Worldwide negotiations on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement have been underway for some time now. Recently a secret copyright treaty was leaked, which has many crying foul. Among the proposals: ISPs have to proactively police copyright on user-contributed material (say goodbye to YouTube); ISPs have to cut off Internet access of accused copyright infringers; the whole world must adopt US-style “notice and takedown” rules. Yikes. Read more… and more…

The ACLU has filed a lawsuit on behalf of two Indiana teenagers who were suspended from participating in extra-curricular activities and forced (by high school administrators) to attend counseling sessions because of “racy” photos they had posted on their MySpace pages. Read more…

Fox News is caught (again) deceptively using video to advance a false story line. Read more…

UK’s government was moving towards an “updating” of wiretap laws, which would include monitoring all Internet use, including the collection of communications such as email, text messages, social networks, chatrooms, and online games. For now, the scheme has been delayed, perhaps indefinitely. Read more… and more…

In the meantime, why don’t you check out some of these free speech stories I’ve pulled for you?

In Des Moines, Iowa, bus advertisements that read “Don’t believe in God? You’re not alone” were torn down and then put back up again after the organization that paid for them, the Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers, complained. “We were not trying to offend anybody,” said a spokesperson for the organization. “We were just trying to reach out to people like us who don’t believe in God and we were surprised and disappointed that DART pulled the ads.”

Here’s a back-to-school story for you: Students in the Henderson County, Kentucky school district are being asked to cover up tattoos and piercings with bandages, clothing, or gauze. School officials are also offering to tape up tattered clothing with duct tape, another violation of the school’s dress code.

The St. Louis police board has agreed to shell out $54,000, to be divided among four activists who were targeted before protests at the World Agricultural Forum in 2003. The police were accused of “making warrantless entries, subjecting a woman to an “unlawful and humiliating” strip search and arresting people for riding bicycles without a license, a charge later changed to “obstructing traffic flow” because it wasn’t illegal to ride a bike without a license,” according to the story.

And one more back-to-school gem for you: The case against public school systems in Knoxville and Nashville, which barred access to educational Web sites about gay, lesbian and transgender issues, has been dropped after a settlement was reached. The schools systems have agreed to stop using that particular filtering software on their networks.

Florida has now joined Missouri, Montana, Indiana and Pennsylvania in banning inmates from having pen-pals. State officials say it’s for the good of the public, but there are now lawsuits challenging the state for encroaching on the prisoners’ first amendment rights.

Student journalists at Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Pa., are contesting a policy that will require their student-run newspaper to be approved by the principal before publication. “We have such a strong responsibility to serve the students, teachers, administrators and all the community members, and we feel that’s our charge,” said Henry Rome, who was the paper’s editor-in-chief until graduating in June. “That will be taken away if the policy is enacted.”

Also, charges have been dropped in a lawsuit against MySpace filed by an Alaskan high school principal to find out who created a fake page using her name. The two students who created the page ultimately confessed and were punished, although the details of their punishment have not been disclosed.

OK, that’s it for your Monday news roundup. I’m still recovering from the Portland Zine Symposium. The new issue of Zine World should be out soon, so if you have any news for the Word of Mouth section, send it our way! We’re interested in new distros, zine libraries, zine events, and any other zine news that you’d like to share! wordofmouth@undergroundpress.org

If you would like a copy of Green Day’s new CD, don’t expect to find it at Wal-mart. The store says it won’t carry the record unless the album is edited for language and content, which the band has refused to do. According to the article, although Wal-mart has a history of selling artists known for their controversial content, it doesn’t sell records with parental advisory warnings on them.

The Supreme Court yesterday refused to review the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which prevents gays and lesbians from serving openly in the U.S. military. The Court decided to throw out an appeal by 12 veterans who argued that “don’t ask, don’t tell” denies their constitutional right for privacy and free speech.

A writer named John David California wrote a book called 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye, which is about a 76-year-old Holden Caulfield-like character who breaks out of a retirement home, and J.D. Salinger, original author of The Catcher in the Rye, is not happy about it. The book is not published yet, but J.D. Salinger is taking Mr. California to court over it, claiming that Holden Caulfield, the character, belongs to Salinger only.

