New Australian Laws To Censor Terror DVDs 235
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."
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)
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Worse! They tie you down for six months, then they force you to watch the movie!
What counts as "terrorist" ideas? (Score:3, Insightful)
Next, "terrorist" means minority party.
So...what movies would this include? (Score:3, Interesting)
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Anything with the Olsen Twins. Terrifying. *shudders*.
Supportive of terrorism is even weaker (Score:2)
Example: "I think Bush should go!" well some terrorist group might have that goal too so by saying that I could be considered to be supporting the goals of some terrorist group and could open myself up to prosecution.
Oppressive societies have used and abused laws like this quite effectively
Re:What counts as "terrorist" ideas? (Score:5, Insightful)
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Nope. Civil disobedience.
The idea that it is the right & duty of every citizen to throw off an oppressive government?
Nope. Depending on your circumstances, that is either voting or revolution. (Revolution is still considered illegal by government, but it is not the same thing as terrorism.)
Or perhaps the idea that kharma can take a long time to resolve...
Nope. Hinduism.
You don't really seem to have a firm grasp ab
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DVDs causing terror will be censored. Pretty simple.
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Next, "terrorist" means minority party.
So what you are telling us is that you are unable to distinguish in a meaningful way between:
Voting to ban littering versus kidnapping someone and cutting off their head
Voting to raise sales tax 0.3% versus exploding a chlorine bomb in a shopping mall
Voting to change automobile safety standards versus using a sniper rifle to kill an MP
Voting to regulate off-shore oil wells versus using an electric drill on someone's head before sh
I nominate this movie (Score:2)
Canadian Bacon [wikipedia.org]
'nuf said
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Let the terrorists identify themselves (Score:3, Interesting)
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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?
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Tip: Never keep all of your detonators in one place.
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!!!
Censor != ban (Score:5, Informative)
Any free-thinking adult can still buy them.
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As I understand it, if the government censor refuses to classify a DVD, then you cannot legally buy it in Australia.
Refused classification (Score:2)
Unless they refuse classification. By refusing classification, it makes it illegal to distribute & screen said DVDs. It also means you can be arrested [smh.com.au]. Viz http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Film_and_Li terature_Classification_(Australia) [wikipedia.org] :
What an awesome PR move! (Score:2, Insightful)
Wow - Who does this guy know in government to do him such a favor?
If the US government did this, I'd own his complete works a week later. Hell, I've never even heard of him, and even the threat of another supposedly-1st-world government banning him makes me at least curious.
Good job, guys - Someday, you'll learn that for some problems, ignoring them will do a whole lot more to make them go away than active intervention ev
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Sales are slumping... Please ban my works!!
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Reactionary? As opposed to what, exactly - Bending over and tacking it complacently, like a "good" citizen?
But anyway... Yes, actually, although I'd prefer to call it "civilly disobedient". The individual people can do a lot that we absolutely must not ever let the government get away with. I do not have the power to oppress the populace.
Ah ha, now we know step two (Score:2)
2. ???
3. Every teenager wants it! Profit!
Thank you Australia for missing in the lost step in our business model!
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.
Interesting (Score:2)
I don't think there's much chance of Joe Public hearing about it in the news and the DVD hitting the charts.
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Honestly, the mosque isn't the channel where this stuff propagates, despite the stereotype. It often comes from the internet, friends passing it on, biased bookstores or video shops. Muslims don't go selling that crap in front of mosques, everyone knows they're being spied upon by the government or will be kicked off the premises by the moderate Muslim leaders, whichever comes first.
How long will it be... (Score:3, Interesting)
The Passion of the Christ (Score:2, Insightful)
I mean it is a film of a man being tortured for two hours...
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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.
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Ew.
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Religion is like medication. It can help you and make your life so much better, but if misused it can kill you. Are you going to say that the stuff in a pharmacy is inherently evil?
Placenta? (Score:2)
I'd vote for pixllation for the same reason that they don't show cattle being disembowled on network television. It's gross.
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I support this absolutely (Score:2, Interesting)
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Idiocy! (Score:2)
And until we understand that people who think it is a valid form of political expression to behead schoolgirls cannot be reasoned with in any manner we will have people beheading schoolgirls. And stoning women to death. And killing people that wake up one da
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You don't wanna go down that road. Seriously.
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You're providing them with the videos? I'm sure there's a "Soviet Russia" line around here somewhere.
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.
Having a Constitution would've helped... (Score:2, Interesting)
But the British Empire never gave its subjects one...
Then, again, even the Free Speech-protecting Constitution is no guarantee of Free Speech, as the presence of rather draconian laws against possessing child pornography in America demonstrates...
