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If you think Democracy Now!s reporting is a critical line of defense against war, climate catastrophe and fascism, please make your donation of $10 or more right now. Today a generous donor will DOUBLE your donation, which means itll go twice as far to support our independent journalism. When Democracy Now! covers war or gun violence, were not brought to you by the weapons manufacturers. When we cover the climate emergency, our reporting isnt sponsored by the oil, gas, coal or nuclear companies. Democracy Now! is funded by you, and thats why were counting on your donation to keep us going. Please give today. Every dollar makes a differencein fact, gets doubled! Thank you so much. -Amy Goodman

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Montana Becomes First State to Ban TikTok, as Rights Groups Warn of Censorship and Sinophobia - Democracy Now!

Guinean press associations on Thursday accused the ruling junta of censorship, in the face of the restriction or blocking of access to news sites and popular social networks, in a tense context of political protest.

They also denounced a raid carried out on Wednesday by gendarmes at Afric Vision in Conakry and the seizure of the transmitters of two radio stations of the press group.

However, the government has denied any involvement in the internet disruptions and an operation against Afric Vision, media said.

The reported actions coincide with a call to demonstrate launched by the opposition. The junta requisitioned the army deployed in the capital on Wednesday.

Guinean Internet users have been complaining since Wednesday about the difficulty or impossibility of accessing information sites or social networks such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, or TikTok without a VPN. The issues have been confirmed by internet monitoring service NetBlocks.

The main press organisations, representing televisions, radios, newspapers, and private information sites, castigated in a press release "the liberticidal actions undertaken by the Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority against the Guinean media".

They "condemn this censorship, which is a setback for democracy". They announce their decision to no longer participate in the current week of information and communication professions organized by the government.

The influential Guinea Bloggers Association Ablogui spoke in a separate statement of "backward methods that dishonor Guinea".

Government spokesman and telecommunications minister Ousmane Gaoual Diallo denied any involvement by the authorities.

He spoke in front of reporters "about a blackout that is happening everywhere", the Guinenews news site reported. "If the government decides to shut down the internet, it will do so and bear the consequences. However, this is not the case," he said according to Guineanews.

As for Afric Vision, the authorities are waiting for the group to produce elements corroborating its claims, he said. But any media that disturbs the social peace "will be closed without hesitation", he warned.

The opposition had called for demonstrations on Wednesday and Thursday. She eventually called off Thursday's protest. Wednesday's appeal was met with little effect in the streets of Conakry, placed under tight control by the army and security forces.

The Forces Vives, a collective of parties and organizations, however, claimed to have paralyzed activity in different sectors of the capital. They accused Colonel Mamady Doumbouya and a number of officials of "murderous madness" and plans to confiscate power.

Guinea has been ruled since 2021 by a junta under the leadership of Colonel Doumbouya. The military agreed under international pressure to make way for elected civilians by the end of 2024, the time to carry out deep reforms, they say.

The junta has arrested a number of opposition leaders and launched legal proceedings against others. It has banned all demonstrations since 2022.

The opposition denounces the authoritarian and exclusive conduct of the country by the junta and calls for the rapid return of civilians.

Read the original:
Guinea: press associations accuse the junta of censorship - Africanews English

The ACLU of Massachusetts is urging school committee members in Ludlow to reject a proposal that would change how library materials are selected, and who does the selecting.

Elements of the proposed policy raise "numerous legal issues, including free expression, vagueness and discrimination," the group's attorneys said in a letter to the district.

The proposal, first introduced at the school committee meeting on May 9, seeks to weed out "inappropriate materials" from the district's libraries.

"Sexualized content is generally inappropriate and/or unnecessary for minors in school," the proposal says. "However, a school need not show that sexualized content is obscene to show that it is not appropriate or educationally suitable for minor students. Parents/guardians have a wide range of options outside of the District's library system to introduce their child to sexual content they deem age-appropriate for their child."

The proposal, submitted on May 9 by school committee member Jaoa Dias, defines terms including sexual acts, implied sexual acts, intimate parts and implied nudity.

It also gives the school committee decision making powers when acquiring new print and digital materials for the district's libraries.

The ACLU said in its letter to the school committee that the policy, if passed, "would set extremely vague, overbroad and repressive standards for what materials can and cannot be in school libraries, with a particular obsession with any depiction or description of various body parts."

The organization also criticized how the policy would allow for termination of a district employee who fails to follow the policy.

"A kicker in the proposed policy is that apparently people can lose their jobs," the letter said, "not only for not complying with these vague and overbroad terms, they can lose their jobs for not 'prioritiz[ing] the selection of materials which do not contain other sexualized content, even though permitted, such as visual depictions of nude body parts.'"

"How in the world does someone figure out whether or not or the extent to which 'covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state' are or are not encompassed by the ban on 'nude intimate parts?'" the ACLU wrote, quoting the proposal.

The letter included images of male baseball players and ballet dancers, as an example of what could be considered against the policy.

If passed, it could also restrict access to many young adult novels as well as images of religious art.

Ludlow Public Schools already has policies in place that allow parents to challenge materials placed in the district's libraries, and an email system that allows parents to block their children from taking out materials they don't approve.

In the last few years, several Ludlow parents have pushed back on titles in the school library related to puberty. And in 2022, two sets of parents sued the Ludlow School Committee and several school administrators over the districts alleged failure to disclose to parents information about their childrens gender identities.

Dias the school committee member advancing the library proposal appeared to weigh in on the lawsuit last year on Facebook: "Hopefully they named the teacher, administrators, former superintendent and school committee members individually as well. Groomers all!"

