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New Australian Laws To Censor Terror DVDs
Posted by
ScuttleMonkey
on Mon Apr 16, 2007 05:43 PM
from the jihad-on-free-speech dept.
from the jihad-on-free-speech dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Within a few weeks, Australia may introduce new laws to censor films and literature deemed by the government to be supportive of terrorism. This is not the first time material has been censored in Australia, which has previously censored films and banned publications, including one titled Defence of the Muslim Lands (censored in mid 2006 by Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock). The proposed laws are aimed to target material such as a DVD by Feiz Mohammad containing some of his past controversial sermons calling for jihad and comparing Jews with pigs. The Office of Film and Literature Classification previously classified this DVD as 'PG', suitable for viewing by anyone under 15 years of age with parental guidance."
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Oh really? (Score:3, Insightful)
Will that include archival news and documentary footage about the US funding of the taliban and Iran contra?
Censor only those who would censor!
Re:Oh really? (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
What counts as "terrorist" ideas? (Score:3, Insightful)
Next, "terrorist" means minority party.
So...what movies would this include? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:What counts as "terrorist" ideas? (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Let the terrorists identify themselves (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Curiousity leads many people to many things, including terrorist videos. How does it make me a terrorist if I want to watch Die Hard as an example of how to take over a building with a small special ops team?
Re:Let the terrorists identify themselves (Score:4, Interesting)
I would agree, but could you imagine what would happen if the FBI (or Australian equivalent) started demanding the sales records from the local video stores? Hell, people don't want the FBI looking at library records and libraries are tax payer funded!!!
Parent
Censor != ban (Score:5, Informative)
Any free-thinking adult can still buy them.
Parent
That's so dumb. It just gets them attention (Score:4, Insightful)
Incredibly dumb move. It just draws attention to some material that probably sucks.
Back in 1989, during the 2 Live Crew [wikipedia.org] censorship controversy, I remarked, after listening to their stuff, that without the censorship, they would have never made it off the South Florida club circuit. With the censorship controversy, they hit #29 on the Billboard 200. But by 1991, they'd peaked, and broke up around 1992. There was a "New 2 Live Crew", which went nowhere and broke up in 1995, a reunion in 1998, and another reunion in 2005. Nobody cared much. Wikipedia says "The two core members are still popular within the Miami Bass community and Dancehall goers".
Or, in other words, they're back on the South Florida club circuit where they belong. Censorship gave them their 15 minutes of fame.
How long will it be... (Score:3, Interesting)
It's a non-event (Score:5, Insightful)
Don't forget that this is a country which took Fatcat, a children's programme featuring a big cat off screen on the basis that the cat had no clothes and thus indecently exposed him/herself (hard to know with a cat costume, really) to innocent children. On the other hand, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Power Rangers were perfectly OK. This is a country where on a BBC science show about the human reproduction pixelised the placenta (held by the reporter, no woman or baby in sight) for its explicite sexual nature...
There is already a terror censorship on books, now there will be one on DVDs. Business as usual.
SONY: Fighting for your Freedom (Score:3, Funny)
Here's an Idea: Why don't don't they get SONY to distribute the Terror videos?
Most 'customers' would find it doesn't work on their video player. When they try to watch it on their PC, they get a SONY RootKit.
Now imagine the look on Osamas face when he sees a 'Spyware Detected' Popup. I can't think of a faster way to flush a band of Mujahadeen out of their cave.
One rule for you, one for Him (Score:4, Informative)
Very Welcome Promotion (Score:3, Insightful)
What's needed to counter this is not repression - "repress a religion, and it will flourish" (Frank Herbert), but a social outreach campaign to seek to discover why these pissed-off young westies are so easy to reach, and how to entice them into other less destructive outlets for their energies.
No such thing as a free ride (Score:3, Insightful)
NATO Terrorism (Score:5, Interesting)
Both should be condemned as terrorist acts and their justifications dismissed. Governments are just as capable of committing terrorist acts as small non-government groups are. The problem is we allow governments to get away with it time and time again, whereas we actually make some effort to pursue the "small guys".
Re:Optimistically... (Score:5, Insightful)
So instead of being able to counter racist propaganda with reasoned debate and counter evidence, it all goes underground and spreads unchallenged and unopposed.
Saying that people you disagree with are not allowed to talk makes it look as though you are unable to counter what they say.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
If it enters public discussion, it gives the impression that there are two sides to the debate. And if there are two sides to the debate, then it seems rational for a person to sit on either side, so long as they have some reasons to give (whether or not they are good).
Censoring this DVD will go a long way towards stopping the ideas from spreading...much more so t
No censorship. (Score:5, Insightful)
Besides, where is the line drawn? When you allow the government to "censor films and literature deemed by the government to be supportive of terrorism", does that mean the DVDs used as an example? Or does that also include any news story that mentions any weaknesses in any industry, port, airline, or in safety procedues? Any news story critical of the military or armed forces? Any book or website that in any way, discusses anything that conceivably (or inconceivably) could be used as a weapon?
Is disagreeing with your government's stance on terrorism "supportive of terrorism"?
Is all of our news subject to redaction by official goverment goons?
Sorry, but censorship is not "appropriate".
Parent
Re:Optimistically... (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Most of the people producing these things aren't doing it for money. They're doing it because they're true believers. If we give the appearance that any idea, no matter how controversial or stupid, is being suppressed it will only generate more interest in it.
Look at holocaust denial. Everyone who knows anything about the subject knows that the holocaust happened, but giving the appearance of sup
Re:Optimistically... (Score:5, Insightful)
The Bolsheviks are the most obvious case of this- attacking the Czar for classism and his secret police, then setting up the NKVD/KGB and creating a two-class society of party members and dead people.
But also look at the American Revolution- setting up the Constitution in reaction to what they saw as broken about the Magna Carta.
The Islamic extremists are mimicing thier mythology about what the Zionists want to do to them.
Evil always begets evil, no matter what.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I really don't think this is the same kind of censorship. GTA3 was removed from store shelves because it failed to meet the required classification of "Mature" and there is no "Restricted" rating for video games.
This, on the other hand, is the deliberate surpression of political speech under the guise of "terrorism".
If you wanna compare the lack of R ratings for video games to something, compare it to our stupid "net bet" laws. Fuckin
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Sales are slumping... Please ban my works!!