Category Archives: Censorship

Censorship and the Public Display of Art
Many thanks for the thoughtful insights of our panelists: Justin Connidis is a business lawyer who specializes in business financing and acquisitions. He is Counsel to the Toronto office of the Dickinson Wright LLP law firm, an adjunct professor at Queen #39;s University and involved in various business interests. Dickinson Wright #39;s clients include many public and private art galleries, including the Art Gallery of Ontario. Although Justin does not practice art law, as such, or censorship law (whether directly or through libel, slander and hate laws), he is an active supporter of the arts as a patron and through pro bono activities. He is a member of various Kingston organizations, including the Gallery Association of the Agnes Etherington Art Centre and the Arts Letters Club. Gary Michael Dault is a writer, painter and art critic. The author, or co-author of a number of books about the visual arts, Dault has written countless gallery and museum catalogues, a few of the most recent being his essay. "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird by Wallace Stevens: An Extrapolation for Gordon Lebredt" in Gordon Lebredt: Nonworks 1975-2008 (Plug-In Editions, 2011), True Romance for Dana Holst, and an essay about Istvan Kantor #39;s metal teeth in a book about Kantor #39;s art and activities, just published in Budapest. He had written frequently for Canadian Art and Border Crossings, and, for over a decade, contributed a weekend visual arts review column ("Gallery-Going") to The Globe ...From:Kingston Arts CouncilViews:5 0ratingsTime:01:08:41More inNonprofits Activism

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Censorship and the Public Display of Art - Video

Anonymous: Project Mayhem 2012 Code TYLER!
Anonymous: Project Mayhem 2012 Code TYLER! Project Mayhem 2012 Tyler: pastebin.com Hello, we are Anonymous. We come to you with a message of Revolution, or more so, Evolution. We have all witnessed the United states uprising with Occupy Wall Street venting their frustration with politicians, banks, and corporations. While we do agree with their message, their tactics of civil disobedience has only invoked violence with police officers around the country which has caused an extreme distraction for the Occupy movement. With censorship bills being passed and bills that attempt to rid us of our freedoms that this country was founded upon the time has now come to act. We have devised a plan to bring forth the final act of the evolution. This act how ever will only be as real as the people of the world decide it to be. The United States Government is fully aware of this plan and has been preparing for it with the cybersecurity act of 2012. The United States Government foresees a plan that will destroy the system and now they fear us. You say you want a revolution and now the time has arrived. We now call upon the top hacktivists, coders, crypto anarchists, cypher punks, Non-violent Civil Rights activists, Internet Censorship and Freedom of Speech activists everywhere to collaborate to jointly BRAINSTORM IDEAS to develop TYLER. TYLER is a massively distributed and decentralized Wikipedia-style P2P cipherspace structure impregnable to censorship. TYLER will improve where ...From:HiluxanonViews:61 6ratingsTime:02:19More inNonprofits Activism

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Anonymous: Project Mayhem 2012 Code TYLER! - Video

Anonymous - Operation Vendetta - London 5th November 2012 #2
Anonymous - Operation Vendetta - London 5th November 2012 #1 youtu.be At 8pm on November 5th 2012, Anonymous march on The Houses of Parliament peacefully and unarmed. This is the centrepiece of a worldwide Anonymous operation of global strength and solidarity, a warning to all governments worldwide that if they keep trying to censor, cut, imprison, or silence the free world or the free internet they will not be our governments for much longer.Change is coming The Demands of the UK collective: Stop the education, health and welfare cuts; Cut the causes of the problems, don #39;t cause more. #39;Austerity measures #39; targeting vulnerable areas of the economy and society must be stopped. Bank support and bailouts using the taxpayers money must end. Recognise the internet as an independent, self-governing, self-managing entity; An entity that is not, and will never be, controlled. The rights of internet users to protect their privacy must be respected. Web monitoring programs including, but not limited to, the Communications Data Bill CM 8359 should be withdrawn and no more should be proposed. 71% of UK Citizens are against the Bill, and its 1.8bn cost could be better spent. Suppression of free speech and censorship of the Internet must never be allowed. FREE ANONS; Activists held as political prisoners must be released, including Richard O #39;Dwyer, Julian Assange, PayPal 14, Topiary and the 4 anons of the UK that will stand trial on November 7th. They must be pardoned and their full ...From:xen0nymousViews:97 12ratingsTime:05:25More inNonprofits Activism

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Anonymous - Operation Vendetta - London 5th November 2012 #2 - Video

YOKOHAMA, Japan (AFP) - The use of "secrecy, censorship and bullying" to silence dissenting voices in China must end under the country's incoming leader, the Dalai Lama said on Monday.

President-in-waiting Xi Jinping will have "no alternative" but to accept political change over the coming years, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader told reporters in Yokohama, near Tokyo.

