, claiming that the book was inappropriate for the classroom.

As Lee Parkison, Director of School, said during the meeting, "there is some rough, objectionable language in this book," noting that the board could redact key lines.Still, other members, like Tony Allman, clearly took issue with the novel's visual depictions of Nazi atrocities. "It shows people hanging," Allman said. "It shows them killing kids."

RELATED: "Orwellian": Tennessee school board sparks outrage with vote to ban Holocaust graphic novel "Maus"

"Why does the educational system promote this kind of stuff?" he asked. "It is not wise or healthy."

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Jeff Trexler, Interim Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, who read the board's minutes, told Salon that the school officials completely misread the novel.

"To say that Maus promotes violent abuse and dehumanizing language is to show that you don't understand it," Trexler said. "Schools are supposed to be in the business of promoting literacy, and this is just one example of how school leaders are using their own illiteracy as justification for keeping children from learning what the adults in charge have not."

Some commentators also took issue with the use of the word "ban" to describe the school board's decision, contending that it is a misnomer given that McMinn County simply nixed the "Maus" from its eighth-grade curriculum.

But Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education at PEN America, said that he doesn't think the term "is reductive at all."

Pointing to a piece he wrote last year, Friedman reiterated that "the American Library Association and other advocates for the freedom to read" have "long considered" curricular and library removals as "efforts to ban books from circulation, to effectively disallow and discourage others to read them."

RELATED: Book banning fever heats up in red states

At the same time, many critics viewed liberal outrage over the board's vote through the lens of "leftist hypocrisy," noting that books like Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" and Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn" have been restricted in the past over accusations of racism.

Earlier this week, Mukilteo School Board in Washington state voted to remove "To Kill a Mockingbird" from its ninth-grade required reading, though the board granted discretion to individual teachers who wanted to use the novel in their curricula.

In the past, Friedman noted, PEN America has pushed back on schools looking to pull "To Kill a Mockingbird" from course curricula, writing in 2020 that the novel "[deals] with difficult subject matter from our country's complicated and painful history, including systemic racism." Still, he noted that most of the book bans we're seeing are being leveled against LGBTQ+ authors, authors of color, and books that deal with race, sex, and gender.

"The challenge right now is to recognize that the weight of the momentum here is so very clearly swinging in one direction," Friedman said.

Thus far, McMinn is the first known county to pull "Maus" from its students' curricula. It remains unclear whether the book will see more restrictions throughout the rest of the country, though it's possible, given that other districts have had the tendency to target the same authors and works.

Andrea Pitzer, who wrote "A Global History of Concentration Camps," said that it's important for kids to be exposed to books like "Maus" when "so much of the language of conspiracy theories swirling around the country today from QAnon to anti-vaxx and anti-democratic movements rises out of antisemitic literature used in the past to devastating ends.

"The county that handed down the decision about MAUS is in Tennessee, which also passed a law not long ago that may allow publicly funded adoption agencies to discriminate on the basis of religion," she added. "Last week, we saw stories about a lawsuit filed by a Jewish couple saying they were refused as clients at one agency in the state because of their religion. When you include the kind of synagogue violence we've seen recently in Texas and Pittsburgh, it makes for a frightening trend. This isn't some isolated, abstract situation it's part of a larger, concrete phenomenon."

Read more from the original source:
Why experts say the banning of "Maus" is not like the censorship of "Huckleberry Finn" - Salon

Sailor Moon started as a serialized manga anthology that ran from 1991-1997, written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi (TokiMeca!). Due to its immense popularity, it was adapted into an anime series in 1992 that ran until 1997. Sailor Moon did not premiere in North America until 1995 however, the North American licensing and dub came with many unexpected changes.

