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The free flow of information about Russia's war on Ukraine was a focus of this year's TED - Technology, Environment and Design - conference in Vancouver, Canada. It was the first such gathering of esteemed speakers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and architect Alison Killing was among the eclectic group of speakers opening the conference. She won the journalism award for using satellite imagery and open-source information to help uncover detention and forced labor camps in China's Xinjiang region.

Killing spoke days after reports emerged of satellite imagery showing possible war crimes being committed by Russia in Ukraine. She told VOA one of the best ways to keep information flowing into Ukraine and Russia is for private citizens in both countries to use virtual private networks, or VPNs, on the internet.

"I think that open-source data and investigations have a really important role to play in helping to provide good information and in providing that information in a way that anyone can go and check it," she said.

But Killing added that information, as always, must be fact-checked.

Bektour Iskender, who runs Kloop a blogging website he started in 2007 to counter state-controlled media in Kyrgyzstan said if governments are going to block websites, the more the better, because that encourages people to start using VPNs and other methods to seek independent sources of information.

"The worst situation, I think, is when a few media outlets are blocked, but like 95% is available, and then people just don't care about the ones which are blocked, because they still have most of information available," Iskender said. "But when you have like 50% of media, content blocked, then people start caring."

Katherine Mangu-Ward, the editor-in-chief of Reason magazine, said that while social media sites can play an important role in disseminating unfiltered information from sources on the ground, it's important not to lose focus on who is doing the censoring and why.

"I think people can really get caught up in debates about misinformation on Facebook and, you know, who's gatekeeping Twitter," she said. "They can forget that there is a much, much more serious threat, which is authoritarian states, just bottlenecking true information about really, really important issues like Russia's role in Ukraine right now."

Billionaire Elon Musk appeared at the conference hours after announcing a $43 billion takeover bid for Twitter. The co-founder of electric car manufacturer Tesla said he would change the social media platform, including allowing users to edit tweets after posting them and making Twitter's algorithms open source.

Philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates launched his upcoming book, How to Prevent the Next Pandemic. He urged developed countries collectively to spend $1 billion a year to prevent future pandemics by creating a team he called Global Epidemic Response and Mobilization, or GERM. The team would be made up of 3,000 doctors, diplomats, and policy and communication experts who would work with the World Health Organization to contain any future pandemic contagions within 100 days.

In an unusual move for the conference, TED head curator Chris Anderson started by asking the assembled crowd and those watching online to donate to five organizations helping with humanitarian relief in Ukraine. A total of $2.15 million was pledged by attendees to help relief efforts in Ukraine.

Editor's note: This report has been updated to correct the credit of the first inline photo.

Continue reading here:
Defeating Censorship About War in Ukraine a Focus of TED Conference - Voice of America - VOA News

The upcoming Saints Row reboot apparently won't be as "edgy" as its predecessors, but it's not turning its back on the excesses of the series entirely. In a developer presentation hosted by actress Mica Burton (who you may also recognize as a 2021 PC Gaming Show co-host), Volition detailed the game's in-depth customization system, which allows for asymmetrical face customization and lets players choose their own dong censor icon.

Character customization has always been a big part of the Saints Row games, and the reboot is clearly leaning heavily into that aspect of it. Beyond just characters, players will also have the ability to collect and customize vehiclesmore than 80 of them in totalwith cosmetic and performance upgrades.

Weapons are on the customization table too, of course. You can tune up your firepower with selectable materials, textures, colors, and decals, or if you prefer you can swap out entire models for a whole different look: Stuff your .44 Bulldogs into giant foam fingers, or put a rocket launcher inside a guitar case, El Mariachi style.

But the real standout, for me, are the "modesty" options. There's a lot going on here:

That's a full 30 different coverage options for your junk, including the classic eggplant, Sims-like pixelation, a tasteful "censored" block, a sexy peach, a naughty bomb, and a whole bunch more.And that's not all! For a more traditional approach to covering up, you can force underwear on.

Nipples also have their own range of customization options. Volition confirmed during the presentation that none of these options are gender-specific: Everything is on the table, regardless of your build.

Here are some more screens, showcasing what can be done in non-dong-related situations:

It's a lot of work for what is, when you get right down to it, a pretty throwaway gag. But Volition clearly takes Saints Row's history of over-the-top customization seriously: Creative director Brian Traficante said at the end of the presentation that "something is coming out" that will give players access to the Saints Row customization tools ahead of the game's release. That's set to take place on August 23.

Read the rest here:
Saints Row will include customizable dong and nipple censors - PC Gamer

Warner Bros. said it has removed references to a gay relationship between two protagonists in the upcoming China release of a Harry Potter prequel.

