From: owner-comix-biz-digest@lists.xmission.com (comix-biz-digest) To: comix-biz-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: comix-biz-digest V2 #60 Reply-To: comix-biz-digest Sender: owner-comix-biz-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-comix-biz-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk X-No-Archive: yes comix-biz-digest Sunday, May 21 2000 Volume 02 : Number 060 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 11 May 2000 14:08:37 -0700 (PDT) From: "T. Casey Brennan" Subject: (cbiz) T. Casey Brennan's version of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee: The International Organization of Journalists from Communist Czechoslovakia... This is an article about my work from a 1987 publication in Communist Czechoslovakia. To really understand it, you have to read CONJURELLA, my account of my family's (and my own) unwilling participation in the JFK assassination, posted at: http://www.morethanconquerors.simplenet.com/MCF/conjurel.htm From THE DEMOCRATIC JOURNALIST Volume XXXIV No. 7-8, July-August 1987 Monthly of the International Organization of Journalists, published in English, French, Russian and Spanish. Circulated in 165 countries. Chief Editor: Rudolf Prevratil Editor: Karel Hejc Address: Rooseveltova 18, 160 00 Prague 6, Czechoslovakia (The following article is signed M.M., and is accompanied by a cartoon denoted "Drawing by Martin Marek". The article goes on to discuss works by myself, T. Casey Brennan.) YOUTH AND MASS MEDIA Smoking and Advertisements in Mass Media/36 Are smokers the only real heroes? Certainly not in life. But what about the movies, television or adventure stories? It is almost impossible to provide precise statistics but the truth is that examples where the main hero of an exciting story reaches for a cigarette or a cigar in decisive moments, or has a cigarette dangling from his lips while he calmly solves a difficult situation, are, to say the least, not rare. It is, simply, a stereotype that is never missing from a scenario and is always used very suggestively to influence an audience. Some might say - but it doesn't matter, in the end smoking or not smoking is a personal affair. Of course it is, but the influence of some media, for instance, television, in creating attitudes and habits especially in adolescents, is exceptionally strong, and this has been proved by many sociological and psychological surveys. What good is it if, in a number of countries, cigarette advertising is curbed while indirect promotion of smoking has practically no limits. Film and television heroes who smoke clearly have a greater influence on the value-orientation of teen-agers than the loudly proclaimed Barnum-like advertisements of tobacco firms. The problem which for years now has been the subject of an anti-smoking drive by doctors, teachers and psychologists in many Western countries does not concern only films and television but also, for instance, "comics" for children. The country where this problem is especially urgent is the United States. For years, the USA has held the leading place in a list of countries with the greatest consumption of tobacco products per person. Manufacturers of tobacco and cigarettes in the United States traditionally form an influential pressure group and the big anti-smoking campaign has so far met with only marginal success. What is interesting, however, is that the seriousness of the situation and the danger involved in indirect promotion of smoking is beginning to be realized by some publishers and writers of stories for children and youth. For example, the author of a number of comic texts, T. Casey Brennan, began a campaign with his friends several years ago called: Cartoon heroes needn't smoke! "The important thing," said Brennan, "is protecting children. Comic books have a lot of influence on children. When a comic book hero is shown smoking, it's like subliminal cigarette advertising." Brennan's group has appealed to a number of public figures, Congressmen, publicists and journalists in the USA and abroad urging their support. The bulletin of the World Health Organization called WORLD HEALTH carries information about this movement which is still relatively small. Only the future will tell whether such a campaign will bring about any substantial improvement in the situation. But it certainly deserves attention. - -- MM (Note: The issues of WHO's WORLD HEALTH magazine discussing my work are October 1983, page 30, and January-February 1986, page 9. They are easily obtainable at any University public health library, or UN office.) ===== http://www.morethanconquerors.simplenet.com/MCF/victm-hm.htm#Brennan http://www.ozemail.com.au/~realoto/eqv3c.html http://tcasey.inri.net http://www.konformist.com/mkkafe/tcasey/tcasey.htm http://www.wynd.org/tcb.html http://www.sentex.net/~dvanhorn/tcasey/tcasey.html http://www.16ton.com/colo/tcb.htm http://www.videogasm.com http://www.davestevens.com/ds_harri.htm http://www.vampifan.com/other/htmls/other.html http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Cafe/2544/arq.htm __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/ # Need help using (or leaving) this mailing list? # Send the command "info comix-biz" to majordomo@lists.xmission.com. # To post, email comix-biz@lists.xmission.com; replies go to original sender. