Gene Detectives under fire

Based on an article from the Daily Mail

Nutters have hit out at the BBC over a “sick” and “exploitive” game show-style programme that reunites long-lost relatives.

Gene Detectives, BBC1’s latest breakfast time show, has received 29 formal complaints whilst more than 100 'disgruntled' viewers have registered their dismay on the Corporation’s Points of View forum.

The two-week, ten episode series, puts members of the public in touch with unknown relatives following a series of humiliating “trials”. From a shortlist of three possible family members, the contestant is asked to guess who they think they are related to before being told, during the grand finale, whether or not they are right. While the correct relative is reunited with the contestant, the other two applicants are sent home, and told that they do not have a long-lost family member.

John Beyer, director of mediawatch-uk, called on the BBC to pull the programme. He said: This is obviously causing offence to viewers and that plays no part in the BBC’s remit. I think it’s a mistake to trivialise such a serious issue, and to turn it into to some sort of quiz show is clearly a mistake – one that is not ringing well with viewers. For that reason, and with such levels of complaint, the BBC needs to review the programme – and not re-commission it.

   
Moving onto to federal court to decide if porn can be rated R18+

Based on an article from Australian IT see full article

The pornographic film industry will tomorrow begin a creative Federal Court action to have adult films that depict actual sex between consenting adults stripped of their X-rating.

The industry argues that such films should be rated R18+, meaning they could legally be sold in all Australian states and shown in cinemas.

Lawyers for AdultShop.com will argue that the federal Government's Classification Review Board routinely applies an X-rating to sex films that would not offend a "reasonable adult".

The OFLC is required to take "community standards" into account when classifying films but classifies most sex films as X18+, meaning they can be sold only in the ACT and Northern Territory and shown only in licensed premises in those territories.

Adultshop.com CEO Malcolm Day, whose publicly listed company is valued at $9 million, said standards had changed since the guidelines were drafted in 1984: Most reasonable adults would not regard an adult film, depicting sex between two consenting adults, with no violence, as offensive.

The test case is the decision in November by the OFLC and confirmed by the review board to give an X18+ rating to the film Viva Erotica, which contains close-ups of sex between men and women and between two women, but no violence or fetishes.

Day said an ACNeilsen survey conducted on Adultshop.com's behalf in September showed that 70% cent of adults were not offended by explicit sex films. But the review board said in its Viva Erotica decision that many would be offended by even the most fleeting of sexually explicit scenes.

AdultShop.com will present the court with an opinion from University of Sydney media academic Catharine Lumby, who argues most Australians are more concerned about violence than about sex.

It will also call on Alan McKee from the Queensland University of Technology to argue consumers of sexually explicit materials in Australia can fairly be described as reasonable adults: A film involving various forms of actual sexual activity, including close-ups, but with no violence would be unlikely to cause offence.

The Australian Family Association, which has been accorded friend-of-the-court status, will submit that a legal victory by AdultShop would render the X classification meaningless. Straight pornography would be classified R. Porn would be able to be sold through ordinary video outlets and adult shops

   
Top Gear deserves award for effective and persistent nutter baiting

From The Guardian

The BBC has received complaints after deciding to screen a mock rail crash on Top Gear despite Friday's Cumbrian train derailment in which one person died.

The segment saw presenter Jeremy Clarkson leave a people carrier on a level crossing in Lincolnshire as an unmanned 107-tonne diesel engine crashed into it.

The BBC said this morning that 43 people had complained while Ofcom said it had received three calls.

A BBC spokesman said it was agreed following discussions to screen the crash with a warning beforehand: We did think about it and that is why we decided to make an announcement before the programme to alert viewers to the fact there was an item about rail safety. He added that Network Rail had also been consulted and agreed the segment should go ahead.

The Network Rail deputy chief executive, Iain Coucher, said on Friday the segment was important in raising awareness about the dangers of level crossings: Though light-hearted in tone, the message is serious - don't run the risk at level crossings. Our people worked hard for months to safely plan this staged event and the results are breathtaking.

Top of the league in gun murder It is interesting to note that Thailand make a particular point of censoring guns from films & TV. Just possibly there may be other factors at play beyond media portrayal! From Nation Master Murders involving firearms (per million of population over a period of 2 years) South Africa: 720 Colombia: 510 Thailand: 312   Zimbabwe: 49 Mexico: 34 Belarus: 32 Costa Rica: 31 United States: 28 Uruguay: 25 Lithuania: 23 (32nd UK: 1)

Beyer takes topical opportunity for a rant

Thanks to Dan who spotted a Mediawatch-uk press release:

In the light of recent shootings in South London and the “Gun Summit” at Downing Street last week, John Beyer, Director of mediawatch-uk, is calling upon broadcasters and film makers to embrace a much more socially responsible attitude to their portrayal of the use of firearms in their productions.

