by cameron | Mar 29, 2007 | censorship, Iraq
Here’s a classic.
I’m currently reading a book at bedtime to the boys. It’s called “The Orchard Book Of Swords, Sorcerers and Superheroes”.
It has kids versions of classic tales, like King Arthur, Jason and the Argonauts, Ali Baba, etc. Tonight we were reading “Aladdin”. All of the usual things are in there, Aladdin, the magic lamp, the genie, etc. The only surprising thing was that the whole story was set in… CHINA.
A few times in the story it says they are in China. I’m scratching my head while I’m reading it, thinking “surely this was set in Persia”. The characters are all wearing turbans, etc.
After I finish and tuck the boys into bed, I turn to the front cover of the book to see when it was printed – 2003. The year we invaded Iraq. The book was printed in London.
AHA!, I think. I’ve uncovered censorship in children’s literature! The publishers didn’t want to mention Baghdad when we’re bombing the crap out of it so they re-set the story!
And so I start to write this post.
Except… when I go to Wikipedia to confirm the original location of the story, I read this:
Aladdin (a corruption of the Arabic name AlÄa ed-DÄ«n, Arabic: علاء الدين literally “nobility of faith”) is one of the tales with a Syrian origin in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, and one of the most famous.
The “China” of the original tale much more closely resembles the medieval Muslim world of the other Arabian Nights stories, so much so that in retellings the “Chinese” element is often quietly forgotten.
The story concerns an impoverished young ne’er-do-well named Aladdin, in a Chinese city, who is recruited by a sorcerer from the Maghreb in the far west….
Well I’ll be….
by cameron | Mar 20, 2007 | censorship, climate change, environment, freedom of speech, US politics
From the LA Times’ coverage of the Hansen case:
James Hansen, director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, took particular issue with the administration’s rule that a government information officer listen in on his interviews with reporters and its refusal to allow him to be interviewed by National Public Radio.
“This is the United States,” Hansen told the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee. “We do have freedom of speech here.”
But Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) said it was reasonable for Hansen’s employer to ask him not to state views publicly that contradicted administration policy.
Of course, the most shocking suggestion here is that the Bush administration has a policy? Who knew!?
The suggestion that a senior scientist on the government payroll should not be able to talk openly about his scientific views because they might contradict administration policy is absurd. The dangerous theory here that Issa wants to sell is that the Government is a regular employer who should be able to determine what is said publicly by their “employees”. This theory fails to recognize that ALL Government employees and actually employees of the PEOPLE, paid for by THE PEOPLE, and their first (and only) duty is to fulfill their public responsibility, not to toe the line.
By the way, know where the term “toe the line” comes from?
According to the Grammar Tips site:
The phrase “toe the line” is equivalent to “toe the mark,” both of which mean to conform to a rule or a standard. The Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2002; ed. by Glynnis Chantrell) says, “The idiom toe the line from an athletics analogy originated in the early 19th century”.
The specific sport referred to is foot-racing, where the competitors must keep their feet behind a “line” or on a “mark” at the start of the race–as in “On your mark, get set,
go!”
So one who “toes the line” is one who does not allow his foot to stray over the line. In other words, one who does not stray beyond a rigidly defined boundary.
by cameron | Mar 5, 2007 | Australian media, Australian politics, censorship, Podcast, US politics
My guests today are Dr Kris Klugman PhD and Bill Rowlings from Civil Liberties Australia. I invited them onto the show to help me understand what’s happening with a variety of civil liberty matters such as:
David Hicks
Dr Phillip Nitschke’s book
Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock
Banning of Muslim books
Sedition and other “anti-terrorism” laws passed in Australia
The use of fear as a tool of manipulation
Free Speech
An Australian Bill of Rights
The troubling rise of the Christian Right in Australia
Gay marriage
If you are troubled, as I am, by these issues, then get off your backside and DO something about it. Join the CLA, write a blog, record a podcast, run for politics, create some street art, just DO SOMETHING non-violent. Don’t get sucked into this bullshit mindset of “what difference does it make?”. That’s what “they” want you to think. Remember – you boil a frog slowly.
If you enjoyed this podcast, make sure you don’t miss future episodes by subscribing to our feed and leave us a voice comment!
The G’Day World Theme Song is “Save Me†by The Napoleon Blown Aparts.
by cameron | Mar 2, 2007 | Australian politics, censorship
I was just thinking tonight that someone should get a copy of Nitschke’s “The Peaceful Pill Handbook”, scan it, pdf it, and release it on the web as a free e-book. Then, I thought, why doesn’t Nitschke do it himself? I’m pretty sure he doesn’t see the book as a big money maker. Why not make it available as a free e-book? If he released it as an Acrobat document (or even as a Microsoft Word document), people in Australia could print their own copies and hand them to elderly relatives.
So if any of my readers in Canada or the USA want to assist in the euthanasia of an immoral law, pick up a copy of the book here. Read it and tell us what’s in it.
by cameron | Mar 1, 2007 | Australian media, Australian politics, censorship, Podcast, science vs religion
I’m cranky as hell about the way the Christian Right is taking over this country. The leaders of both major political parties are kowtowing to them because they are mobilizing politically like never before, taking their cues from their US counterparts.
The latest embarrassment for us as a free, democratic society is they way our Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock has intervened in the matter of Dr Phillip Nitschke’s book on euthanasia, The Peaceful Pill Handbook.
In this episode I discuss why this whole affair is wrong, immoral and why we need to fight against it. I’m also exploring what we, as the “new” media, can do about it.
If you enjoyed this podcast, make sure you don’t miss future episodes by subscribing to our feed and leave us a voice comment!
The G’Day World Theme Song is “Save Me†by The Napoleon Blown Aparts.
by cameron | Feb 28, 2007 | Australian politics, censorship
That quote is from the press release put out by Dr Philip Nitschke and Dr Fiona Stewart regarding the banning of their book, “The Peaceful Pill Handbook”, by the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification. The release also states:
“Ten years ago the Australian government took away the world’s first Voluntary Euthanasia law. Last year they banned Australians from using the telephone, fax, email and Internet to seek information about end of life issues. Now they have taken to banning and burning books.â€
And today police arrested and charged with murder a 74-year-old and a 58-year-old in Sydney relating to the death of a 71-year-old man (the husband of the 58 year old) who died from a drug overdose. They couple were refused bail.
(via Club Troppo)
When I start my political party (The Terra Party), one of the platforms will be free speech. It drives me insane that a country like Australia just sits by while our Government (that I voted for, several times) takes away one of the most basic of human rights. Can I even get arrested for just mentioning the book? Who knows?
I’m going to create a technorati tag for this issue and see how many people we get to throw in their support. Just write a blog post about “The Peaceful Pill Handbook” and tag it:
Technorati Tags:Peaceful Pill