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 21 May 2000 01:40:20 -0700 (PDT) From: Sam Uzi Subject: (cbiz) ACLU Action Update: "Drug War" Legislation (fwd) ...not funny... Forwarded message: > >Subject: 05-15-00 -- ACLU Action Update: "Dug War" Legislation Assaults > > Civil Liberties, Stop the Use of Secret Evidence! > > > >TO: ACLU Action Network > >FR: Jared Feuer, Internet Organizer > >DT: May 15, 2000 > > > >1). "Drug War" Legislation Assaults Civil Liberties > >2). Stop the Use of Secret Evidence > > > >1). "Drug War" Legislation Assaults Civil Liberties: Congress is yet again > >considering an assault on our civil liberties in the name of the "war on > >drugs." The latest attack comes from H.R. 2987, the "Methamphetamine > >Anti-Proliferation Act," which includes several challenges to our rights of > >free speech, privacy and due process. > > > >The legislation slipped through the Senate with absolutely no debate late > >last year. Our only hope of stopping this dangerous measure is to defeat it > >in the House, where it is now awaiting a vote in the Judiciary Committee > >before heading to the floor for final action. > > > >The bill represents a virtual wish list for the Department of Justice and > >other law enforcement agencies. It includes some provisions -- including > >one that would allow police to conduct "black bag" secret searches of > >private homes and businesses -- that were solidly rejected when offered as > >stand-alone legislation. > > > >Another provision of this legislation would allow the government to censor > >websites, without providing notice to the website's owner. The provision > >would give agencies like the FBI a right usually reserved for the courts; > >to make judgment calls on the intent of online content and individual links > >regarding drug use. The FBI could then order Internet Service Providers to > >take down parts of a web site or the entire site itself within 48 hours -- > >all without telling the website owner! The only way an owner might learn > >that their site has been altered is to log on and check for him or > >herself! > > > >As if this was not enough, the bill would also create several new federal > >drug offenses, ignoring calls to halt the federalization of crime from such > >individuals as Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Rep. > >Maxine Waters. The bill would spend billions of dollars incarcerating > >thousands more non-violent offenders despite a recent Rand Corporation > >study that found that investing an additional $1 million in drug treatment > >programs would be 15 times more effective at reducing serious crime than > >enacting more mandatory sentences for drug offenses. > > > >Take Action! Tell your Representative to vote against this attack on civil > >liberties. You can learn more about the legislation and send a FREE FAX > >from our action alert at: > > > >http://www.aclu.org/action/meth106.html > > > >2). Stop the Use of Secret Evidence: Another foundation of our criminal > >justice system is the right of the accused to face their accuser and to > >see, hear and respond to the government's evidence against them. > > > >But in a harsh bill aimed at curbing immigration in 1996, Congress decided > >to allow the government to use secret evidence when it seeks to deport > >immigrants, including people in the country legally. Currently, the > >Immigration and Nationalization Service is using secret evidence in about a > >dozen cases. > > > >Appalled by this fundamental lack of fairness, Reps. John Conyers (D-MI), > >Bob Barr (R-GA), Tom Campbell (R-CA) and David Bonior (D-MI) introduced > >H.R. 2121, the "Secret Evidence Repeal Act." This legislation, which has > >almost 100 co-sponsors, would insure that no immigrant is deported based on > >secret evidence. > > > >The use of secret evidence is a feature of totalitarian governments, not a > >democracy. Furthermore, the evidence often consists of nothing more than > >rumor and innuendo, impossible to test for reliability during a deportation > >proceeding. > > > >Take Action! The House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on the > >Secret Evidence Repeal Act on May 23. We need just a few more votes to move > >this bill to the House floor. Please tell your Representative that you > >support due process in the United States and ask that he or she support the > >Secret Evidence Repeal Act. You can learn more about the bill and send a > >FREE FAX from our action alert at: > > > >http://www.aclu.org/action/secret106.html # Need help using (or leaving) this mailing list? # Send the command "info comix-biz" to majordomo@lists.xmission.com. # To post, email comix-biz@lists.xmission.com; replies go to original sender. ------------------------------ End of comix-biz-digest V2 #60 ******************************