We believe that this level of fictional violence shown on television, which is consistent with our findings for the last 12 years, is unacceptable and irresponsible. The people most responsible for promoting a culture of violence in which the criminal use of guns is portrayed more often than any other fictional violence are the film and television industries. From this quarter there has been a deafening silence and certainly no publicly announced undertakings to stop or even reduce the visibility of guns or other offensive weapons. The regulator, Ofcom, too has been silent despite the findings of their own research which states that 56 per cent of people say there is too much violence on television. (The Communications Market 2006, page 269)

In this age of “joined up” government and the trend for multi-agency approaches to problem solution the influence of film and television cannot be ignored nor can the industries remain aloof or beyond criticism for the culture of violence to which they have contributed. We call upon the film and broadcasting regulators to urgently review their film and programme policies, their codes and guidelines and ensure that the depiction of the use of firearms and other offensive weapons is curtailed forthwith. We welcome the emphasis now being placed by politicians upon family life and good role models. However, this must extend to film and television programme makers who must play their part in sustaining citizenship and civil society rather than setting models of behaviour that contribute to society’s problems and undermine attempts to deal with them.

We also call upon the Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, to take steps to ensure that the terms of the Communications Act 2003, which states that “material likely to encourage or to incite to crime or to lead to disorder is not included in television or radio services”, are properly enforced in the public interest.

Egypt bow to US request to block satellite channels

From the BBC

Egypt has stopped the transmission of a private Iraqi TV station which glorifies the Sunni insurgency in Iraq.

The United States has privately asked the Egyptian authorities to stop al-Zawraa which is carried on Nilesat, a government-owned TV satellite.

Mishan al-Jaburi, the owner of al-Zawraa says political reasons were behind the Egyptian decision. He accused Egypt of bowing to American pressure to stop carrying al-Zawraa.

The channel shows footage of attacks by Sunni groups against US and Iraqi forces. It also shows images of bloody and mutilated bodies of women and children which it identifies as Sunnis killed by US soldiers and Shia militiamen.

Al-Zawraa is still being carried by Arab Sat, which is jointly owned by all Arab countries.

Texas police raid a Chippendales show

From abc13.com

Texas Police arrested eight Chippendales dancers and three others during the first of three sold out performances accusing them of violating the Lubbock's adult entertainment ordinance.

Officers raided Jake's Sports Cafe about 30 minutes after the show started and the venue was closed. They arrested the venue's manager, the show's promoter and the dancers' manager along with the dancers in front of a disgruntled crowd of women.

Shortly after, several hundred women began chanting, Bring them back, bring them back and the City Council sucks, the City Council sucks.

Authorities say the dancers violated a city ordinance which bars contact between entertainers and patrons. Lt. Greg Stevens of the Lubbock Police said the dancers were simulating sexual positions with audience members.

Comparatively, it's a classy production, said Greg Jackson, Jake's Sports Cafe booking agent, adding that Chippendale dancers do not take off all their clothes.

Somalia to send censors to radio and TV stations

From CPJ

Somalia’s UN-backed transitional government said they would censor three private broadcasters over their coverage of deadly unrest in the capital Mogadishu, according to news reports and local journalists.

At least 12 people died and thousands fled the city on Monday after fierce artillery exchanges between Ethiopian-backed government troops and unknown fighters, according to international news reports. The fighting was the fiercest since the government took Mogadishu from Islamists last December.

The transitional government’s National Security Agency (NSA) ordered the executives of HornAfrik and Shabelle media groups, the two biggest media houses in Mogadishu, and Radio Banadir to stop reporting on government military operations and the flight of civilians from the capital, according to news reports and local journalists.

We were invited and warned to avoid certain news, Radio Banadir Director Ahmed Nur Ali told CPJ. The NSA will provide a written “code of conduct” in the coming days, he said. Officials announced that they would send censors to the stations to edit their news.

   
BBFC award 18 to film targeted at youngsters

From The Guardian

This year's finest British film cannot be seen by its target audience, or many of its young stars, after being given a 18 certificate by the British censors. Shane Meadows' This is England, which is released in April, is the story of a young boy seduced into a world of skinhead racial violence during the early Eighties. The film is based on the director's own experiences.

News of the certification came as the film was about to play to a packed cinema of schoolchildren at a Glasgow film festival last week. Organisers were forced to cancel the screening.

Producer Mark Herbert said: The entire point of the film is a positive one, to show the dangers of bullying, peer pressure and racism to young people. Now with this 18 certificate, we can't do it.'

The BBFC have objected to a scene in which the gang attacks an Asian newsagent, calling him a 'Paki cunt', and to a scene involving menacing violence against a mixed-race boy. We have strong indications that violence when accompanied by vicious racist language is something the public find very hard to accept, says BBFC spokeswoman Sue Clark. We also felt that while the film deals with racism in very subtle and complex ways, it might give out the wrong message to an impressionable audience.

Meadows refused to make any cuts to his film in order to achieve the 15 certificate: This is the film I wanted to make and it's had a great reception at festivals, where it has won awards from young audiences. It seems to speak to them in particular. There's no need for cuts.