Asked over email about this opinion, Dias had no immediate comment.

To the ACLU, the proposed library policy is connected to LGBTQ rights, said Ruth Bourquin, the organization's senior and managing attorney.

"It seems [the policy] may be a not very well-veiled attempt to find a way to suppress literature about LGBTQ experiences and coming of age experiences," Bourquin said. "This policy, we think, is clearly unlawful [and] it's wildly overbroad."

The language of the proposal is almost a verbatim copy of something proposed in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Bourquin said. She said the district is "renowned for anti-LGBTQ+ bias" and is facing litigation by the ACLU.

Dias declined to discuss the proposal at the May 9 meeting. He also declined comment this week.

"I will be happy to discuss the policy after [next week's] meeting," Dias said in an email.

School committee members will vote on the policy June 6, said Ronald Saloio, another member of the Ludlow School Committee.

"Per school committee policy, the first meeting, the new policy is proposed with no discussion," Saloio said in an email.

Next week, at a meeting on May 23, "the policy will be read and discussed," Saloio said. "[T]here might be changes suggested to the proposed policy at this time."

Read the original:
ACLU says proposed Ludlow school library policy is vague, form of ... - Connecticut Public

A couple of weeks back, I shared a roundup of pending legislation across several states and at the national level which would ensure the right to read. There is another bill worth highlighting during this legislative session that is making positive progress in Connecticut.

Senate Bill 2, called the Act Concerning the Mental, Physical, and Emotional Wellness of Children, is wide-ranging one covering everything from childrens mental health coverage to public libraries. Most pertinent to the ongoing removal of books from public and school libraries, though, is the bills creation of sanctuary libraries across the state. The bill would allow every community within Connecticut to designate a public library as a sanctuary library, wherein books which have been banned, challenged, or censored will be readily available to anyone who would like to borrow them.

The bill would open up small grants for libraries which choose to take on the distinction as sanctuary libraries, coming in at about $1,200 annually. The bill has made its way through committees and has been slated for discussion on the Senate floor for this week. You can follow the progress here.

Senate Bill 2 signals to libraries across Connecticut that the legislators find access to information so vital that it belongs under the states child wellness bill. Connecticuts Ferguson Public Library in Stamford was the second library in the country to declare itself sanctuary library in January 2023, following the lead of Chicago Public Library last fall. Under the new bill, any city could designate one library a sanctuary. Those cities with more than one public library may meet criteria to become eligible as sanctuary libraries or may choose to remain nonprinciple libraries; the difference would be in ability to receive the grants earmarked for the purposes of sanctuary libraries.

The bill was a surprise to the Connecticut Library Association and to librarians across the state. It emerged following a meet-and-greet hosted by the Ferguson Library following its designation as a sanctuary library; Senator Cici Maher attended the event, and two weeks later, after hearing from constituents that book bans were among the biggest concerns of library workers, she returned to session and her committee and began drafting the proposal.

Tying state aid to such designations is similar to Illinoiss Right to Read legislation. Every library will be able to choose for themselves how to proceed, but there are benefits from the state to those who stand up for intellectual freedom and the First Amendment Rights of all within these public facilities.

Such bills will not end the onslaught of book bans. What they do, though, is offer opportunities for libraries to protect themselves one step at a time and ensure that the majority of people who time and time again emphasize seeing book bans as inappropriate and unpopular will have their libraries represent them. Moreover, these bills aid in rallying for more legislative action in other states and municipalities to protect the right to read.

See the original post:
A Bill in Connecticut Would Fund Sanctuary Libraries: Book Censorship News, May 19, 2023 - Book Riot

Politics

This latest episode follows the firing of a Florida principal for allowing the nude to be shown in class.

An undisputed classic is fast becoming this years most controversial artwork.

Michelangelos David has spurred another nudity scandalthis time in Glasgow rather than Tallahasseefollowing one restaurants attempts to feature the artwork, phallus and all, in its latest subway spot. Global, the company that oversees advertising across Glasgows public transit, rejected the original design. Now, the family-owned DRG restaurant group is running a censored version and footing the bill for the reprint.

DRG began conceptualizing its latest ad for Glasgows Barolo Italian restaurant in early January. Previous ads featured the Mona Lisa eating spaghetti and God, as depicted in The Creation of Adam (c. 150812),handing off a slice of pizza.

Indeed, we saw the Florida story and genuinely, it didnt even occur that we could have a similar situation in Glasgow, Nadine Carmichael, DRGs head of sales and marketing, told Artnet News. The Florida saga was utterly mind boggling.

The original design. Courtesy of DRG

Their original ad featured David chowing on a slice in the nude, framed by a ribbon of taupe and text reading: It doesnt get more Italian.

Global, which declined to comment, first proposed that DRG amend the original printed ads by affixing stickers of the Italian flag where the good lord split David. Unfortunately, once printed, those stickers proved too small. In the end, DRG and Global compromised on an updated design where the protagonist is cropped above his waist.

Modified, approved design. Courtesy of DRG

The composition just isnt the same for starters, Carmichael said, and it seems odd to have cut out half of an iconic figure, so it slightly jars from our perspective. Others are concerned about the sculptures intensifying notoriety.

Its a silly distraction, remarked Martyn Reed, who oversees Nuart festival in nearby Aberdeen each year. Not sure whats worse: [the sculpture] being used to sell pizza, or the mock outrage being leveraged for column inches.

Read more:
Michelangelos David Is Embroiled in Yet Another Censorship ControversyThis Time For a Pizza Ad in Scotland - artnet News