"Now Hu Jintao era passed. Now Xi Jinping (is) becoming the president. I think there is no alternative except there is some political change," the Dalai Lama said on the third day of a 12-day stay in Japan.

"Hu Jintao started to build harmonious society, stable society. So for stable society, I think gap (between the) rich and (the) poor must be reduced.

"Also you need an independent judiciary system, free press, rule of law. These are very, very important.

"So the goal, harmony, wonderful. Stability, wonderful. But use of secrecy, censorship and bullying... there is something wrong in their system," said the saffron-robed monk.

"I think to create a genuine harmony... you need openness."

China denounces the Dalai Lama as a "splittist" seeking an independent Tibet, accusations he has repeatedly denied.

At a closed-doors congress beginning Thursday, Beijing's power players will anoint a new chief for the next 10 years. His regime will have to address growing anger over graft as well as challenges from a vocal band of dissidents and rights activists.

Vice president Xi is widely expected to be promoted to Communist Party general-secretary this week and then state president next year, succeeding Hu in a 10-yearly leadership change.

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China needs to change with new leader: Dalai Lama

Operation Vendetta - London 5th November 2012 #2
Anonymous - Operation Vendetta - London 5th November 2012 #1 youtu.be At 8pm on November 5th 2012, Anonymous march on The Houses of Parliament peacefully and unarmed. This is the centrepiece of a worldwide Anonymous operation of global strength and solidarity, a warning to all governments worldwide that if they keep trying to censor, cut, imprison, or silence the free world or the free internet they will not be our governments for much longer.Change is coming The Demands of the UK collective: Stop the education, health and welfare cuts; Cut the causes of the problems, don #39;t cause more. #39;Austerity measures #39; targeting vulnerable areas of the economy and society must be stopped. Bank support and bailouts using the taxpayers money must end. Recognise the internet as an independent, self-governing, self-managing entity; An entity that is not, and will never be, controlled. The rights of internet users to protect their privacy must be respected. Web monitoring programs including, but not limited to, the Communications Data Bill CM 8359 should be withdrawn and no more should be proposed. 71% of UK Citizens are against the Bill, and its 1.8bn cost could be better spent. Suppression of free speech and censorship of the Internet must never be allowed. FREE ANONS; Activists held as political prisoners must be released, including Richard O #39;Dwyer, Julian Assange, PayPal 14, Topiary and the 4 anons of the UK that will stand trial on November 7th. They must be pardoned and their full ...From:iglooNordiqueViews:0 0ratingsTime:05:25More inPeople Blogs

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Operation Vendetta - London 5th November 2012 #2 - Video

Photos A Danish author's ebooks documenting freewheeling hippie nudity have been rejected from Apple's iBookstore in that country, even after the author and publisher covered up the offending naughty bits with images of ripe red apples.

"Apple founder, Steve Jobs, marketed himself as a child of the hippie movement," author Peter vig Knudsen wrote in an open letter (Google Translate) to the Danish Minister of Culture Uffe Elbaek.

"Jobs has said that he got some of his most important insights from LSD and was driven by the desire to ensure peoples of the world easy access to art and knowledge," Knudsen wrote. "Our experience shows the exact opposite."

At issue are two ebooks for the iPhone and iPad (Google Translate). These are not mere tacky T&A teasers; 14 of the images are from acclaimed photographer Gregers Nielsen "perhaps his generation's greatest documentary photographer," Knudsen argues and 15 are by well-recognized artist Bjrn Nrgaard.

"We are talking about a censorship threat to a major part of the Danish cultural heritage", Knudsen writes.

Perhaps the choice of apples rather than neutral black blocks offended Apple's pride more than its prudery

Knudsen's Hippie Company (Google Translate) first tried to get uncensored version of the two ebooks Hippie 1 and Hippie 2 into Apple's iBookstore, but as Hippie Company reported in a press release (Google Translate), Apple required the images to be censored. The publisher then did so by placing red apples over the exposed breasts, penises, and what have you, then resubmitted the two ebooks.

A smoke and a smile, circa 1970

Apple then accepted them, and put them up on its Denmark iBookstore. However, Hippie Company's witty censorship methodology was apparently not appreciated: after four days, they were removed. The publisher has asked Apple to explain the removal, but has not received a reply.

"I and Hippie Company ... tried to get into negotiations with Apple and explain to them that there is a serious, historical-documentary book reproduction of Danish press photo and works of art from the period 1967-70," Knudsen writes.

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Apple rejects NAKED HIPPIE ebook, despite apple coverup

A city run by one of Chinas incoming political leaders that has billed itself as a future international financial center is instead becoming the countrys internet censorship capital.

