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I-Gear Examined

I-Gear is used in many schools, particularly in Virginia where its manufacturer, Unified Research Laboratories, is based, but has not been used by libraries in any high-profile cases.

The KIDS proposal to install I-Gear was ultimately voted down by the Joint Powers Authority board. Before they made their decision, Peacefire faxed them a list of sites that we knew to be blocked by I-Gear, including:

• The STOP AIDS t-shirt Web site.
• The Electronic Privacy Information Center's Legal Challenge to the Communications Decency Act, documenting EPIC's participation in the successful lawsuit to overturn the law.
• Full text of the Philadelphia district court ruling against the Communications Decency Act in ACLU v. Reno.
• "HIV/AIDS: The Global Epidemic" -- a report published by the U.N.
• The British-based Albert Kennedy Trust -- "Helping Homeless Gay and Lesbian Teenagers"
• New York Anti-Violence Project -- combatting violence against lesbians and gays.
• Planned Parenthood resources page.
• Hosted on Critical Path AIDS Project site: "Celebrating our gay family members", from the organization Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (P-FLAG).
• The British Conservative Party web site
• Information on lesbian rights from the National Organization for Women web site. Also blocked: N.O.W.'s August 1995 press release on the status of gay marriage.
• Transcript of some of the testimony given at the ACLU v. Reno in Philadelphia, the lawsuit to overturn the Communications Decency Act.
• Industrial Workers of the World statement on equal rights for gays and lesbians in the workplace.
• Hawaii's Future Today -- the front page of the site advocates the "preservation of Hawaii's traditional culture"; sub-pages on the site indicate that the point of the organization is to oppose gay marriages.
• PETA and a Pornographic Culture" -- An essay critical of a PETA campaign against fur coats; the PETA campaign featured models such as Kim Basinger saying "I'd rather go naked than wear fur." (This site does not feature any images from the campaign.)
• CyberNothing on TIME Magazine's "Cyberporn" report -- a negative critique of the "CYBERPORN" cover story that TIME Magazine ran in June 1995, accusing the magazine of sensationalism.
• "HIVnAlive" -- HIV/AIDS information site.
• One person's list of AIDS resources on the Web.
• A "response to the homosexual movement", from the conservative Institute on Religion and Public Life.
• The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, a worldwide lobbying group advocating equal rights for gays and lesbians.
• The National Institute of Justice's annual report on forecasting drug use among teenagers and adults. http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-256.html Cato policy paper: "FEMINIST JURISPRUDENCE: Equal Rights or Neo-Paternalism?"
• The Bisexual Resource Center, "a non-profit educational organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA."
• Human Rights Campaign -- U.S.-based gay rights advocacy organization.
• "Feminist news, August 1996" from the Feminist Majority Foundation -- This edition features several articles on sexual harassment cases and one account of a man's conviction for sexual assault.
• Harvard Gay and Lesbian Caucus
• Volunteer page at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation web site, through which visitors can contact GLAAD and offer help.
• "Fake Science and Pornography" -- an essay by British libertarian feminist Avedon Carol, attacking the use of "social science" to justify censorship.
• Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network -- a national network of teachers, students, and parents opposing homophobia in schools.
• ANJY (A Network for Jewish Youth) -- Pen pal site for Jewish teenagers.
• The Wisdom Fund -- Islamic non-profit organization, whose mission includes disseminating educational materials about Islam, and opposing anti-Islamic bias in the media.
• From the Ethical Spectacle, "Introduction: Pornography in our Lives" -- index to a series of essays on pornography, censorship, and feminism.
• Readings on Free Expression -- list of required reading for an MIT course that focused on censorship and the Internet
• Carnegie Mellon University's gender studies page.
• Full text of the novel Jane Eyre.

Some sites were blocked when Peacefire first tested I-Gear, but were not blocked by the time Mr. Lappin tested the produt:

• The Center for Democracy and Technology free speech page.
• The John Birch Society theory on the Oklahoma City bombing.
• Concerned Women for America's statement on the "homosexual agenda".
• Planned Parenthood.
• The American Center for Law and Justice -- the Web site for the legal arm of the Christian Coalition.
• Christian Broadcasting Network -- television network owned by Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson.

More articles in the news about I-Gear