Link: Advocates protest limits on Kindle read-aloud feature

Post by Patricia E Bauer:

Some 200 protesters representing people with disabilities demonstrated in New York yesterday against limits on the text-to-speech function on Amazon’s new Kindle electronic book device.

Led by the National Federation of the Blind and the Reading Rights Coalition, demonstrators picketed the headquarters of the Author’s Guild, chanting such slogans as, “No need for greed, we want to read.”

Following complaints by the Author’s Guild, Amazon announced recently that it would allow authors to disable the read-aloud function on any of their e-books available for the Kindle2.

Advocates argued that the Amazon decision will unfairly limit access for the estimated 15 million Americans who are not able to read printed material. This includes people with vision impairments, dyslexia, or learning or processing issues; seniors losing vision; people with spinal cord injuries, and people who have had strokes.

Read the rest here.

Today - Reading Rights Coalition protest in New York City

Via the Justice for All blog

Reading Rights Coalition Staging Protest in NYC Over Threatened Removal of Text-to-Speech Feature

WHAT: The Reading Rights Coalition, representing millions of disabled people who cannot read print, will protest the threatened removal of the text-to-speech function from e-books for the Amazon Kindle 2 which promised for the first time easy, mainstream access to over 255,000 books. Hundreds of disabled Americans (the blind and people with dyslexia, learning difficulties, spinal cord injuries, seniors losing vision, stroke survivors) will march to demand that the Authors Guild reverse its decision.

WHEN: April 7, 2009 - noon to 2:00 p.m. EDT

WHERE: Outside the Authors Guild headquarters in New York City at 31 East 32nd Street

AVAILABLE TO INTERVIEW: Coalition spokesperson: Dr. Marc Maurer, President, National Federation of the Blind Various coalition member representatives

DISABLING THE DISABLED: When Amazon released the Kindle 2 electronic book reader on February 9, 2009, it promised the device would be able to read e-books aloud using text-to-speech technology. Under pressure from the Authors Guild, Amazon has agreed to give authors and publishers the ability to disable the text-to-speech function on any or all of their e-books available for the Kindle 2. This decision has serious discriminatory and censorship implications for the disabled and is simply bad business.

READING RIGHTS COALITION: Coalition members include: American Association of People with Disabilities, Association of Blind Citizens, American Council of the Blind, American Foundation for the Blind, Association on Higher Education And Disability, Arc of the United States, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Burton Blatt Institute, Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) Consortium, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), IDEAL Group, Inc., International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet, International Dyslexia Association, International Dyslexia Association--New York Branch, Jewish Guild for the Blind, Knowledge Ecology International, Learning Disabilities Association of America, Lighthouse International, National Center for Learning Disabilities, National Disability Rights Network, National Federation of the Blind, NISH, National Spinal Cord Injury Association, United Cerebral Palsy, and Xavier Society for the Blind.

Action Alert: Offensive autism advertising in the Action for Children ad campaign

Many bloggers are writing posts protesting the imagery and message of the Dan the Autistic Monster advertisement by the UK charity Action for Children. For information/critiques/analyses of the ads and links to further analyses and information about action alerts, see posts here and here by Shiva from over at Biodiverse Resistance and this post by abfh at Whose Planet Is It Anyway. This is a link to an action alert started by the Autistic Self Advocy Network (ASAN) and here is a link to a video of the advertisement. Below is a small excerpt from this post by abfh, entitled Destroying the Intolerance Monster:

A charity in the UK called Action for Children has created a truly appalling short film called Dan's Story, which is being shown on TV as an advertisement. It depicts a boy as having been eaten by a wicked autism monster and suggests that the monster must be destroyed. Several bloggers already have written about this horrid imagery, including Mike Stanton, Socrates, Bev, Sharon, and Shiva.

The ASAN campaign ends on Apr 25.

Join the Fight! Disabled Student Fights to Live in University Dormitory

***ACTION ALERT***

via Justice For All

A community that excludes even one of its members is no community at all!

The following news and action alert comes to us from Micah Fialka-Feldman and his parents Rich and Janice:

Micah Fialka-Feldman has a cognitive impairment and has been a pioneer in inclusion (pictured right, photo from Charles V. Tines/ The Detroit News). Micah has been taking classes, participating in clubs, and currently pays full tuition at Michgan's Oakland University. In 2007, the university gave Micah a tour of the dormitory, accepted his deposit, confirmed his "move in date" and then said NO. In the last 60 days, the student body, the local media and people from across the country have expressed support for Micah's dream and the right of all Option Program students to live in the dormitory.

The Oakland University Board of Trustees received many letters of support and a clear message that Micah and other Option students should have the right to live in the dormitory. The November 5 board meeting was filled beyond capacity (more than 150 attendees). Student government leaders, peers, community disability activists, agency advocates, family and friends spoke out to change the policy. They spoke of Micah's impact on their personal lives, the campus and the belief that inclusion should include dormitory living. Many speakers recognized the pioneering contribution of OU and they challenged OU to take the next step.

The university continues to say "no" while the students say "yes." The student government and the committee will be hosting a campus wide forum on inclusive education and the right to live in the dormitory on November 19, 2008.

Take Action!

. Spread the word to the media, to disability activists and concerned community members across the country.
. Below are links to articles, interviews and You Tube videos.
. Please make comments after you view the You Tube videos
. Send the stories and articles to your local media friends.
. Get the story on CNBC, CNN, NPR, Oprah. It is time for national media coverage.
. Place the links on Face Book, on your favorite blog.
. Check out http://www.throughthesamedoor.com/
. Write Governor Jennifer Granholm at: P.O. Box 30013, Lansing, Michigan

Thank you for all your work and dedication.

Micah: micahff@aol.com
Rich and Janice: ruaw@aol.com

Media links:

Channel 4 TV Interview
Channel 2 - Fox TV Interview
Video Clips from the Board of Trustees Meeting on Nov 5 Board of Trusteesmeeting at OU (Comments from friends, student leaders and allies)
Micah's fight Continues, Oakland Post November 12,2008
OaklandPost Articles (University student newspaper)http://www.oaklandpostonline.com/read_article.php?id=560http://www.oaklandpostonline.com/read_article.php?id=557
Oakland Press News Article
Detroit News Article
Follow-up article on the Detroit News Web, November
6, 2008

More News Coverage of Michael Savage's Comments on Children with Autism

From the Boston Herald, via AAPD/JFA Blog:

By Jessica Heslam

The furor over shock jock Michael Savage’s autism rant intensified yesterday as parents of autistic kids called for his firing and at least one advertiser yanked its ads from his syndicated show.

About 40 parents and grandparents of autistic children protested yesterday outside WOR-AM (710) in New York City, one of the more than 350 radio stations - including WRKO-AM (680) - that airs his program. Another protest is planned for tomorrow at the San Francisco station where his show is broadcast.

“What he said is reprehensible,” said John Gilmore, executive director of Autism United and the father of an 8-year-old autistic boy...

Read more.

.........................................................

TAKE ACTION!


Not only did Michael Savage claim that children with autism are a fraud, he used offensive language, referring to them as "idiots," "morons," and "brats."

Let's send a message to Michael Savage, his talkshow, and all his syndicators and commercial supporters. Tell them that people with disabilities, including children with autism, make up 1 in 5 Americans, and that his comments are inaccurate, offensive, and tantamount to hate speech. Encourage sponsors to pull their advertising dollars. Tell broadcasters that this sort of hate-filled rant is unacceptable.

Michael Savage mailto:Savagemichaelsavage@paulreveresociety.com

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