Allow me a rant:
Yanking the WTC from Spiderman has absolutely nothing to do with censorship. Not airing the "Simpsons Go to NY" episode is not censorship.
Sure, there's a conscious decision by someone not to include the WTC in Spiderman, or not to air the Simpsons episode, but, considering that it comes from some guy in some corporation, it's not censorship.
The government preventing, by fining or imprisoning or otherwise coercing, people or companies from saying/printing/broadcasting certain things is censorship. Because the directive comes from the government.
The people that run the corporations, however, have every right to include or remove specific images or ideas in their products. The WTC was removed from Spiderman essentially for marketing reasons. Not due to government coercion.
If you want to see censorship in action, watch the FCC crack down on "offensive content."
Quote:
A spate of recent incidents on television and radio has provoked the FCC to crack down on those stations that have violated regulations that limit explicit discussions of sex and excretory functions to late night hours.
It also has propelled lawmakers to move legislation to significantly raise fines for violations, to as much as $500,000 per violation in some cases from $27,500.
"It is time for a tough new code," Copps told the group, according to a copy of his speech. "And the code I'd like to see is not some bland statement of general principles, but something explicit and including incentives to encourage compliance."
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Italics are mine. Here's the
LINK.
Okay, I'm done ranting... for now....