Sarmu | Flickr | Getty Images

Tianjin skyline

Tianjin, whose Communist party secretary Zhang Gaoli is one of the seven men most likely to get a seat on the new politburo standing committee due to be unveiled at the 18th party congress starting on Thursday, is developing a replica of Manhattan to which it aims to attract global banks.

But local government officials explaining a mock-up of Yujiapu, the new district on the site of a former fishing village, last week said they did not know of any foreign bank that had committed to coming. Meanwhile, some of Chinas leading internet firms are relocating their censorship operations to Tianjin as they battle soaring labor costs.

Tianjins tale illustrates Chinas rapidly changing economic landscape but also puts a question mark over the reform and economic policy credentials of the countrys incoming leaders.

(Read More: Chinas New Leadersthe Lineup)

Mr. Zhang has been characterized as a financial reformer, mainly because he served in the southern province of Guangdong, known for piloting economic reforms. Two people familiar with the partys discussions over leadership posts said Mr. Zhang could receive an important economic portfolio in the team that will rule China for the coming decade.

But while Tianjin, which he has run since 2007, has failed to boost Mr. Zhangs credentials, it has become the first choice for internet companies as they follow textile, toy, and electronics manufacturers away from larger cities in pursuit of lower wages.

Youku Tudou, Chinas largest online video company by revenue, is considering moving its censorship operations from Beijing 170km to the coastal city of 10m people.

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China’s ‘New Manhattan’ Becomes Censorship Capital

For decades the Chinese government has censored its people, but one internationally renowned artist, Ai WeiWei, has been proactively trying to breach that censorship. A documentary about WeiWeis story is being screened Thursday at Miami University.

First-time director and journalist Alison Klayman filmed Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry after gaining unprecedented access to the artist. The film explores contemporary issues in China as well as one of the countrys most prominent critical figures. Ann Wicks, Professor of Asian Art History is responsible for bringing the film to Miami.

This particular film is kind of a hot item on college campuses right now, said Wicks. Its a beautifully done film and it brings up so many issues important to college students today. Issues about art, its place in society, freedom of speech, contemporary China, the government, business and so much more.

WeiWei is most notably known for filling Londons Tate Modern with 100 million hand-painted porcelain sunflower seeds and designing the Olympic Stadium in Beijing. In China, WeiWeis art and activism are controversial. According to junior sculpture major Jesse Thayer, he often utilizes and destroys historical artifacts like centuries old furniture and vases in his work, often to mixed reviews.

I am sure some of the people are like no you shouldnt be doing that, why would you break centuries old artifacts, they are precious, Thayer said. But then there are some people who are saying he has to do it as some sort of profound statement for human rights.

Thayer has been examining WeiWeis work in order to determine what motivates him as an artist.

It is all based on the rights that China is still not getting today, said Thayer. His dad was a poet during the Cultural Revolution, and he was shut down and couldnt write anymore. I think he grew up with that negative vibe for the government on not having these freedoms that the rest of the world was having.

According to Thayer, WeiWei has been through a lot for his art. In 2011 he was arrested during a government crackdown in which dozens of bloggers, human rights lawyers and writers were swept up. He was filmed every day in his cell for three months. Once he was released, he filmed himself in his room in the same fashion and posted it to a blog in a form of rebellion against government censorship. The blog was quickly shut down.

People should see the film because its current, said Wicks. It has to deal with art worldwide, what artists are thinking and how they are connected with social issues. Plus it is interesting and funny.

Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry will screen 7 p.m. Thursday in room 100 of the Art Building. Admission is free and open to the public. To learn more about the film you can visit http://aiweiweineversorry.com/.

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Censorship inspires film

Editors at Ukraine's UNIAN news agency say they are being censored and pressured by their superiors to soften news coverage of Ukraine's political leadership, marking the latest controversy in the nations deteriorating free-speech climate since President Viktor Yanukovych took office in 2010.

Six editors at UNIAN wrote an open protest letter to the agencys top manager Vadym Osadchy, accusing him of allegedly applying pressure to censor and tone down their coverage of Ukraine's leadership and to accept paid-for stories about other Ukrainian politicians ahead of the Oct. 28 parliamentary elections.

The agency's management denies the accusations while Ihor Kolomoysky, the Ukrainian billionaire who owns the agency, did not immediately respond to emailed questions.

Osadchy said that under his supervision the agency aims for the highest journalistic standards of fair coverage and accused the protesting staff of being biased themselves.

Some employees, maintaining confidence in their right to influence the objectivity of the coverage of news, perceived the attempts to make UNIAN's information products neutral () as censorship or practice of speech freedom infringement, Osadchy told Telekritika, the media watchdog news website, in response to the allegations.