Meadows and Herbert have demanded a meeting with the censors and are still hopeful they can persuade them to lower the barrier.

   
Review Board confirm ban on The Peaceful Pill Handbook

From Refused Classification

The Peaceful Pill Handbook has just been banned by the Review Board. Not surprising really, they are only doing what Ruddock, their master, wanted.

Iran closes website showing president watching female dancing

From The Guardian

An Iranian website fiercely critical of the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been shut down in an apparent fresh crackdown on anti-government dissent on the internet.

Baztab, a fundamentalist site which has previously accused Ahmadinejad of betraying the Islamic revolution by attending a female dance show, has been closed for acting against the constitution and undermining national unity.

The order coincided with the confirmation of Gholamhossein Elham, who has supported restraints on press freedom, as Iran's new judiciary minister. Elham, previously the government's official spokesman, last year urged prosecutors to pursue news outlets that printed "lies" about Ahmadinejad's government.

His appointment came as the government disclosed new measures to monitor and restrict unofficial news websites.

Baztab is one of Iran's most widely read political sites. It has been a staunch critic of the government's economic policies, which have produced surging inflation and high unemployment. The website also posted video footage purportedly showing Ahmadinejad watching a female dance performance at the recent Asian Games in Qatar, in breach of Iran's prohibition on women dancing in front of men.

The culture and Islamic guidance ministry said: Considering the large amount of such material, [Baztab] was recognised as an illegitimate internet site and its continued activity is illegal and banned.

Access to the site is now blocked on most Iranian internet service providers.

A sample of Kareem's blogging

From MediawatchWatch
See also www.FreeKareem.org

Here is a transcript of one of the articles which got him Abdel Kareem Soliman banged up for 4 years:

The Naked Truth of Islam As I Saw It In Maharam Bey Riots

The Muslims have taken the mask off to show their true hateful face, and they have shown the world that they are at the top of their brutality, inhumanity, and thievery.

They have clearly shown their worst features and have shown that in dealing with others they are not governed by any moral codes.

From what I have seen yesterday of the events at Maharram Beh, which were quite shameful, and have shown me more facts that they have tried to cover over the centuries.

They have indicated that Islam is a religion of peace and forgiveness, but their true face has been uncovered to show barbarism and thievery and fanaticism and not acknowledging others, and attempting to remove them from existence.

Some may think that the actions of the Moslems does not represent Islam and has no relationship with the teachings of Islam that was brought by Mohamed 14 centuries ago, but the truth is that their actions is not different from the Islamic teachings in its original form when it has urged people to deny others and hate them and kill them and take their property, things that they know well but they try to deceive people by falsely defending the teachings of Islam by extremists and they are hiding from the truth and they prefer living a lie.

I have seen with my own eyes the thugs as they break into our Christian brothers’ stores after the whole area of Maharram Beh was completely out of control of the government authorities, and I saw them as they ransack the contents of the store right and left, amidst cheering and shouting extremist Islamic slogans, and I saw them stealing the money from inside the drawers of the cash registers and splitting it among themselves as if it is justified by being owned by what they call the infidels and the worshippers of the cross.

I saw them break into a liquor store owned by a Coptic merchant Labib Lotfy and I saw them smash everything they can get their dirty hands on, including the refrigerator and the scale and the boxes and liquor bottles. I saw some of them stealing liquor bottles so they can get drunk after a hard day’s work against the Coptic infidels.

It is worth mentioning that although some people may think that this Christian-owned liquor store was particularly targeted because the owner is selling the forbidden alcoholic beverages that is forbidden in Islam, but another liquor store in front of the Christian-owned store happens to be owned by a Moslem merchant, and none of the thugs dared to attack, as they did with the Christian-owned store. Now you can see the hateful sectarian actions.

What the Moslems did yesterday in a very vulgar and criminal and horrible way proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that they don’t acknowledge others or their rights of existence or their rights to live with the freedom of expression and also consider them less than them, and these actions should be fought and exterminated for is it right to leave these horrible human beings to do what they want and kill, destroy, steal, and burn??!!

The Islamic teachings that was brought by Mohammed 14 centuries ago should be faced with courage and boldness, we should expose and show its faults and warn humanity of its dangers. We should, even though we are different –look with reason to these teachings that urges people, human beings, to become monsters that don’t know anything in life except killing and looting and plundering and raping and pillaging.

We should stand courageously and boldly against these teachings that became a plague on humanity and is not supported except by extremists like bin Laden and al Zarqawi and al Zawaheeri and the thugs that assaulted our Coptic brothers and burned their homes and stole their properties, and tried to assault their religious men and destroy their churches.

We should take off the religious and sectarian gown and look at matters in a more humane way. We should hold trials to all the acts of terrorism and extremism, that our Islamic history have kept their names and their criminal actions starting with Mohamed ibn Abdullah and his company of murderers like Khalid ibn el Waled and Omar ibn el Khattab and Saad ibn Abbi Waqqas and Moiizah Bin Shaabah and Samra bin Gandab and the kings of Beni Ummaya and Beni al Abbass and al Osman, and ending with the Moslem criminals of the modern day that became more famous than movie stars and singers.