The Hollywood studio confirmed that it has expunged details of the romance between Jude Laws character, Albus Dumbledore, and Gellert Grindelwald, played by Mads Mikkelsen, in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

The edit, which was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, takes out six seconds of the film in which Dumbledore utters the lines I was in love with you and the summer Gellert and I fell in love.

The films total run time is 143 minutes.

As a studio, were committed to safeguarding the integrity of every film we release, and that extends to circumstances that necessitate making nuanced cuts in order to respond sensitively to a variety of in-market factors, a Warner Bros. spokesperson told THR.

Our hope is to release our features worldwide as released by their creators but historically we have faced small edits made in local markets.

The spokesperson added: In the case ofFantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, a six-second cut was requested and Warner Bros. accepted those changes to comply with local requirements but the spirit of the film remains intact.

We want audiences everywhere in the world to see and enjoy this film, and its important to us that Chinese audiences have the opportunity to experience it as well, even with these minor edits.

Warner Bros. is raking in the cash at the box office in China. The film was the most watched in the country during opening weekend, pulling in $9.7 million a figure that would have been larger notwithstanding COVID-19-induced lockdowns.

J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, first revealed that the two characters were gay during a 2007 fan event promoting the book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

This is the first time that the relationship has been explicitly referred to in a film. Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore is scheduled to open in the United States this week.

Hollywood studios have been criticized for bowing to Chinese censorship demands in exchange for access to the countrys market.

The makers of big-budget films including Iron Man 3, World War Z and Top Gun: Maverick pandered to the countrys authoritarian government by cutting characters and dialogue that arent pro-China,according to PEN America, a non-profit that promotes free speech.

Mulan, the live-action remake of the 1998 animated classic, was filmed by Disney in Xinjiang province, where the Chinese government is accused of orchestrating a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Uyghur Muslims.

Excerpt from:
Warner Bros bows to China demand to censor gay 'Harry Potter' plotline - New York Post

Business administration discarded The Observer

Crystal Clausen

The shelf stands empty after the College of Business Dean and Associate Dean recycled copies of the paper on preview day.

Over the past weekend, we received a report of the College of Business Dean Jeffrey Stinson and Associate Dean Keke Coco Wu actively attempting to throw our papers in Shaw-Smyser into a recycling bin in response to our budget story that reported on 2023 budget cuts. It is disheartening our paper was discarded in an attempt to make the university appear in a positive light.

Stinson said out loud, while walking with Wu, the Observers Social Media Editor Crystal Clausen and her coworker, Im going to put these papers in the recycling.

After being asked why the papers were being thrown away, Wu told Clausen, Why did [The Observer] think it was smart to print that [budget] story on the day that we have so many students coming to campus?

We reached out to Wu and Stinson at the time of publication. Wu stated she was involved in a meeting that went past our deadline, so she declined to comment at the time; Stinson responded in an email.

In preparing our building for the CWU Preview Day on Saturday, I moved remaining copies of The Observer from the entry foyer, the email stated. Preview Day is critical to our recruitment efforts. Our desire is to present our prospective students and guests with a positive portrayal and outlook for the college and university. Our event day set-up and event delivery was organized to that effect.

The story in question regarding the 2023 budget was published one week ago. Vice President of Financial Affairs, Joel Klucking, provided information for this story and has not reached out regarding non factual details in the article. The budget is important to both the current CWU community and future CWU students.

Observer staff also witnessed incidents in the SURC where our paper was placed on the lowest shelf and another publication, the HYPE magazine, placed on top of ours.

The Publicity Center confirmed they did not make this change. While we cant confirm who did this in the SURC, two separate incidents against our paper in one day is upsetting.

I spoke to the Student Press Law Center regarding this incident, and they confirmed it impedes us in many ways. There is monetary value to what the offenders did. The amount we paid for those copies to be printed, the money we pay our staff, the amount different groups paid for their ads to be in our paper and so on.

I would like to take this time to give a reminder that censorship of the media is a real issue that should not happen to any publication, let alone to a student publication from administration within their own university. The First Amendment is to have freedom of speech and freedom of the press. There is no justifiable excuse to attempt to censor our reporting.

Our purpose is not to make people happy or to have the university, town or state look amazing. We are reporting on the facts of our campus community.

Reaching out to us by either a phone call or email is the correct form of action if upset, not throwing away our paper. You may also write a Letter to the Editor that will be published, and if necessary, we will have a response published with it.

Please know this is not going to make us alter our reporting in any way, shape or form. Our publication is here to present necessary information to the public. We are here to stay.