One of the biggest and most evident changes was the Americanization of names. From the main characters to the villains, all their names were changed: Sailor Moons name changed from Usagi to Serena, Mercurys from Ami to Amy, Marss from Rei to Raye, Jupiters from Makoto to Lita, Venuss from Minako to Mina, Neptunes from Michiru to Michelle, Uranuss from Haruka to Amara and, lastly, Tuxedo Masks from Mamoru Chiba to Darien Shields. Apart from renaming characters, the American broadcasters also attempted to Americanize the show on a larger scale by removing many of the references to Japanese culture, both in the dub and in the animation itself. Kanji writing was edited out of the background of many frames, and shots of roads would even be flipped to match right-hand American traffic. Seemingly, the American version attempted to erase the seriess ties to Japan as a whole.

Other censored material wasexpected, such as nudity and violence. This aspect was very consistent. During the Sailor Scout transformation sequences, you can see silhouettes of their nude bodies. Those scenes would be reanimated to remove the definition on breasts, as well as make them smaller. This would also be done for the many bathtub scenes in the show. The water level would be raised or made more opaque to avoid showing the girls bodies. In terms of censoring violence, blood would oftentimes be edited out by changing the color from red to green. The dub would avoid using the word death, and the scenes portraying direct violence would simply be cut from the episode. These changes were more understandable, especially since Sailor Moon was being advertised as a kids show on channels like Cartoon Network, which at the time were airing shows such as Powerpuff Girls and Dexters Laboratory.

One of the most mentioned features when discussing the Western censorship of Sailor Moon is the erasure of the shows queer characters. This was first done in the very first season with the characters Zoisite and Kunzite, who are a part of a group called Shitennou, or The Four Heavenly Kings, who all serve under Queen Beryl, a would-be conqueror of the Moon Kingdom. The original series heavily implied they had aromantic relationship. In the American version, Zoisite is changed from a male character to a female character most likely in an effort to avoid backlash from parents for showing a gay relationship in a childrens show. This once again happened in season four with a character named Fish Eye. Fish Eye was a part of a group called the Amazon Trio. The three were originally all animals, but they were turned into humans by their leader in exchange for capturing a Pegasus that was hiding in peoples dreams. The original manga and anime features Fish Eye as a male character who dresses in a feminine way and pursues many men during their run in the show (it is unclear whether Fish Eye identifies as a woman). This was censored by giving Fish Eye a female voice actress and removing all references to Fish Eye being male.

Another significant example of censorship was the depiction of the relationship between two Sailor Scouts. In both the anime and manga, it is very clear that Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus, Michiru and Haruka, are in a romantic relationship. This relationship was censored in many other countries in different ways in the U.S., their relationship was changed from being girlfriends to cousins. Yes, it is just as uncomfortable as it sounds. Other countries kept their status as a romantic couple but made Sailor Uranus a male character. This was also done with the Sailor Starlights. Many Western fans do not know about them because the season they premiered during was never dubbed. Fans theorize that this happened because the Sailor Starlights, Taiki Kou, Seiya Kou and Yaten Kou, present as male in their civilian form, but in their transformations become female. In reality, though, it was mainly due to licensing issues.

All of these things were changed, but why are they so important? To put it plainly, it is a disservice to both the fans of the series and the original work itself; censoring nudity or blooddoesnt affect much, but removal of entire scenes and drastic changes to character dynamics affect so much more than just the aesthetic: it takes away from the narrative and makes the show confusing at times. By limiting the story, it becomes a disservice to the original animators and Naoko Takeuchi. Its also a disservice to a lot of Western fans of the series who were never able to get the full experience of the story. I personally never even realized the extent of censorship in the show until much later, when meme videos of the old dub started becoming popular on YouTube, showing the absurd lengths the American dub would go to censor violence and relationships. It was almost comical at times.

However, all is not lost: VIZ Media came out with a brand-new dub airing between 2014 and 2016. This new version kept the original Japanese names of the characters. Additionally, this time none of the content previously deemed to be inappropriate was cut. This includes the violence, blood and queer characters. Finally, those who cant read subtitles or simply prefer dubs can watch Sailor Moon withoutfear they are missing out on anything from the series.