We should show the world the truth of these criminals that unfortunately have become role models for our youth and our children and our women. We should expose their false teachings and show the world that they are a big danger that should be exterminated and removed from its roots.

Before you put on trial the people that are responsible for the crimes that occurred on Black Friday in Maharram Beh, you should first put on trial the dirty teachings that caused them to go on a rampage of stealing and plundering and looting.. put Islam on trial and sentence it and its symbols with a figurative execution so that you can be sure that what happened yesterday will never be repeated again.

For as long as Islam exists on this planet all your efforts to end wars and disputes and upheavals will fail because Islam’s dirty finger will be found behind every catastrophic event to humanity.

   
Ofcom investigating complaints about programme on Islam Channel

From black information link

Last month British-based Islam Channel suddenly suspended its popular current affairs show The Agenda fronted each morning by the prominent journalist and campaigner Yvonne Ridley.

There was no warning or explanation. Days then weeks went by, viewers' complaints and concerns mounted, but the mystery only deepened. Finally, the station relented and issued a very short press release blaming the TV regulator: Due to recent pressure from Ofcom The Agenda has been taken off air until further notice. The statement ended strangely: No further explanation will be given on the topic.

Did Ofcom really kill off The Agenda? A spokesperson for the watchdog confirmed that two complaints had been lodged against the show and were being investigated, but strenuously denied that Ofcom had interfered with the editorial sovereignty of Islam Channel's programme scheduling.

Preventing excessive nudity in Singapore by book banning

From Playfuls

A book featuring images of Asian celebrities has been banned in Singapore because of "excessive nudity," a government minister said.

The book Superstars, by Singaporean photographer Leslie Kee, contains portraits of 300 stars such as Aaron Kwok and Gong Li.

Information, Communications and the Arts Minister Lee Boon Yang said the country's Public Consultative Panel agreed the book should not be allowed to be sold in the conservative city-state.

An explanation for the ban came up in Parliament where a lawmaker asked about the basis for censorship in artistic publications.

In a written reply published in The Straits Times, Lee said current guidelines do allow for nudity in artistic works including photography publications "provided they are suitably depicted."

Superstars featured excessive nudity with photographs showing full frontal nudity, with public hair and genitals clearly visible, Lee said, exceeding the current standards for publications.

Blogger sentenced to 4 years in jail

From The Independent

An Egyptian blogger was sentenced to four years in jail yesterday for articles published on his website.

Abdel Kareem Soliman, 22, a former law student from Alexandria who used the internet alias Kareem Amer, was convicted of inciting hatred of Islam and insulting the President, Hosni Mubarak.

The harsh sentence marked the first time that an Egyptian blogger has been formally prosecuted for an opinion published online. Gamal Eid, part of Soliman's defence team, said: This is a dark day for all who are interested in freedom of expression and belief in Egypt. Four years is too much, we were expecting no more than one year. He is just a student, and hasn't committed any crime - he has just published his opinion.

Soliman was arrested last November, following a complaint by al-Azhar University, his former place of study and Sunni Islam's most important institution. He had referred in his blog to companions of the Prophet Mohamed as "terrorists", to al-Azhar as "the university of terrorism" and to President Mubarak as the "symbol of dictatorship".

Amnesty International said the conviction was a slap in the face for freedom of expression and added that the internet was the new front in the battle between those who want to speak out and those who would stop them.

While the Egyptian government refused to comment on the case, Soliman's provocative writing won him few sympathisers in Egypt's mostly conservative, Muslim society. Many believe that he went too far and the case has brought to the fore a debate about the limits of free speech in a predominantly religious society. A lawyer, who attended the court, said: I was hoping that he would get a harsher sentence... There are things that one should not talk about, like religion and politics. He should have got a 10-year sentence.

Soliman's lawyers are preparing his appeal.

   
Promoting technology solutions for online safety

From The Guardian see full article
See also Family Online Safety Institute

A new web safety thinktank launched in Europe today with the backing of major tech firms including BT, Verizon and Microsoft.

The Family Online Safety Institute is a non-profit organisation funded by membership of technology, telecoms and content firms and chaired by Nick Truman, head of internet security at BT.

FOSI will establish events, public education initiatives and offer a range of products to improve dialogue between government and tech firms.

Stephen Balkam, the chief executive of FOSI, said many parents are clueless about web safety while individual companies are struggling to respond to the situation.

FOSI is in talks with the leading social networking websites, he said,  MySpace in particular. He said that one aim of the initiative is to empower parents by educating them about easy tools they can use, such as the family safety settings within Microsoft's new operating system Vista and on Google UK.

Balkam described Google's safety settings as its "best kept secret", but said these kind of filters could be set so that a search for "sex" would bring up a safe sex site and Sex and the City, rather than porn.

He also referred to a programme in Scotland called the Online Safety Qualification, which educates children about online safety and presents an award at the end of the course. He said he believes the qualification is the first of its kind.

