• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Book bannings in Australia

Mycroft

High Priest of Ed
Mycroft
Joined
Sep 10, 2003
Messages
20,501
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,19753920,00.html

Two Islamic 'terror' books banned
By Paul Osborne
11jul06

TWO Islamic books have been banned after the Classification Review Board found they incited terrorism.

The books, Defence of the Muslim Lands, and Join the Caravan, have been refused classification and can no longer be sold within Australia or imported into the country.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...

The review board said in a statement that Defence of the Muslim Lands "promotes and incites in matters of crime, specifically terrorism acts, including the plan, action and execution of martyrdom operations".

"The book is specific and explicit in its support for and encouragement of suicide bombing, including details for undertaking such crimes," the board said.

The second book, Join the Caravan, also "has the objective purpose of promoting and inciting acts of terrorism against disbelievers and is a real and genuine call to specific action by Muslims to fight for Allah and engage in acts of violence".
Click to expand...

:yikes:

Of course they cant really ban these books. Someone would just make a PDF and distribute them on the internet.
 
You left out some relevant bits:
Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock sought the review last month after the classification board found the books and a film did not breach Australian law, and federal police could find no grounds to prosecute the booksellers.
Click to expand...
Ruddock, btw, is politically somewhere between Rumsfeld and Genghis Khan, but with not as much charm or sensitivity as either. He used to be the Minister for Immigration and was responsible for our "concentration camp" style illegal immigrant detention centres, but he can't seem to let that portfolio go. Now he's Attorney General, charged with upholding the laws of the land. :rolleyes:
Board convenor Maureen Shelley said the board had sought advice from the Mufti of Australia, Sheik Taj Aldin Alhilali, and the NSW Council for Civil Liberties in making its decision.

It also considered how current anti-terrorism laws applied.
Click to expand...
Islamic Council of Victoria spokesman Waleed Ali said the ban was not justified.

"We understand that the literature is demonstrably unsavoury but that's different from saying that it necessarily causes a threat," he said on ABC Radio.
Click to expand...
So it was a "forced override" by the Attorney General. Chances are good, however, that it will be ignored. Or at least not enforced.
 
Mycroft said:
Of course they cant really ban these books. Someone would just make a PDF and distribute them on the internet.
Click to expand...
Indeed - quite so. And that sort of technology is way beyond the ken of our current Federal Ministers, and especially people like Ruddock. See why I'm ashamed of him? :mad:
 
You're lucky Zep at least they haven't managed to get the incredible vague "glorification of terrorism" onto the books as a criminal offence:

http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/press/2006/terrorism-act-will-make-us-less-safe.shtml

:(

Oh and for people to understand what this really means - you know when you say say the North Korean leader should be "removed"? Well guess what in the UK you've just broken the law!

(Caveat - of course this may not be how it will eventually be interpreted by the courts but the act is so vague no one knows.)
 
Zep said:
Indeed - quite so. And that sort of technology is way beyond the ken of our current Federal Ministers, and especially people like Ruddock. See why I'm ashamed of him? :mad:
Click to expand...
I'm sure that they are well aware of the technologies. But it's doubtful weather Ruddock cares anyway - its a policy thing and it only matters that he is being seen to ban the books (or at least the sale of them).
 
rustytunes said:
I'm sure that they are well aware of the technologies. But it's doubtful weather Ruddock cares anyway - its a policy thing and it only matters that he is being seen to ban the books (or at least the sale of them).
Click to expand...
Actually, they are not particularly aware of the relevant technologies at all. I have had experience with our state politicians, and the older, more senior ones demonstrated an alarming lack of understanding. Remember Richard Alston? Former Federal Minister in charge of this sort of thing? His idea of a real computer seemed to be some big machine in a basement emitting puffs of steam a la Metropolis! Tended by boffins in white labcoats. And that was only a few years ago too.

I don't mean they are ignorant at the detail level of current technology, but at the basic understanding of the concepts of the internet. I mean if I can explain basic internet principles to Mrs Zep in 30 minutes, and she understood it enough to see that the current "internet pornography" laws here are a sick joke, then it can't be too hard for a pollie to get it through his thick skull in a few days, can it.

