A Real Cyber-Revolution

In his Problems of War and Strategy, Mao Tse-Tung said that “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” While that statement might have been true in 1938, in today's rapidly-changing, high-tech world, it would appear that Political power grows out of a tweet.

In the aftermath of Friday's (June 12, 2009) disputed Iranian presidential election, the Iranian government, under the leadership of "President" Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has crackeddown on the media and the internet in an attempt to censor coverage of the ongoing Green Uprising lead by supporters of opposition presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi . However, tech-savvy Americans and American companies, such as the San Francisco based Twitter, are lending their support to the protesters so that their voices will be heard around the world.

In their article, "Social Networks Spread Defiance Online" (June 15, 2009), New York Times correspondents, Brad Stone and Noam Cohen, report that, "Iranians are blogging, posting to Facebook and, most visibly, coordinating their protests on Twitter, the messaging service. Their activity has increased, not decreased, since the presidential election on Friday and ensuing attempts by the government to restrict or censor their online communications."

I think it is great that technology is helping the people of Iran in their struggle for fair elections and I am proud of the Americans who are helping them in this struggle. What do you think?

For additional information see the following articles:

The Telegraph: “Iran protest news travels fast and far on Twitter.”

The Wall Street Journal: Iran Cracks Down on Internet Use, Foreign Media

Viva la revolution!

And Tango Makes Three

In the latest student edition of American Libraries Direct (May 2009, vol. 2, issue 5) the leadoff story was The Top Ten Challenged Books of 2008. They are as follows:

1. "And Tango Makes Three," by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell. Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Anti-Family, Homosexuality, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

2. "His Dark Materials Trilogy" (Series), Philip Pullman. Reasons: Political Viewpoint, Religious Viewpoint, Violence

3. "TTYL"; "TTFN"; "L8R, G8R" (Series), Lauren Myracle. Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

4. "Scary Stories" (Series), Alvin Schwartz. Reasons: Occult/Satanism, Religious Viewpoint, Violence

5. "Bless Me, Ultima," by Rudolfo Anaya. Reasons: Occult/Satanism, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Sexually Explicit, Violence

6. "The Perks of Being A Wallflower," by Stephen Chbosky. Reasons: Drugs, Homosexuality, Nudity, Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Suicide, Unsuited to Age Group

7. "Gossip Girl" (Series), by Cecily von Ziegesar. Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

8. "Uncle Bobby's Wedding," by Sarah S. Brannen. Reasons: Homosexuality, Unsuited to Age Group

9. "The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini. Reasons: Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

10. "Flashcards of My Life," by Charise Mericle Harper. Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

While it perplexes me as to why anyone would want to see ANY book proscribed, I am particularly astounded that "And Tango Makes Three" has been at the top of the list for the last three years running! After all, the book is based on the true story of two male Chinstrap Penguins (Roy and Silo) who couple and, after being given an egg by the zookeepers at the Central Park Zoo, successfully hatch the egg and raise the chick (Tango) together.

Unfortunately, it does not look like the controversy surrounding the book will end anytime soon. In the online article Gay Curriculum Proposal Riles Elementary School Parents, Fox News reporter Katie Landan relates that A group of parents from the Unified School District in Alameda, California are being "forced" to accept a new curriculum that utilizes “And Tango Makes Three” and “includes compulsory lessons about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community that will be taught to children as young as 5 years old.”

I guess I just don't understand why people cannot accept the tale for what it is, an endearing, lovely story concerning natural animal behavior!