Partnering with the government will also be key to public education, although he added that FOSI's aim is not to advocate new legislation.

FOSI will hold the first international annual online safety conference, exhibition and awards event in Washington DC on December 2-4 2007.

And no doubt Pakistan's crime problems will be solved as a result

From The News

The Pakistan government has banned the portrayal of wicked characters as heroes in motion pictures and refused permission to release four new movies of this nature.

The central censor board has been ordered to decline permission to films that glorify villainous characters, Culture Minister Dr G G Jamali told the National Assembly.

He said that since Maula Jatt, made in the eighties, became a big hit and did a roaring business, a trend developed among moviemakers to go for such pictures.

Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain said many films were being made to depict people as supermen who were being shown using Kalashnikovs, repeaters, sten-guns and other weapons mercilessly. What kind of education are we imparting to our youth? he asked.

He said violence and bloodshed exhibited in such movies are brainwashing young men. You should try to discourage this trend.

Dr Jamal said the number of cinemas, which was 1,000 during seventies, has now come down to 210 because of the crisis that has hit the film industry. He said a committee of film people has recommended that there is a need for changes in the censor board. It has pointed out that the society also did not like vulgarity.

   
Seems little point asking the Irish film censor

Edited letter from Anthony who wrote to the Irish Times

I was surfing the net and came across the Irish Film Censor's website. After reading it for a while I sent emails to John Keller as posted above.

I simply asked the Censor to put on record his and / or (by extension) the Irish State's official attitude to / policy on / legality of, R18 material.

Even with an ongoing case they surely have a position on this, and a general statement wouldn't prejudice / undermine their prosecution.

I would like the Irish Times to try and get the Censor (on record) to answer all the questions I put to him in my e-mail.

Hopefully he'll take your newspaper a bit more seriously than Joe Public.

Here in the Republic, our previous Censor Sheamus Smith amused himself by banning a selection of softcore standard 18 rated videos every month. He'd send a list of prohibited videos every month to all licensed video shops in the country - note these videos were merely standard 18 rated ones, containing no actual depictions of sex whatsoever and mild enough nudity too. The UK R18 videos (even the pre-change in guidelines ones) were completely beyond the pale.

Until the (Irish) Video Recordings Act of 1993, British BBFC ratings were in practice accepted as if they had legal status here. Video Shops like Xtravision referred to them in their sign-up terms & conditions, one wonders what would have happened if say, a 16 year old was prevented from renting a video marked by the British Censor as 18 by a shop over here and took the shop to court on the basis it had no legal right to do so. . . When the Irish act was being proposed Smith wanted to go back in time and "re-certify" all the existing videos in circulation in Ireland, as had been done in the UK in 1984-1986. However on cost grounds this didn't happen and instead only "new" videos ie. ones released after Sept 1993 were made subject to the Irish certification process. Videos being re-released on DVD has mostly taken care of this anomaly. It does show the ambition, some would say megalomania of Smith though in attempting to try to certify 20 to 30 thousand different videos !

The problem with having a separate Irish (DVD & Video) Rating System as opposed to the Cinema Certificates process is as follows. The mass production processes involved in making DVDs, and the fact that the Republic of Ireland and the UK share a single language, and TV picture system (PAL) and also that the licensing rights for the R.o.I. & UK are (usually) sold together as well - all of this means there is in commercial terms a British Isles market. DVDs are pressed (by companies located in the UK) according to the master approved by the BBFC not the Irish Censor. The Irish Censor can never "undo" in the Irish market cuts imposed in the UK. All he can do is stick a different age rating (either up or down - mostly anecdotally it seems to be upwards) on the box.

If a video is banned in the UK and the distributor has (perhaps not expecting a ban) already gone to manufacture, then he might release copies here after getting an Irish certificate. The only example of this I've been able to find is a film called "Mikey", directed by Dennis Dimster, made in 1992 and denied a BBFC cert in Dec. 1996. The Melonfarmers site states that it is "available on Irish video with the boast that it is banned in the UK".

With the physically cuttable nature of 35mm cinema film prints, cuts can be restored or indeed extra ones made changing what the BBFC did. With DVD the Irish censor can only ban - not cut or restore cuts! Surely the whole point of having a separate censorship system to the UK is to be able to have different outcomes in practice not just in legal theory. Perhaps the British-Irish Council (part of the Belfast / St. Andrews Agreement) which involves democratic representatives of all of the British Isles (which is the commercial reality when it comes to DVD) should take over the classification system. The Irish government would appoint so many censors, Scotland, the Isle of Man, etc. etc. would do likewise thus retaining democratic rights. I put some of these points to the censor in a separate e-mail, along with my concerns about the composition of the assistant censors. All of the e-mails and replies follow here.

Anti Smoking film banned by Thai censors

From The Nation

Anti-smoking activists yesterday demanded thatThai film censors explain why they banned the 2006 Golden Globe-nominated satire Thank You For Smoking.