This level of (in)competence isn't unique to the Libs either, btw.

ETA: Agreed - Ruddock wouldn't care anyway, as long as he sees it as politically expedient.
 
When I said that they are aware of the technolgies, I meant that I'm sure that they know how easy it is for things to end up on the internet, and that these books would find their way there anyway - after all they have advisors etc. But I doubt that ol' Ruddock would have any skills beyond email.

His idea of a real computer seemed to be some big machine in a basement emitting puffs of steam a la Metropolis! Tended by boffins in white labcoats.
Click to expand...
He was right - this sounds like QLD Health's central system!
 
Book banning is still practiced in Australia?

I was surprised when I read this thread. I know little about Australian law, but from what I've learned on Google in the last 20 minutes (umm...), books are still banned by the Australian gov - not only in schools or public libraries, but for general sale.

I read that some books titled "Victoria Police Corruption" and "Victoria Police Corruption 2", books that supposedly criticize the police, were banned (looks like the ban was lifted in 2001). I am not finding much good information regarding these books though. What I have found has been on websites that don't seem very reputable.

Is it true that the Australian Government bans books that criticize it, or is it simply banning books that are deemed as dangerous - such as "Suicide Bombing In Australia for Dummies"?

I don't usually cite Wikipedia, but I found this (under the "Books" heading):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Australia

Although the Office of Film and Literature Classification Guidelines state that ”adults should be able to read, hear and see what they want,“ many books are apparently banned simply because they may offend certain segments of the population. Under particularly frequent attacks are books containing erotica, and those concerning illegal drugs. Enforcement of book bans is sometimes sporadic.

.......[snip]........

The Melbourne bookstore Polyester Books, which stocks unusual books of many genres, has been raided by police on two occasions for violation of censorship laws. In addition, Australian customs actively seeks and seizes books imported by individuals.
Click to expand...
Anyways, just looking for more information. Thanks.
 
Book Bans

What a Novel concept.
Almost what George Orwell predicted.
I am glad I live in a Country that has a Constitution that protects a
Persons right to free speech and press, even if it is of a type I find offensive.
 
Hmm, nobody has replied to my questions. Perhaps this thread has been banned?
 
schplurg said:
Hmm, nobody has replied to my questions. Perhaps this thread has been banned?
Click to expand...
Sorry - been busy elsewhere!

Yes, we have what can be technically described as a "haphazard" law of censorship. Some stuff that gets banned is actually rather harmless, or at least, it's not likely to be any more outrageous than what is readily available to minors in any bookshop. Other stuff that "passes" censorship is what I would call just plain sick and disgusting, and unworthy of human consumption. You should see the stuff we can buy at bargain book stores now: coprophilia-4U, eugenics, war atrocities photo albums, collecting anti-tank weapons, ninja killing instruction, nuclear bomb construction...

But one man's meat... :boxedin:

The real purpose of the censorship is to catch stuff like child-pornography and ultra-violent snuff movies, etc - i.e. real ◊◊◊◊◊. However censorship is a politically sensitive area here - some public entities and influential politicians would like to see everything but the Bible and Little Golden Books banned. So with our current arch-conservative government, books with titles like "Terrorism For Dummies" attract possibly unwarranted attention, and thus provoke a backlash from them. And the censors also need to show that they are doing a job and not just sponging the public dollar.

The reality is that there's almost no censorship on books at all, and as we know full well, anything banned here can be downloaded personally within seconds anyway. Which happens the moment the banning raises the interest in it! ;) The smarter way to bring contentious books into Australia is to give them unpretentious, or even scholarly, titles.
 
Zep said:
However censorship is a politically sensitive area here - some public entities and influential politicians would like to see everything but the Bible and Little Golden Books banned.
Click to expand...

They haven't read "See Spot Run: Timmy's First STD", have they? Those Little Golden Books are sick.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom