Apple’s war on porn: bikinis = no, Victoria Secret underwear = yesThe latest ban by Apple on pornography in apps seems to have a distinct bias. If you’re a big media company that Apple doesn’t want to piss off, it’s fine to have adult content. But not if you’re an indie developer.
Censorship
Is the ABC kowtowing to China’s censorship?
The ABC’s decision not to air a doco about Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer has prompted the Oz to question whether the move was motivated by the broadcaster’s new focus on “soft diplomacy” with other nations.
Sex Party scores big PR over small breasts
The Australian Sex Party enjoyed a rejuvenation at the Higgins by-election, but nothing could beat the PR bonanza flowing their way in recent days over two apparently pressing porn issues.
How the government’s video game ban backfired
The Australian Government’s ban on R-rated video games forces publishers to slap together mildly toned-down (but still very explicit) versions of violent and sexual games to squash them into the MA15+ category — ironically, increasing their accesibility to kids.
Chinese censors pull the plug on Avatar
Hollywood may love it, but the Chinese don’t. The Chinese government has decided to stop screening Avatar on the advice of the censors, who say that it may cause unrest, explains Peter Craven.
New South Australian DVD laws are a pain in the Rs
Bizarre new laws have came into effect in South Australia pertaining to the manner in which R-rated films are displayed and promoted. But films with more provocative covers (but milder ratings) are allowed to be displayed as normal.
revealed 
Palin’s banned blogger list
Finally, the official list of bloggers banned from attending an event for Sarah Palin’s Going Rogue have been revealed by Talking Points Memor. And husband Todd Palin was chief enforcer, responsible for bloggers including Dennis Zaki and Jesse Griffin being ejected from the venue.
The Apple Gestapo
Gizmodo goes inside the “Apple Gestapo” — aka the Worldwide Loyalty Team — Apple’s team of moles who keep tabs on the company’s staff to make sure they don’t leak about upcoming gadgets. That 1984 ad suddenly makes so much sense.
The real costs of privatising war
It costs the US one million dollars to support one soldier for one year in Afghanistan. Why so much? The private contractors employed to do things like cooking and laundry are charging outrageous amounts — and whistleblowers are being kept under wraps.
The Newspoll numbers The Australian won’t print
The Australian appears to have decided to not publish the results of an opinion poll on voting intention in the wake of last week’s outlier that had Malcolm Turnbull gaining ground on Kevin Rudd.
Are CSIRO scientists being gagged?
Three years ago, the CSIRO found itself in hot water for gagging scientists from commenting on climate change. Today, it looks like the organisation may still be trying to censor scientists’ public comments.
Is Twitter protecting celebrities from nasty tweets?
Blogger Mickey Kaus has found something sketchy happening on The Twitter: insulting tweets about celebrity twitterers are disappearing from search results. Grassy knoll territory? Or is the company protecting one of its most valuable asset, the Twitterati?
Australia Post stamps out raunchy Penguins
The retail arm of Australia Post has banned the sale of three literature classics amid concern over racy passages and graphic sex scenes.
Guardian: We’ve been gagged from reporting Parliament
The UK’s Guardian newspaper says it has been censored from reporting on Parliamentary proceedings, after a gag order was placed on the details of a question to be asked later this week in Parliament.
Wankley Awards: China bullies its way to a perfect national day
Event planners and government spinners take note: here’s the Chinese government’s top 10 tips on how to pull together a major media event free of any negative coverage, writes Crikey intern Melanie Mahony.
ACMA iTunes and the failure of net filtering
The underlying Australian internet censorship process is unworkable, and always will be. Opponents of the filter are busy proving it, with complaints about iTunes selling MA15+ films without requiring age verification.
No sunshine for Fijian journalists
Fijian authorities are censoring and intimidating the media with ‘Gestapo-like’ tactics, including arrests and interrogations, finds a damning new report on Fiji released by Amnesty International, titled Fiji: Paradise Lost.
Censorship and cowardice at Conde Nast
Publisher Conde Nast has buried a story from GQ on possible connections between Vladimir Putin, the KGB and a series of 1999 bombings officially blamed on Chechen terrorists, keeping the piece off the web and out of Russia, for fear of reprisals.
Gawker translate censored story into Russian
Outraged at revelations that GQ buried a story linking Vladimir Putin to a series of 1999 bombings to keep it out of Russia, Gawker has rallied its readership to translate the article into Russian and spread it online.
East Timor’s media ‘blackout’ or just a lack of research?
There isn’t a ‘media blackout’ occurring in East Timor, rather lots of factually incorrect stories that ignore the East Timorese government’s focus on anti-corruption campaigns.
Shafer: Grow a spine, Washington Post
The Washington Post recently canceled its web video feature “Mouthpiece Theater” after public outrage over a tasteless sleight about Hillary Clinton. But that’s what newspapers — especially the Post — do, says Jack Shafer, and the paper’s backpeddling is a huge cop-out.
The University of Melbourne gags VCA staff
The University of Melbourne has placed an unprecedented gag on Victorian College of the Arts staff members talking to the media, with Senior staff members currently locked in a battle with the University over reforms stemming from the introduction of the controversial Melbourne Model.
News outlets censor killer’s racist rant
The AP and other news outlets have omitted racist comments and references to US President Barack Obama when publishing excerpts from the diary of gunman George Sodini, who opened fire on a Pittsburgh fitness center yesterday, killing four women.
Iran protestor deaths covered up
A doctor working in Tehran writes in the Guardian that the death toll from the post-election protests is far higher than the official figure of 20, and that medical staff are being pressured to cover up the real figures.
Al Jazeera pulls West Papua doco
Al Jazeera’s English channel has decided not to air an Australian documentary on human rights abuses in the Indonesian province of West Papua. Did they cave in to pressure from the Indonesian government?
