News


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News from Coalition Members

The ACLU was joined by the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress, and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and other religious and civil rights groups in opposing a Bureau of Prisons proposal that would remove some religious texts from prison chapel libraries.
 

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) released a training guide to help booksellers anticipate free speech problems in their stores.
 

Catholics for Choice released a report on The Catholic League, which addresses a number of censorship issues NCAC has been involved with in the past.

SEICUS reviews abstinence-only curricula.

ACLU, SPLC file lawsuit against Calif. high school over canceled student newspaper

SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States) has released a comprehensive guide to sexuality education lesson plans.

The ACLU commended the House Judiciary Committee as it considered legislation that would protect journalists from having to reveal their confidential sources. 

The National Education Association (NEA) has released an analysis entitled "Academic Freedom in America After 9/11."

The ACLU is advocating for legislation that would cut all funding from the National Security Agency's illegal domestic wiretapping program.

The American Federation of Teachers is protesting the Iranian government's arrest of Professor Ramin Jahanbegloo -- an arrest that seems to be motivated by hostility towards Professor Jahanbegloo's political views.

NCAC'S NEWS

Comment filters for online class disrupts education in Kentucky

A Jefferson County Public School student in Kentucky was banned from mentioning the name of his website in a Search Engine Optimization class offered through the online continuing education program. His URL: www.oldbastard.com. His contex: he sells bastard files.


Washington School Censors Fairy Tales

Robert Frost Elementary in Washington State canceled the touring theatre-troupe Studio East's production of the Emperor's New Clothes due to fears that students would imitate the bad behavior of some of the characters.

Senior Program Associate

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) is seeking a senior staff member to assist with its program activities.

Smoking Ban Upheld in Colorado Affects Theatrical Performance

This week, in a decision that is likely to limit what theatres decide to produce, Colorado’s Supreme Court upheld the state’s ban on theatrical smoking.  Three not-for-profit theaters in Colorado sued the state’s department of Public Health and Environment on the grounds that the ban on theatrical smoking was an unconstitutional infringement on freedom of speech.

Censorship News #111: Winter 2009/2010

In this issue of Censorship News, we e discuss the importance of academic freedom and Yale's decision to remove images of Mohammed from Jytte Klausen's The Cartoons that Shook the World.

Free Expression at Risk, at Yale and Elsewhere

Last summer, Yale University decided to strip all images of Mohammed from The Cartoons that Shook the World, by Jytte Klausen, a scholarly review of the events surrounding the 2005 Danish cartoon controversy published by Yale University Press. (See CN 101) To justify the decision, University officials cited concerns that the book might stimulate violence “somewhere in the world,” even though no actual threats had been received.

Good Intentions - Dire Consequences

Every state in the nation makes it a crime to abuse animals. In 1999, Congress decided that wasn’t enough and created a new crime – taking or possessing a picture of animal cruelty.

The First Amendment in the Courts: CN111

In September, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, a case challenging provisions of the anti-terrorism laws that make it a crime to give “material support,” including “training” and “expert advice or assistance,” to any group designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.

The Long and the Short of It: CN 111

Censorship news roundup, Winter 2009/2010

NCAC, AAUP and Others Issue Call to Action Over Censorship in Response to Threats of Violence, Real and Imagined

The NCAC and AAUP issued a Statement of Principle and Call to Action urging governments, institutions and private individuals to support freedom of expression and academic freedom, and to resist caving in to threats of violence, real and imagined.