We may all be revolted by the child pornography, but we have to remember, that the defense of pornography in general (Larry Flint et al.) was based on the Free Speech argument — not on the usefulness of the art or anything like it.
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I've read (including on Slashdot) about local laws banning films, where adult actors are simulating children. I haven't heard about those getting repealed. If they were — having a (Free Speech-protecting) Constitution has helped us...
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The laws against child porn in the US are defended on the ground that the act of making the child porn itself is illegal.
This logic doesn't even stand up to superficial examination, however. It's trivial to think of examples of "making child pornography" without breaking any laws or harming anyone - two "children" videotaping themselves having sex, or a videotape of consexual sex made in a country with a lower age of consent, or that weird conflcit between age of consent and age of majority, where's its
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Just because it was used to defend pornography, even successfully, doesn't make it a valid argument.
By that same argument, snuff movies should be legal to own too. How is any of this different from shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theater or inciting people to violence? Free Speec
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1. You apparently have no idea what a constitution actually is.
2. Australia has a constitution.
A constitution is a document the describes rules under which a governing entity operates. It is not a synonym for a document granting free speech rights. The constitution of the USA happens to have such a clause, but it is certainly not a defining feature of constitutions in general.
The article contains nothing but the attorney general ranting a bit on a talk radio show, and the fact that a crackpot MP
One rule for you, one for Him (Score:4, Informative)
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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.
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Their religion teaches that life is worthless and nothing counts until the afterlife. Pushing things up a bit to reach the afterlife earlier seems harmless or a benefit.
The UN and Palestinian leaders have been keeping Palestinians bottled up in "refugee camps" with somehow the hope that these people will be able to eventually dis
No such thing as a free ride (Score:3, Insightful)
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You're still talking about Jesse "Hymietown" Jackson, aren't you?
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Be careful what you wish for. If "attacking a religion" was really made illegal, monikers like "islamic extremists" might already be considered over the top. Sure, you might say it's not going to happen, since you're not referring to *all* muslims, but I'm sure that people who talk about "jewish pigs" will also try to bail out by saying "
This would ban Borat, then (Score:2)
Doesn't Borat compare Jews to the devil, claim they have horns and can turn into all sorts of nasty creatures? I guess that does it for Borat in Australia then.
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#2: How many people are taught that Jews are (or will soon turn into) pigs and apes and deserve nothing more than to be killed?
Answer to #1: Damn few.
Answer to #2: Every single Muslim. They might not believe it, but they have been exposed to it, probably from childhood.
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There is a story in the Quran about a group of people from the children of Israel who disobeyed God's command for not fishing on the sabbath, and God cursed them by turning them into apes and pigs. Clearly, that was a parable to teach us something, not that all Jewish people are or were apes and pigs. That conclusion makes no sense, and
yippee kyaaa (Score:2, Insightful)
I'm not up to par on the finer points of aussie government, but it sounds like this nerd rage wankoff is based simply on speculation of something that might happen. Like the "Canadian DMCA" article.
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".
Yep, This Is Gonna Do It Bad To Bin Laden (Score:2)
"The difference between a terrorist, and a baby is?" - Larry the Cable Guy
right... Just another attempt to silence the truth (Score:2)
Great, So next time I try to hand out DVDs proving the involvement of certain people within the US administration and elsewhere (not alqueda) in 9/11, or questioning how a mentally disabled guy with an IQ of 60, who had only ever shot a gun a couple of do
First post..... (Score:2, Informative)
I've been a loyal Slashdot reader for years, but have just signed up for an account. It has been apparent that over time the readership has gone from IT professionals with cute little quips to overangsted teenagers who know how to turn on a computer and sign up for an account.
While there have been many articles that have been brought to my attention that would have otherwise been overlooked in my busy schedule, there has recently been a rash of, well put nicely, stupidity being spout
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1) The government is being racist by banning material?... Since when is Islam a race?
A fallacious argument that is often bandied about. Fine, it's not a race, it's a massively popular religion. Going after Muslims is not racist per se, but it can be described as bigoted. I have no problem getting rid of material that describes how to do terrorism, but you also have people on the Far Right both in the US and Australia who burn Qurans in public and lobby the government to ban the book. Of course, I'm opposed to that.
It continues to blow my mind that Christians are crucified on Slashdot, but Muslims are not even though the propaganda they're postulating is so very much more damaging than what comes from the Chistian camp.
Dude, we Muslims get
Pessimistically (Score:2, Interesting)
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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.
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Not that I support censorship in general, but I see this as far more appropriate to censor than almost anything else that's already being censored. All the other stuff is just fiction.
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Humans are rationalizing beings, not rational beings.
