Blog Archives

Ukrainian Political Cartoons Displayed Despite Administration Objections

June 3, 2013
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An art exhibition of cartoons addressing Ukrainian corruption, and other political issues, was displayed in Kyiv’s Mykhailivska Square by the Institute for World Policy on May 18th, 2013, despite objections and censorship demands by the city officials. PASOS.org translated the article about the attempted censorship from the Ukrainian website for IWP, who wrote: The officials…

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Vague Legal Definitions Threaten Japanese Comic Readers

May 24, 2013
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For the second time in four years, members of the Japanese Diet (legislature) are attempting to revise the nation’s flawed child pornography law. While initial revision proposals offered some hope that the problems with the law would be fixed, the current proposal does little to address loopholes and overly broad language that could leave innocent…

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Fox News Host Blames Video Games During NRA Speech

May 7, 2013
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Gaming news site Kotaku has posted yet another incident to be filed under “S,” for “Scapegoating.” On Friday, Fox News host and contributor Jeanine Pirro delivered a furious diatribe against gun control to the annual meeting of the National Rifle Association, once again blaming video games for violence: Pirro said… “How dare you compare me…

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Sen. Feinstein the Latest Congressperson to Pin Blame on Video Games

April 11, 2013
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Sen. Feinstein the Latest Congressperson to Pin Blame on Video Games

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein has joined an ever-lengthening list of politicians seeking to pin blame for outbursts of youth violence on the media’s favorite scapegoat, video games. Though also author of the most recent legislation to tackle an assault weapons ban, Anime News Network reports that Feinstein recently addressed her beliefs about video games to…

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Political Cartoons: Fuel For Revolution or a Reflection of the Fire?

April 4, 2013
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Political Cartoons: Fuel For Revolution or a Reflection of the Fire?

What do editorial cartoons do? Are they really the mind-changing propaganda that censors fear? Or do they simply mirror the ideas, events, and trends already taking place? Cartoon Movement recently published a translated interview with Ilan Danjoux, author of Political Cartoons and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, addressing these questions and more. Cartoon Movement asked Danjoux about…

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Salon Indicts Law Enforcement and Media Prejudice Against “Gamers”

March 25, 2013
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After what he is calling an “egregious” and biased report from New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica on the Sandy Hook shootings, Salon.com’s Andrew Leonard fired back with a scathing indictment of the ongoing effort to blame video games and other mass media for outbreaks of extreme violence. In his article, Lupica addresses the…

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Paris Museum Runs Afoul of Facebook Content Policies

March 13, 2013
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Paris Museum Runs Afoul of Facebook Content Policies

French museum Jeu de Paume found itself the latest example of artistic institutions shut down by Facebook content policies for the photographic presence of that most dastardly body part, the female nipple. According to Gizmodo, the artwork, by early 20th century photographer Laure Albin Guillot, was sufficient for an instant, though temporary ban: The violation…

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Banned Egyptian Graphic Novel Back on Cairo Shelves

February 1, 2013
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Banned Egyptian Graphic Novel Back on Cairo Shelves

The banning of cartoons and graphic novels by the foreign regimes they criticize is an all-too-common story. So, it is always a welcome change to report a formerly banned work’s re-release. A once-banned graphic novel that criticized Hosni Mubarak’s government is now back on Egyptian bookshelves. Magdy al-Shafee’s Metro is a noir tale of software…

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French Magazine Charlie Hebdo Sued Over Mohammed Cartoons

December 20, 2012
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News outlets have reported this month that the notoriously controversial French humor magazine Charlie Hebdo is being sued by a pair of Arab rights organizations over caricatures of the Islamic prophet Mohammed, which were published in September. In the wake of widespread protest and unrest over the film The Innocence of Muslims, the magazine chose…

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Robie Harris Speaks Up On A Career’s Worth Of Challenges

October 5, 2012
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Robie Harris Speaks Up On A Career’s Worth Of Challenges

Robie Harris knows more than most people about book banning. Her children’s books on sexual health and family life are perennial standards on challenged and banned lists across the country, accused of being everything from age-inappropriate to “obvious child pornography.” This month, Harris opened up in essay for PEN.org and in an interview with Kirkus…

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