On June 1st, a federal judge ordered the U.S. to release documents detailing the allegations and evidence justifying the imprisonment of about 100 detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Previously, those documents were only available to judges, attorneys and government officials.

A federal appeals court in Pennsylvania has decided that a mother cannot read to her son’s kindergarten class from the Bible during show and tell, even though it’s his favorite book. The school did permit the boy to talk about a poster that included references to his church.

And last, but not least, the ACLU has filed two lawsuits against two school districts in Tennessee for blocking Web sites about gay-rights issues. They are arguing that it is a violation of free speech for students in those districts to only be able to access anti-gay Web sites.

Looks like Craigslist is getting rid of its “erotic services” section. It will be replaced with an “adult services” section that will require a fee to enter and each posting in that section will be cleared by employees before being posted.

A judge in Nashville, Tenn., has ruled that schools in Wilson County cannot ban religious phrases such as “God Bless the U.S.A.” and “In God We Trust” from school posters. The same judge ruled that the school district was illegally promoting religion in schools less than a year ago.

In California, a lower court ruled that a private religious school was allowed to expel two girls for engaging in an alleged lesbian relationship. The state supreme court declined a request to hear the case.

Also in California, a federal judge has ruled that a public high school history teacher violated the first amendment by calling creationism “religious, superstitious nonsense.” “The Court cannot discern a legitimate secular purpose in this statement, even when considered in context. The statement therefore constitutes improper disapproval of religion in violation of the Establishment Clause,” said the judge.

A Phoenix, Arizona blogger says the police raided his home, seized his computer, electronic records and storage devices after he blogged about allegations of racism, corruption, and ineptitude in his local police department. The department is declining to talk about the incident and won’t reveal the charges behind the affidavit for the warrant that allowed them to come into his home. More details here.

Here is a lengthy article about the history of school prayer and the cases that have lead up to where we are today. Somewhat related: an article about students being required to stand during the Pledge, and an article about a school board in Louisiana that is facing a federal lawsuit for using part of their school board meetings for prayer.

Here’s a story about a Texan teen who was suspended for refusing to cut his shoulder-length hair. He was allowed back in class after his parents filed a federal lawsuit saying the school was in violated of freedom of religious expression. 

And for a banned books update, four sex-related books will be allowed to remain on the shelves in a library in Kansas after the Board of Trustees reversed a vote that would have banned them from being in the library. And here’s an article about the books that were most complained about in 2008, including The Kite Runner and And Tango Makes Three.

More news on students being punished by schools for off-campus produced websites:

• In September, a U.S. District Court judge ruled against a Pennsylvania middle-school student who had been suspended for a creating a fake MySpace page mocking her school principal. In the ruling, the judge applied a 1976 district court case that upheld school jurisdiction over off-campus student speech, regarding publicly made obscene comments about a teacher that could be heard by the teacher and others. The judge also ruled it was ok for the school to suspend the student because she brought copies of the MySpace page to school. Lawyers indicated they intended to appeal. Read more.
• In December, a Florida high school student is suing her former school to challenge a suspension resulting from a Facebook page she created criticizing her English instructor. The page was up only for two days and was not seen by the teacher before the student voluntarily removed it, yet the student was suspended for violating cyber-bullying/harassment and disruptive behavior policies. Lawyers claim this was a violation of the student’s First Amendment rights, since the criticism was posted outside the school and did not contain a credible threat of harm. Read more.
• Also in December, a federal appeals court heard arguments regarding a Pennsylvania high school student who created a fake MySpace profile ridiculing his school principal. The student had been suspended; a U.S. district judge previously ruled the students actions were constitutionally protected. The arguments presented discussed whether prior court rulings regarding student First Amendment rights at school can be applied to off-campus, electronically published speech. Judges on the panel seemed skeptical that schools should be able to suspend students for using vulgar language or ridiculing school officials online. Read more.

