SpeakSpeak News

China plans to toughen its rigorous Internet censorship, filtering all messages sent to chat rooms because “some messages on the Internet are sent by those with ulterior motives".

When it happens across the globe, it’s repression. When it happens here, it’s family values.

Read the whole story.

The Ugandan government has banned production “The Vagina Monologues,” saying that the hit play promotes illegal, unnatural sexual acts, homosexuality and prostitution.

“It should be, and is hereby, banned,” said the Uganda Media Council.

Uganda, by the way, is considered among the most liberal of the African nations when it comes to matters of sex.

Read more from allAfrica.

And remember: when it happens across the globe, it’s repression. When it happens here, it’s “family values” at its finest!

“This is the most blatant, immature censorship that I’ve ever come across,” Marc Shaiman about ABC putting the kibosh on his SpongeBob song.

The Talk at the Oscars Is Over What Was Not Said via I Want Media.

“For the price of Janet Jackson’s ‘wardrobe malfunction’ during the Super Bowl, you could cause the wrongful death of an elderly patient in a nursing home and still have enough money left to create dangerous mishaps at two nuclear reactors. (Actually, you might be able to afford four ‘nuke malfunctions’: The biggest fine levied by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last year was only $60,000.)”

Talk about obscene.

In Rolling Stone, via I Want Media.

“The American Family Association (AFA) is denouncing a unanimous decision by the Federal Communications Commission to reject thousands of indecency complaints about the broadcast of Saving Private Ryan. The movie, complete with numerous expletives – a fact acknowledged by the federal agency – was shown on ABC on November 11 as part of Veterans Day programming. Sixty-six of the network stations chose not to air the film for fear of violating FCC standards.”

According to an AFA spokesman, the “Private Ryan” decision paves the way for shock jocks and others to repeatedly air “F-word” snippets from the Spielberg film in a sort of mobius strip of indecency.

Read the press release.

Broadcasting and Cable has just reported that the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Ted Stevens (R-AK), has vowed to crack down on “indecency” on cable TV. Currently, only broadcast television is subject to FCC indecency enforcement.

Story here.

Bloomberg reports that the National Association of Broadcasters is in favor of the move (presumably because they’re the goose and cable is the gander):

“A five-year-old doesn’t know if they’re watching cable or over-the-air,'’ Edward Fritts, president of the National Association of Broadcasters, said in an interview today. The NAB represents TV broadcasters and has advocated that cable should be subject to the same indecency rules.

And in other news, Clear Channel radio is reportedly chatting with Congress about extending the radio crackdown to satellite providers like Sirius and XM.

SpeakSpeak will be sponsoring a letter-writing action. Stay tuned….