The film tells the story of tobacco-industry lobbyist Nick Naylor who promotes smoking at a time when the health risks are too obvious to ignore.

What a shame, Action on Smoking and Health Thailand secretary-general Dr Prakit Vateesatokit said. He added that the film was a wonderful tool in the campaign against smoking: The movie depicts sophisticated tactics used by tobacco companies to achieve what they want. This could have had an even bigger impact on the pubic than campaigns I have been running for more than two decades.

Thailand Health Promotion Institute chief Dr Hatai Chitanondh believed censors rejected the film because the title included the word "smoking". The title is a play on the common request posted in public places and buildings: Thank you for not smoking.

I'm wondering if the censors even bothered to watch the movie before rejecting it, Hatai asked, adding he deeply regretted the film would not be seen for the same reasons given by Prakit.

However, it is now too late to reverse the decision because distributors have returned copies of the film to the United States, apparently reluctant for censors to lose face, Hatai asserted. He watched it twice and insisted smoking is not observed in the film: So, what's the matter? What harm can this movie do?

Philippines continues to be a dangerous place for journalists

From CPJ

Hernani Pastolero, editor-in-chief of the community newspaper Lightning Courier Weekly, was shot dead in front of his home Monday morning in Sultan Kudarat township, on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.

Pastolero was shot twice in the head by an unidentified assassin who escaped on foot. Local Police Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao told local press that police investigators had already compiled a list of suspects, but as of today he had not ordered arrests. He declined to speculate about a possible motive for Pastolero’s killing.

The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating whether Pastolero’s killing, the first in the Philippines this year, was related to his work as a journalist.

We hope authorities at the local and national levels will bring the killers of Hernani Pastolero to justice, and not let the case linger unresolved, as so many others have, said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today ordered the Philippine National Police to investigate the case and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunyes condemned the killing.

GMANews.TV said the National Bureau of Investigation was investigating Pastolero’s connection to a land conflict between residential lot owners and a large private landholder.

According to CPJ research, three Filipino journalists were killed in connection with their reporting last year, making the Philippines on par with Afghanistan as the deadliest place in Asia to be a news reporter.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is currently conducting an independent probe into the recent rash of extrajudicial killings, including the unresolved murders of journalists, across the Philippines.

   
Mandatory censorship causes art-house releases to dry up in Ireland

From Irish Times

The range of films available to buy and rent at Irish outlets will be extended significantly when Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, introduces legislation providing revised censorship fees for minority-interest DVD releases. Art-house movies will be the principal beneficiaries of the new legislation, which is likely to be enacted this year.

Many foreign-language films have been passed over for release on the Irish market because their distributors regarded the certification fees as prohibitively high for movies with a limited audience.

The film censor, John Kelleher, has proposed a new two-tier scale for certification, and the Irish Film Censor's Office (Ifco) annual report for 2004 noted that it would be a positive development: Representations were made to Ifco during 2004 in this regard by both Irish and foreign video distributors requesting that a lower fee be charged for certifying non-mainstream video titles that might otherwise prove uneconomic to release. I believe this to be a reasonable request, and following further discussions with industry representatives, a proposal has been sent to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform for the Minister's consideration.

The new two-tier scale will follow the Minister's introduction of a similar scheme for cinema releases in 2004, on the recommendation of the film censor. In the past, it cost as much to certify an art-house film as a mainstream one, Kelleher noted. Now, as a result of the new scale, the cost of an art-house film is one-quarter the cost of a mainstream one, and it is therefore financially feasible for distributors to release such films now.

Eoghan Burke, head of sales at Sony BMG, which represents a number of art-house DVD distributors in Ireland said:  In June 2004 a new cost structure for the certification of DVD/video was introduced and since then virtually all new art-house and niche titles available to buy in Irish retailers have dried up, bar the more commercially viable, forcing Irish buyers onto the internet to source their art house titles. There are now thousands of titles that have never been released for the Irish market.

Among the many art-house classics he cites as being passed over for the Irish market because of the cost of certification are Bicycle Thieves, Rififi, The Sorrow and the Pity and Rome Open City.

Belarus Internet cafes to spy for the KGB

From Charter 97

From now on an owner of an Internet-Cafe or a person authorized by him is to keep a log of domain names of sites read by users. A log of domain names is to be stores for at least 12 months and if necessary given to officers of state security, law-enforcing and state inspection agencies.

This demand is contained in a decree of Belarusian government“with the aim to regularize relations in the sphere of computer clubs and internet-café business. in case a user is suspected of a computer crime, the administration of an Internet-café is to inform relevant law-enforcing agencies immediately.

In line with the decree of the government, it is prohibited to distribute information forbidden for distribution in public communications network in Internet-cafes, to make attempts of unsanctioned access to informational systems of public-service communications networks, and to use programmes propagating cult of violence, cruelty, pornography.