Continued here:
Editorial: Censorship is alive and well The Observer - The Observer

On the same day PEN America released their powerful report on the state of book bans in US schools, Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, held a meeting on book bans and censorship in schools across America. Among the guests speaking to the subcommittee were high schoolers Christina Ellis and Olivia Pituch, both from York Central High School (PA) and Shreyta Mehta, from Richland, Washington; author and Civil Rights activist Ruby Bridges; Samantha Hull, a librarian from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; Jessica Burg, a teacher from Loudon County, Virginia; Bucks County, Pennsylvania, parent Mindy Freeman; and finally, Jonathan W. Pidluzny, Vice President of Academic Affairs, American Council of Trustees and Alumni.

The three-hour long event invited speakers to address the committee for five minutes each. The bulk of discussion focused on the types of books being banned in schools, with Representative Raskin highlighting an array of books by authors of color and noting that 40% of the books being challenged now had protagonists of color. He addressed the need to hear these stories and for their belonging in schools across the country; though he did not specifically address three of the most challenged books Lawn Boy, All Boys Arent Blue, and Gender Queer those books made their way through the testimony.

The truth is that rarely do children of color or immigrants see themselves in these textbooks we are forced to use. I write because I want them to understand the contributions their ancestors have made to our great country, whether that contribution was made as slaves or volunteers, said Bridges in her testimony.My books are written to inspire a new generation to contribute to building this great country for indeed there is much work to be done. If we are going to have a conversation about banning books, then I say that conversation is long overdue. Lets have it, but it must include ALL books. If we are to ban books from being too truthful, then surely, we must ban those books that distort or omit the truth.

High schooler Mehta addressed the committeeand all of the adults tuning inabout how its their responsibility to stand up for students rights.

By not acting strongly against censorship and outspokenly defending students intellectual freedom we are proving that we havent learned from our countrys past mistakes when it came to moral panic, exclusion, and discrimination. She explained. One parents opinion on what is the appropriate book for their child shouldnt impede on a different parents. A loud minority cant be responsible for the cheapening of a young Americans First Amendment rights.

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Though the bulk of the conversation centered on book bans, the testimony from Pidluzny focused on what he believes is a far bigger and more insidious censorship right now: the inability for right-wing speakers to talk on college and university campuses without pushback from students and administrators. He mentioned groups on college campuses reporting on professors and students who offer alternative thoughts, as well as providing rewards for turning in members of the campus community choosing to listen or watch right-wing news and podcasts. Students or faculty who tune in to Ben Shapiro face the real challenges.

There is no epidemic of censorship, book banning, or viewpoint discrimination in K-12 education today. Parents, school board members, and state legislators are simply making good faith efforts to align public school curricula with the suitability concerns and priorities of the constituents served by local schools, he said. This contrasts sharply with what is occurring in higher education, where self censorship is endemic, viewpoint discrimination is the norm, and students and faculty are routinely targeted for investigation, including by school-sponsored bias response teams, for the political content of their speech.

While there is much to be said about needing to discuss the fact free speech does not mean freedom from consequences of that speech, the inclusion of Pidluznys testimony sidetracked the conversation from its focus on book bans and censorship happening in schools and public libraries across the country. It instead gave conservatives an opportunity to claim their freedom and liberty is being squandered, and that they are the true victims of censorship right nownot the minors who are actually having books removed from their educational institutions or the educators who are having their careers ended because of gag orders and the critical race theory boogeyman.

South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace (R) further derailed the discussion of book bans by not only agreeing with and bolstering Pidluznys commentary, but also by suggested that censorship on social media is far more damaging to free speech than what is happening in K-12 schools. She noted that several individuals have had their Twitter accounts shut down, while the Kremlin continues to tweet. She believes the real enemy to free speech are privately owned and operated social media companies.

The bulk of the conversation emphasized the need for these books to remain on shelves and for people to continue advocating for free speech and the rights for students to access the material they wish to access. As Berg said in response to a question from Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Our students are always at the center of what we do.Thats why we got into this profession because we care about the students.And it is demoralizing. We right now have a shortage of teachers in this nation and its only going to get worse and that is going to do damage to the education system as a whole.Thats what these book bans, these challenges, this rhetoric, thats what its doing.Its destroying education.

No action was taken by the subcommittee following the meeting, nor are there any plans to address the topic to the fuller committee or House at large as of writing. The full testimony from each of the witnesses can be viewed in full here and the entire meeting can be viewed in full below. Take the opportunity to hear from Bridges, educational leaders like Berg and Hull, as well as the powerful testimony delivered by the parent of a trans student and three high school students living through these book challenges first hand:

See more here:
We Must Ban Books That Omit The Truth: Debrief on the House Hearing on Book Bans and Censorship - Book Riot