Friday, July 09, 2010
Cavna on Doonesbury
Monday, June 14, 2010
One key difference between us and Japan - freedom of speech
(Mainichi Japan) June 14, 2010
We may have the First Amendment, but there's a law in the US that says possessors drawings of imaginary under-age cartoon characters (how is that even possible?) can be prosecuted for child pornography. Support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund today.
Here's a new interview with its head - Spurgeon, Tom. 2010.
CR Newsmaker Interview: Charles Brownstein Of The CBLDF.
Comics Reporter (June 13).
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Pulitzer Prize cartoonists' petition online at Cartoonists Rights Network
Now you can join the nineteen Pulitzer Prize winners who've created and signed a petition against censorship. Click through the link to add your name. It's up from seventeen signatories at the last time we looked at it, and has been generalized to be opposed to all censorship of cartoons, not just South Park's specific example.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Religious opinion on South Park and Mohammad cartoons in Saturday Post
At the blog I was able to find a few relevant articles, although not most of the ones quoted in the physical paper.
Sally Quinn. 2010.
Divine Impulses: Tariq Ramadan says Comedy Central is 'scared' of the Muslim reaction to South Park, Washington Post Divine Impulses blog (May)
Without freedom of expression, there is no democracy
Ex-Hindu monk, professor
Ramdas Lamb
On Faith blog May 6, 2010
Imposed or self-imposed censorship?
Professor, University of Mississippi School of Law
Ronald Rychlak
Washington Post On Faith blog May 7, 2010;
Monday, April 26, 2010
Post on South Park censorship
Comedy Central censors "South Park"
By Lisa de Moraes
Washington Post April 23, 2010
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Catching up with comics in the Post
Comic Riffs looks at a couple of dunderheaded decisions in the Style section –
Doonesbury shrunk by almost an inch in the latest redesign, but it’s back at a bit larger now:
The Post's 'Doonesbury' shrinkage: winning the Battle of Inch-On
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog October 28, 2009
and Frazz, which has been exiled to appearing sometimes on the Kid’s page is missing this week because of a Halloween story which has a naked kid in a tree - god, you just can’t make this stuff up. The kids flip past, in today’s paper “TV report on breast self-exam bares all” and “The Dark Side of Peter Pan” book review to get to the Kid’s page, and they’re then protected from cartoon nudity. Anyway, here’s the story with the rationalization “There was no way this could run in KidsPost so we decided to hold it out for a week.”:
Calling all comics readers: To save 'Frazz,' what strip should we send to KidsPost?
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog October 29, 2009
In yesterday’s Style section (not the trend here), there’s a TV report on how inappropriate Family Guy is, at least as far as Microsoft is concerned:
By Lisa de Moraes
Washington Post Wednesday, October 28, 2009
and a review of a play with an imaginary superhero friend:
By Celia Wren
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Iraq prison abuse photos likened to Danish Islam cartoons by Justice Dept. says NY Times
Obama About-Face Goes to High Court
By ADAM LIPTAK
Published: September 15, 2009
First the Justice Department decided it would not ask the Supreme Court to block the release of photographs showing the abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then it changed its mind.
The relevant paragraph reads:
In a book about the controversy surrounding the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, the publisher [Yale Press] decided not to publish the actual cartoons. The government’s brief, in fact, cited the reaction to the publication of the cartoons in a Danish newspaper as a reason to block disclosure of the images of detainee abuse.
I'd encourage everyone to read the original article and perhaps someone could look into the government's argument as well.
Meanwhile, one of the Post's (conservative) columnists editorialized against Yale's decision - "Chipping Away At Free Speech," By Anne Applebaum, Washington Post September 15, 2009.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Post calls kettle black
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Tintin Banned in Brooklyn
New York Times (August 20, 2009): A21. The story appeared on their blog yesterday as "A Library's Approach to Books That Offend, New York Times City Room blog August 19, 2009, http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/19/a-librarys-approach-to-books-that-offend/?ref=nyregion
Saturday, August 15, 2009
American Association of University Professors president condemns Yale's cowardice on Danish Islam cartoons
Here's what the book's author thinks - "Culture Vulture: Interview with Prof. Jytte Klausen," by Helen Epstein, ArtsFuse blog on Aug 14, 2009.
Post on surpressed Family Guy cartoon [UPDATED]
Oddly enough, a very similar story ran 2 days earlier by their TV reporter - "'Family Guy's' Look at the Lighter Side of Abortion,"
By Lisa de Moraes, Washington Post Wednesday, August 12, 2009.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Yale to publish book on Danish Islam cartoons without the cartoons
Normally I would buy a book like this as a matter of course, but I'm going to boycott this one. If Yale doesn't have the courage of their convictions, I see no reason to support them.
Washington Post joined in censorship of Tank
Washington Post pulls comic featuring Vick, Cheney
By CHRISTIAN BOONE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution August 10 2009
And for those of us who still subscribe to the Post - here's today's Tank.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Keeping up with Tank McNamara in spite of the Post
And the NY Times chimes in, noting that the Post is the only paper to drop the strip - Comic Strips on N.F.L. and Race: Fair Game or Out of Bounds? By RICHARD SANDOMIR, August 11, 2009.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Washington Post censors Tank McNamara
To see the strips if you're a Post reader, here's GoComics site. If I'm reading Michael's report correctly, the Post won't run the strips online either so going to their website is pointless.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Reason's website review of The Ten Cent Plague
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Cartoons can put you in jail in America and Australia
Well, here in America, judges in Richmond (90 miles from DC) just did the same thing - "Child porn cartoon conviction upheld in Va." by LARRY O'DELL, The Associated Press, Friday, December 19, 2008. O'Dell wrote, "Child pornography is illegal even if the pictures are drawn, a federal appeals panel said in affirming the nation's first conviction under a 2003 federal law against such cartoons. ... Judge Paul V. Niemeyer noted in the majority opinion that the statute under which Whorley was convicted, the PROTECT Act of 2003, clearly states that "it is not a required element of any offense under this section that the minor depicted actually exists.""
There's a similar case going on now in now in Iowa that the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is helping with.
I have a child, and have no interest in this type of thing, but one wonders why the First Amendment only applies once in a while. I don't recall any add-ons that say "except for photographs or artwork that we really don't like."