Egyptian Blogger's family disowns son on trial for contempt of religion

From Michelle Malkin
See also Free Kareem

There's a horrid development in the case of Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman, the Egyptian blogger on trial for posting to his website statements calling for equal rights for women and protection of free speech, as well as other statements critical of the Egyptian government and Islam. The Free Kareem website reports:

The family of Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman, accused of “contempt of religion”, has disowned him before his court verdict session on the upcoming Thursday. His father, a retired mathematics teacher, has demanded applying the Sharia ruling on him by giving him three days to repent, followed by having him killed if he does not announce his repentance.

The father of the accused also described the organizations that are working on having his son acquitted as “monkey rights” organizations, in his own words. He also described his son as the “monkey” who has imitated the atheists of the West in their intellectual thinking.

The family also said that they will announce their disownment of their son on the Internet as well...

Amer will learn on Thursday whether he faces 10 years in jail, following a trial that has been condemned by human rights groups. He is the first person to be prosecuted in Egypt for online writings; observers fear this may mark a new clampdown on freedom of speech...

His lawyer, Gamal Eid, said last week: I am very pessimistic about the verdict, but I have great hope for the appeal.

Malcolm Smart of Amnesty International said: Karim Amer's trial appears intended as a warning by the authorities to other bloggers who dare criticise the government or use their blogs to spread information considered harmful to Egypt's reputation.

   
Pretty Baby passed uncut

Good to see that Pretty Baby has been passed uncut again for today's DVD release.

Given the current hyper-sensitivity with anything connecting children and sexuality, it is good that the the naked 12 year old Brooke Shields hasn't become another worrying trigger for a 4am police visit.

Nutters release documentary detailing the rise of porn

From X Biz see full article

Anti-porn group CP80 and film company Living Biography have joined forces to release Traffic Control, a new documentary that details what it calls the rampant rise in Internet pornography and the fight to stop it.

CP80, which is the group behind the TruthinPorn campaign that seeks to move all adult sites into a single, clean Internet port, released the film at the end of January to coincide with a resolution from the Utah House of Representatives urging the U.S. Congress to do more to curb online porn.

I can't tell you how many stories I've heard, how many lives I've seen destroyed by pornography, Rep. Bradley Daw, the resolution’s sponsor, said. This is an absolute scourge on our society.

Ralph Yarro, founder of CP80, called the Utah resolution the shot heard around the world. Yarro added that Utah is one of seven states with similar resolutions on the table, adding that Oregon legislators will soon debate a measure that would label Internet pornography a public health emergency.

The film details the experiences of Shelley Lubben, a former porn star turned anti-porn activist who used the stage name Roxy, as she battled a drug and alcohol addiction and contracted herpes while working in the adult entertainment industry.

   
A question to the Irish censor regarding legality

It would surely be interesting to hear a little more about the High Court case mentioned.

From Anthony who wrote to the Irish censor, John Kelleher

As you are no doubt aware there has been a considerable change in the content "allowed" on DVDs & videos classified R18 (Restricted 18) in the United Kingdom in recent years.

What (in your opinion or IFCO practice) is the legal status of these DVDs & videos in the Republic of Ireland?

Have there been any successful prosecutions of this material either through postal/customs or seizure by gardaí? [Note I mean in recent times]

Are there any plans to formally legalise this content as in the UK ?

The British category is not an "Anything Goes" category with 15.4% [2002] to 24.1% [2006] of submitted items being ultimately cut by the BBFC. These "cuts" removed in one case [Pirates] 1 hour 34 minutes so they're not token either.

I feel the ongoing "grey area" unresolved nature of this issue means the State has less not more control and influence of what is seen here.

Also there is a continuing debate internally at Ofcom over whether the current ban on R18s being shown on Sky Digital's "Adult" channels should continue. If this were to change it would make the current situation in the Republic of Ireland even more farcical.

Your thoughts on these issues would be appreciated.

John Kelleher replied

I am reluctant to comment on the matters you have raised as, inter alia, they are the subject of ongoing High Court proceedings to which my Office is a party.

I am sure you will appreciate my position in this regard.

   
A question to the Irish censor regarding representation

From Anthony who wrote to the Irish censor, John Kelleher

I noticed that only one of the censors employed at IFCO (Mark Brennan), was what one could reasonably describe as a "young man" (albeit married with a child - not single). Given that surveys of public opinion have consistently shown "single young men" to be least in favour of censorship of films & videos, and that "older women" are most in favour; I would suggest the collective censors are unfairly unrepresentative of the public in their make-up and indeed the cinema going & video/dvd viewing public's general age.

The Irish Republic is still a very young (relative to our European counterparts) population - but you wouldn't guess that from the censors' make-up. I would like to see a man in his twenties, mid twenties, and early thirties added (replacing existing members) to the collective.

Finally regarding DVD releases - What real power does IFCO have to "reverse" UK BBFC decisions to cut a given title? Have any DVDs which have been cut in the UK been released in the Irish market uncut? Or is this something which is unfeasible / too much trouble for the distributors?

John Kelleher replied

Three out of our ten Assistant Censors are in their twenties. I am very satisfied that our team, the majority of whom are parents, includes a representative cross-section of people, both in terms of age and experience.

