Tag Archives: censorship

Banned Books Awareness: “Death at Seaworld”

David Kirby is the New York Times bestselling author of Evidence of Harm: Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic and Animal Factory: The Looming Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy, and Poultry Farms to Humans and the Environment. A professional journalist for over 15 years, controversy swells over his investigative reporting with his latest exposé. Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the […] … learn more→

Banned Books Awareness: “The Chocolate War”

An acting headmaster at Trinity, a private Catholic prep school, goes too far with his ambitions when he forces students to sell twice as many boxes of chocolate at twice the price in an annual school sale; he enlists Archie and the other members of a school group called The Vigils to achieve his selfish […] … learn more→

Banned Books Awareness: “Literacy is a Lifestyle”

March is National Reading and Grammar Month here in the United States. It is built around the birthday of Dr. Seuss, as March 2 is honored with a National Read Across America Day. Libraries and schools from coast to coast held reading parties and celebrated the written word; but for all the festivity, we have […] … learn more→

Banned Books Awareness: “Slavery by Another Name”

Being that these are the final days of Black History Month 2012, I thought it wise to share a news story that is also sadly apropos to the subject of censorship. The Equal Justice Initiative is a Montgomery, Alabama-based organization founded in 1989 to provide legal representation for the indigent and incarcerated. Bryan Stevenson, director […] … learn more→

Banned Books Awareness: “Ulysses”

The classic novel, “Ulysses,” by Irish author James Joyce, was published as a serial between 1918-1920, and then as a single volume in 1922 in France.  It celebrated its 90th birthday on February 2. Widely-regarded as one of the greatest novels of all time, it even initiated the creation of an international holiday, Bloomsday, celebrated […] … learn more→

Banned Books Awareness: “The Fat Years”

To \”rush through the yellow light\” is a reference to a common practice for the more daring Chinese journalists who write about sensitive topics before state officials flash the red light of censorship. That’s what happened to “The Fat Years,” a dystopian thriller by Chan Koon-Chung, which is now officially banned by the Chinese government. […] … learn more→

Q&A: Stanford’s Cuéllar and US diplomat on human rights and the Internet

As the Internet evolves, people around the world have faster, easier ways to connect. Innovative plans and economic opportunities are being hatched online, but so are ideas that challenge governments. Voices of dissent are amplified by social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, leaving some countries confused about how to balance free expression rights […] … learn more→

Banned Books Awareness: Revising history

Most people are familiar with the classic saying, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,\” uttered by George Santayana. He, himself, identified as an American and wrote exclusively in English, but the famous philosopher was born in Madrid and was a lifelong Spanish citizen even though he was raised and educated […] … learn more→

Banned Books Awareness: “Waterland”

Last week I reported that the Plymouth-Canton Schools in Michigan resolved a challenge to the book Beloved; but the same parents that objected to that title also have their torches aimed at another novel- Waterland, by Graham Swift. Matt Dame, along with his wife, Barb, complained that “Beloved” was inappropriate because of passages that deal […] … learn more→