HIV ads and censorship

Is this image too explicit? The French Association of Professionals for a Responsible Publicity thinks so.

Angry Evangelicals

In another of their so godly and humble "freedom of speech for us" move, Scotland evangelicals got angry with Stonewall:

The nomination of two senior bishops as Bigot of the Year at tonight's Stonewall Awards has angered an evangelical group of Scottish Christians.
CARE Scotland said the nomination of the Bishop of Hereford and the Archbishop of Birmingham was an insult and in a letter to First Minister Alex Salmond called on the Scottish government to stop working with Stonewall.

It's so very typical from those bunches of hypocrites, demanding for freedoms for them but denying the rest of the world of all those freedoms - just go search for Voice of the Martyrs, the Southern Baptist Convention or whichever so proudly evangelical, pentecostalist or born again group of Truth Keepers; celebrating diversity by encouraging attacks on peoples other than their own community, then saying they're under direct fire whenever someone exposes their flaws and lies. I feel a deep sorrow for all the children raised in such households, doomed to play with toys such these, homeschooled and able to access only biased information not on every matter, with no taste of other love than that born again love in Jesus, never unconditional but subjected to the acceptance of their parents faith... And then they would still claim they're a church and not a cult.

Technorati tags: evangelical Churches, Freedom of Speech, Yay Christians get angry once again

American Library Association: 2006 top 10 most challenged books

A couple of days ago I was holding a chat with a good friend, he addressed me to a book I didn't hear about, which I promised to include in some sort of "recommended reading list" to be posted here. Of course, such a list is still being built, and it'll take some more time, but as always, things work their own way to make you feel their importance. The second time I heard about such book was today. And while still keeping in mind that task of building a recommended list, I just have to post this entry, related to censorship, freedom of speech and freedom in general.

Books in America can be banned or challenged, the major difference is that:

 "A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. The positive message of Banned Books Week: Free People Read Freely is that due to the commitment of librarians, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens, most challenges are unsuccessful and most materials are retained in the school curriculum or library collection."

The American Library Association keeps extensive information on this issue, along with toolkits for librarians and general public to help keeping freedom of speech and intellectual freedom. Every year they publish the list of most challenged books, which in 2006 were the following:

• “And Tango Makes Three” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, for homosexuality, anti-family, and unsuited to age group;
• “Gossip Girls” series by Cecily Von Ziegesar for homosexuality, sexual content, drugs, unsuited to age group, and offensive language;
• “Alice” series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor for sexual content and offensive language;
• “The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things” by Carolyn Mackler for sexual content, anti-family, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
• “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison for sexual content, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
• “Scary Stories” series by Alvin Schwartz for occult/Satanism, unsuited to age group, violence, and insensitivity;
• “Athletic Shorts” by Chris Crutcher for homosexuality and offensive language;
• “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky for homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
• “Beloved” by Toni Morrison for offensive language, sexual content, and unsuited to age group; and
• “The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier for sexual content, offensive language, and violence.

Off the list this year, but on for several years past, are the “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain.

Besides the above books, among the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000 we can find:

• "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
• Harry Potter series, by J. K. Rowling
• "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
• "James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl
• "The House of Spirits" by Isabel Allende
• "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
• "Native Son" by Richard Wright
• "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker

So, here you have a great opportunity to have your kids and teens reading great literature while challenging yourself action groups which may only want children to grow to Bible readings. It's curious that the Bible never once appeared in any challenge, given the amount of violence, incest, sexuality and crime it portrays at least within the Old Testament parts.

Technorati tags: USA, Censorship, Banned Books, ALA