UNIAN editors wrote a joint op-ed describing in detail how the agency's managers directed political coverage. If the allegations are true, they reveal bias and selective news coverage at one of Ukrainian top news agencies.

UNIAN's new management arrived in May. Shortly after longtime chief editor Oleksandr Kharchenko was fired for the agency's poor revenue performance.

After Osadchy's appointment (as UNIAN's general manager), there was a lot of discussion about what not to write about, that there is too much critical coverage, Kharchenko said, following his firing.

In the last two years Washington-based Freedom House human rights watchdog downgraded Ukraines media freedom climate in its ranking from free to partly free. During that time, a number of other Ukrainian media have undergone management changes and, as a result, shifted from hard-hitting and balanced news coverage to more entertainment and tabloid-like stories. TVi, known for investigative journalism, has been eliminated from some cable television plans or switched to more expensive premium-subscription plans, cutting their audience.

Moreover, most of the nations news media outlets are owned by five wealthy men in or close to the government, including Kolomoysky, member of parliament Rinat Akhmetov, Victor Pinchuk, Deputy Prime Minister Valeriy Khoroshkovsky and Economy Minister Petro Poroshenko.

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Censorship scandal at one of Ukraine’s top news agencies

Let him who has not by Nadia Jelassi, showing sculptures of veiled women emerging from piles of stones that bring to mind a stoning, left her facing a five-year prison sentence in Tunisia.

Any conference worth its salt should, arguably, raise more questions than it answers. If so, then 'All that is banned is desired', the first world conference on censorship of artistic freedom of expression held last week in Oslo, Norway, certainly achieved its objectives. Two days of full-on sessions with artistic freedom of expression paladins from all over the world, had us yes condemning the atrocities being inflicted upon artists in more repressive regimes, but also questioning a number of cosy assumptions and convenient labels we sometimes like to make.

As the conference went on, I couldn't help question what, really - beyond the clichs and received definitions - is the meaning of censorship. Censorship is bad, there is no arguing with that. But where does censorship end, and curatorial independence start? Are we, sometimes, too hasty to stick the "I've been censored" label onto a rejection of an artistic project, conveniently brushing aside an assessment of quality inherent in the rejection?

For Marie Korpe, Executive Director of Freemuse - one of the conference's organising associations - "censorship is characterised by the contradictory fact that by imposing limits it produces reactions to those limits, by curtailing speech today censors set the conditions against which many more will speak tomorrow."

So let's get this out of the way - censorship is bad, both inherently and also because it invariably backfires on the censors. The Maltese theatre classification board attempted to block Unifaun's production of Stitching? Fast-forward a couple of years and the board itself has been disbanded, the entire stage censorship setup replaced with a liberal self-classification system.

Hearing artists talk about being imprisoned, tortured, threatened, humiliated, exiled, drives home both the horror of censorship and the courage of what these artists were ready to endure, in situations of hardcore artistic censorship. Burmese comedian and film director Zarganar spoke of having been buried to his neck in sand and threatened with being run over by a tank, of being forced to perform his comedy routines while hanging upside down in a jail cell. Filmmaker George Gittoes described how his actors in Peshawar and Jalalabad are routinely threatened and tortured because they work in the "immoral" industry of movies. Norwegian publisher William Nygaard was shot and left for dead outside his home in Oslo in 1993 for having published the Norwegian translation of Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses.

There is no possible justification for artistic censorship, not when it takes the above extreme physical forms, not when it's more nuanced and mutates - in more democratic countries - into talk of "appropriateness" and "community standards". Svetlana Mintcheva, Director of the US National Coalition Against Censorship, spoke of the risk that First Amendment protection is being extended into a right "not to be offended", hence justifying censorship of "offensive" expression.

I have always been fervently anti-censorship, in my publishing day job, through my involvement in a Ministry of Culture working group to propose legal amendments to end literary censorship, and through my work at the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts - MCCA's delegation to this conference being part of its incessant commitment against censorship and its efforts to remain up-to-date with international developments in the field.

And yet - and yet - as politically incorrect as it may sound to say so, looking beyond the undoubted cases of serious censorship and intimidation, I couldn't help stifle the nagging suspicion that a few of the "victims" were, at least in part, victims of lack of quality, that they had not been so much censored as told their work wasn't good enough or acceptable for a particular project. Which is where curatorial independence comes into play.

I am a firm believer in the imperativeness of curation in any artistic endeavour - the corollary of which being that a curator, to be effective, needs to have a wide discretion on what works to accept and what to cast aside. Accusations of censorship by the "rejected" artists are facile and ego-assuaging, and in the long term actually harm the cause against censorship. Of course no two cases are identical, and there will always be cases where censorship has come into play. But the point is that not all rejections are tantamount to censorship - and that thus defining censorship becomes urgent and relevant.

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What is censorship, really?