Daily Arts Writer K. Rodriguez-Garcia can be reached at karodrig@umich.edu.

Link:
A short history of 'Sailor Moon' and censorship in America. - The Michigan Daily

By Phil Lawler (bio - articles - email) | Jan 25, 2022

Massive convoys of trucks are converging on the nations capital. About 50,000 truckers are involved. In one place the convoy stretches more than 40 milesand thats before the separate convoys, coming from different corners of the nation, meet for their final approach. Tens of thousands of people are lining the highways to show their support; women are bringing hot meals out to the truckers when they stop to rest.

Doesnt that sound like a news story to you? Its happening right now in Canada. But you probably havent read it in your local newspaper; you certainly havent seen it covered on the major-network reports.

If the truckers were protesting gender discrimination, or even the rising cost of diesel fuel, this protestwhich produces some very dramatic visual imageswould lead the nightly TV newscasts. But the Freedom Convoy is protesting Covid-lockdown restrictions, and the major media have very obviously resolved to spike stories about any such protests. And so Silence.

Oh, I was able, with a bit of extra digging, to find a reasonably accurate Reuters story about the convoy. And CBC allowed that hundreds of truckers were protesting. But if you want any details at all, you need to look to non-traditional news providers, such as our friends at LifeSite News.

The mainstream media are not providing the news here; quite on the contrary they are deliberately suppressing the spread of public information. This is not a new phenomenon, of course; I have frequently commented on the curious blindness that afflicts reporters in Washington, DC every January, so that they do not notice the March for Life. But that willful blindness is now spreading, so that journalists ignore any developments of which their editors do not approve. Moreover, the self-appointed censors of social-media platforms do their best to shield readers from any facts that leak through the ever-tighter net.

And the major media are not alone in their campaign to restrict the flow of information. The same problem is very much in evidence in the field of educationespecially higher education. (See Jordan Petersons explanation of why he finds it morally untenable to remain on the faculty of a major university.

We can complainwe often have complainedabout liberal bias, in the media and in academe. But those complaints, too, are filtered out of mainstream conversations; they reach only those who are already inclined to agree, those who are open to alternate views. The fundamental problem, as Peterson explains, is that alternate views are actively suppressed, with increasing vigor and without apology.

Critics of the mainstream media outlets sometimes refer to them as the legacy media. The term is apt, I think. Like the fortunate offspring of wealthy families, these outlets have inherited powerful positions, built on the work of prior generations. Those prior generations amassed their influence by providing the public with information. The current leaders of the legacy media have abandoned that effort. Rather than giving people accurate information, and trusting responsible adults to form their own opinions, the mainstream media are now determined to shape opinions directly, telling people what they must think, suppressing contrary evidence and dissenting opinion. Today the most interesting news coverage is provided by upstart services, struggling to find an audience.

Complaints about media bias have very little impact. They, too, are filtered out of mainstream conversations, so that they reach only those people who already agree.

First, refuse to support the institutions that suppress the free flow of information. Insofar as possible, do not give them subscriptions, or tuition, or even attention.

Next, explore the alternatives. Not all of the new online sources of information are reliable; some discernment is necessary. Compare different accounts, and notice which outlets provide coverage that holds up to scrutiny. But do not be frightened away from new outlets simply because they are scorned by the legacy media.

Third and most important, inform your friends. And not only your Facebook friends, who may or may not actually be your real-life acquaintances. Share the news directly. Face-to-face conversations are always best, but email works well, too. Keep in mind that the internet was designed precisely to allow remote communications among people with shared interests. If the social-media giants thwart your efforts to share information, find other routes.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and his heroic allies showed how underground communicationssamizdatcould build a movement powerful enough to topple a political monolith. As the Soviet empire collapsed, the bid to control the spread of information will collapse, too. Facts, as John Adams said, are stubborn things. The truth will out.

Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.

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Originally posted here:
Censorship and samizdat on the internet - Catholic Culture