It remains unclear what impact another recent court case will have on the above, or other similar, situations. In December, a Missouri woman was convicted of misdemeanor computer charges in what’s being called a “landmark cyberbullying trial,” which could potentially result in prosecution of anyone who violates a website’s terms of service. The case resolves around a woman who created a profile on MySpace of a fictitous teenage boy, using it to send flirtatious messages to a teenage girl, then “dumping” her. The girl killed herself; prosecutors said the woman wanted to humiliate the girl in retaliation for things the girl said about her own daughter. The woman was indicted under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act; she was charged with conspiring to violate MySpace’s terms of service agreement, which prohibits the use of phony names and harassment of other MySpace members. The woman was not convicted of conspiracy or other felony charges, instead convicted of “accessing computers without authorization.” Read more.

In October, a U.S. artist was detained at the U.S./Canada border because of a drawing of a sports utility vehicle in her sketchbook; customs officers suspected her of “copyright infringement.” The rough sketch showed an SUV covered with crocheted fabric, with its mirrors labeled as “ears.” The sketch related to an art project the woman was working on. She was released after proving her status as an artist and a university professor. Read more.

Exhibitionist teenagers are starting to get caught in legal snares intended for pedophiles and child pornographers, according to reports from reason.com. Several teens are facing child pornography charges for taking nude or semi-nude photos of themselves and sharing them with other teens — or for being on the receiving end of those photos. Read more.

The New York Police Department has dropped its policy of photographing and videotaping participants in all political demonstrations. Read more.

South Dakota Supreme Court rules a man who cursed at police officers was engaging in protected free spech; the man, who yelled profanities at two cops as they drove down a street, was arrested for disorderly conduct. A lower court had ruled the man had used “unprotected fighting words.” Read more.

AP photographer arrested.

University of Kentucky student reporters and a UK photo advisor pepper sprayed then arrested.

Charges filed against 21 protesters so far; eight members of the RNC Welcoming Committee charged with “conspiracy to commit riot in the second-degree in furtherance of terrorism.”

Added:
Reporters from the City Pages assaulted by cops & maced.

Twin Cities Fox News crew gets gassed by cops.

Raids began on Friday night (Aug. 29), starting at the St. Paul Convergence Space. On saturday, at least three residences, home to activists and journalists, were raided by police in riot gear with semi-automatic weapons, with assistance from the FBI. The raids are explicitly targeting people who are suspected of planning protests during the RNC. Four were arrested; more than 50 were detained. Media reports said the police were “aided by informants planted in protest groups.” Police said they were looking for bomb-making materials; “fire code” violations were being used by the police as a threat to close the residences and the meeting space.

The strikes seemed to be specifically targeting the RNC Welcoming Committee, a protest group, and members of Food Not Bombs. During the raid on the Convergence space, all occupants were handcuffed and photographed before being released. Cops have been confiscating computers, journals, political pamphlets, digital cameras, and other electronic equipment during the raids. Those arrested were charged with “conspiracy to commit riot.”

Lots of articles, and regular updates from the Twin Cities IndyMedia
Extensive articles — with lots of links, including to videos shot during or after the raids — at Salon.com: first article, second article
Coverage by the Star Tribune, the Minnesota Independent and the New York Times
News from the Coldsnap Legal Collective

Don’t think this kind of activity is limited to the Republican convention — questionable police action also occurred in Denver prior to and during the Democratic convention:

The Other Side Arts in Denver, home to the Denver Zine Library, was targeted by Denver Police as part of an effort to “clean up the neighborhood” just before the Democratic National Convention. According to a press release released by the nonprofit art center, a number of police — some in riot gear — came to the center on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 24) and began to investigate the property, questioning the graffiti pieces that decorate the building, proceeding to paint over all the art pieces and destroying TOSA signs.
Source article, also here

On Wednesday (Aug. 27), an ABC News reporter was forcefully arrested as he and his camera crew tried to take pictures on a public sidewalk of Democratic senators and VIP donors leaving a private meeting at a hotel. He was charged with trespassing, failure to follow a lawful order, and interference with a police officer.
Read more, update

Also, read about the heavy-handed tactics used against protesters in Denver and check out this photo.