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".
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Who, if they're going to be taking that stuff seriously, are probably also irrational and impossible to engage in a debate.
While censorship can easily be a slippery-slope, you have to remember that in Australia there are still checks and balances in place. While free speech is enshrined in America, it sometimes seems like that's the only
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You're not debating with the fanatics who're producing the material. You're presenting your counter-claims and viewpoints to the OTHER people who might be listening to them.
Who, if they're going to be taking that stuff seriously, are probably also irrational and impossible to engage in a debate.
You would think that, but if you read the personal history profiles of, say, the 911 hijackers you would be surprised at how normal and rational they started off. These were not raving lunatics who were going to latch on to some wacked out ideology no matter what. They were, by and large, normal people who were feeling lost and out of place with the world and then someone came and gave them an answer. They weren't born fanatics. They didn't become fanatics instantly. And rational debate is often one o
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In Australia, there's no enshrined free speech
That is not entirely true. It is true that there is no explicit protection in the Constitution [austlii.edu.au], the High Court, in a series of cases beginning with the Capital TV case [austlii.edu.au], discovered an implied right to "political communication" within its structure. It would seem to me that statements which are merely in support of terrorist organisations are properly thought of as political communication. On the other hand statements which go further and advocate violence o
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Agreed. C'mon Aussie, don't let your politicians set a precedent for other nations (like NZ!) to follow. Make some noise and get it repealed, 'cause you guys are better than that.
--
Don't call it "terrorism", because I'm not afraid.
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Yes, under Australia's revised sedition law [wikipedia.org].
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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
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Absolutely. While we are at it, we should let the KKK and every other hate group speak at school assemblies. After all, refusing to allow them makes us look as though we are unable to counter what they say. I mean, it's not like crap like this can unreasonably affect young minds... right?
Re:Optimistically... (Score:4, Insightful)
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He is the attorney general, not governor general, elected like any other member of parliament.
He is an arsehole, not for the incorrect reasons you have given, but because he is a borderline fascist.
"And why people voted to keep us under a monach I will never know."
Perhaps because they were confused like you? More probably they realised that having as many checks and balances as possible is a good thing for normal people.
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1) keep the monarchy and current system
2) politician voted president
There was no three, although there should have been, a people voted president. That wasn't put on the ballot so all Australians were fucked over in that referendum. That is why we still live under a FUCKING MONARCHY!
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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.
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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
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This isn't a new thing.
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RTFA. All they're talking about are *film censors* and not just banning movies willy-nilly. You can still buy them; they are just arguing that they should have been given higher ratings.
I didn't know they were V-chipping people these days. Makes sense, I guess, since Slashdotters have been having their brain bandwidth throttled for
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Islamic Terrorists:Islam::KKK:Christianity
Other than that, your post was spot-on. Anyone who believes that God is on their side while they commit terrible acts against other people is a nut, no matter what religion they use to justify it.
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Islam and Christianity are much worse than terrorists and the KKK.
Teaching religion to children is abuse. The children should be taken away.
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To be fair, there are good passages in both books and these are the ones moderate believers follow. Indeed, these are the only passages I have *ever* heard in sermons or discussed in religious gatherings. This is a distortion of the message contained within the Bible - its is primarily hate. Read it.
Teaching religion to kids is a form of abuse that should st
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If you're dealing with a bunch of peasants who are too primitive and uneducated to be able to behave in a fashion that is in their own long term self interest, religion will allow a wise man to say to his fellows "Forget why we should live this way, GOD said to live this way, so do it." and they do.
This will allow them to behave in a co-ordinated fashion, and that is going to provide them benefits.
But it makes them sheep.
If you follow a religion, you're following a cult of a dead wise
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Could you cite any specific (MODERN!) examples of religion as child abuse or a mind closing force?
Oh that's so hard!
The Manson Family immediately comes to mind, closely followed by several others - if I could be bothered I could probably come up with dozens after very little effort.
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Hello AN,
Firstly, the labelling of any child as Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Catholic, Buddhist, etc is a premature decision based on the parents desire for their children to continue the faith. All children should be taught all religions and it is for them to decide which one (if any) they follow.
Where I live, most people are open minded, rational and intelligent - even those that belief in an all powerful supernatural being who created everything, mucked it up and had to sacrifice himself in the form
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I agree that the majority of religious messages are one of peace, but this is due to concentrating on the good messages in the good book. If you actually read the books (cover to cover) these faiths are based on instead of just listening to the priest, you may come away with a very different impression. I did.
It seems to me most followers have never actually read their holy books - they just listen to what they are told. The ones that do read the books either alter their interpretations to suit their m
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