Our experience would not tally with the surveys of public opinion to which you refer, and I would be interested to know when, where and by whom they were carried out . We have commissioned a considerable body of independent research to assess public perception of our role and work, which has elicited favourable results from both adults and children.

As regards DVD releases, IFCO classifies what is submitted to us for release in Ireland. Our process, which is a statutory one, is not relevant to what happens in another jurisdiction.

Law proposal to ensure that censors see all of a game's content

Has anybody considered the possibility of allowing plug-ins of add-on content that is simply not written yet.

From CNET News

A US Senate Republican has renewed his push to slap new regulations on the video and computer game industry, including a ban on "deceptive" labels by ratings outfits.

Senator Sam Brownback reintroduced the Truth in Video Game Rating Act, first proposed last September. It calls for requiring video game rating organizations to play all games "in their entirety" before issuing labels and prohibiting game developers from withholding any "hidden" game content from raters. It would also punish ratings groups that "grossly mischaracterize" any game's content.

The current video game ratings system is not as accurate as it could be because reviewers do not see the full content of games and do not even play the games they rate, Brownback said.

The proposed regulations represent another reaction to a high-profile scandal surrounding the game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

The bill's introduction drew opposition from the Entertainment Software Association, which lobbies for the video game industry. An ESA executive said the group believes the existing rating process is already sufficiently reliable and "remarkably useful" to parents.

Sen. Brownback's bill not only attempts to address problems that don't exist, but his recommendations are unworkable and will not help consumers, Carolyn Rauch, a senior vice president at ESA, said: For instance, how does one play a game in its 'entirety' when a game has no defined end?

A representative for the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) describes at its Web site how it goes about evaluating games. It says it requires game makers to submit answers to a "detailed questionnaire" about their products and a videotape or DVD that displays all "pertinent content," including the most extreme instances of sex, violence, language, drugs and gambling. They must also turn over pertinent content that is not playable, but will exist in the game code on the final game disc.

Brownback's bill also reflects his suspicion that those engaged in the rating process have conflicts of interest. It proposes directing the Government Accountability Office to issue a report on the effectiveness of the ESRB's rating system, with particular attention to whether the process would be better served if developed and administered by persons or entities with no financial interest in the video and computer game industry.

   
FCC closing in on regulation of violent TV programming

Based on an article from CNN

A draft report being circulated at the Federal Communications Commission says Congress could craft a law that would let the agency regulate violent programming much like it regulates sexual content and profanity, by barring it from being aired during hours when children may be watching, for example.

In general, what the commission's report says is that there is strong evidence that shows violent media can have an impact on children's behavior and there are some things that can be done about it, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said.

The report also suggests that cable and satellite TV could be subjected to an "a la carte" regime that would let viewers choose their channels, a measure long supported by Martin: We can't just deal with the three or four broadcast channels, we have to be looking at what's on cable as well.

The report cites studies that suggest violent programming can lead to short-term aggressive behavior in children, according to an agency source who described the report.

The recommendations are sure to alarm executives in the broadcast and cable industries, members of the creative community and First Amendment advocates. Broadcasters are expected to object strenuously to any anti-violence regulatory regime, but have been skittish in going on the record.

   
Confusion about why hardcore should be illegal to sell

From AdultShop.com

Raids carried out this week by the NSW police on 7 sex shops in Sydney's King Cross area, have highlighted the inconsistency in laws governing the sale of X18+ material.

These raids have no doubt sparked confusion amongst the general public as to why X18+ films can be legally purchased in ACT and NT, but not in the States of Australia, such as Sydney's red light district area King's Cross.

The Sydney Morning Herald is also running a poll X rated films should they be legal? AdultShop.com encourage you to cast your vote and send a strong message to the government and OFLC who are responsible for the classification and consequently distribution of X18+ films.

After 4273 votes the poll was showing 83% in favour of X18+ being legal to sell

From The Sydney Morning Herald

Magistrates, politicians and police are regular buyers of X-rated films even though it's illegal to sell them, complains Australia's erotic industry body.

The Eros Association today called on both sides of NSW politics to show consistency in regulating X-rated material, saying it was a criminal offence to sell the films but legal to buy and own them.

The association's chief executive Fiona Patten, said there was "massive confusion" over the issue, which was highlighted this week by raids on seven Kings Cross adult shops.

Police yesterday said they had in effect shut almost all of the sex shops in the red-light district after raiding the stores searching for child pornography and other X-rated material.

However, Patten said officers were arresting adult shop owners one day and buying films for themselves the following week: There is nothing illegal in police officers buying X18+ rated films from adult shops and taking them home. Magistrates and even politicians are regular clients at many Sydney adult shops.

Feminists protest against BBC's The Verdict

Based on an article from Indy Media

There was a protest against the BBC programme, The Verdict,  at BBC TV Centre, White City on Sunday 11th February 2007

Representatives from the London Feminist Network and Justice For Women protested The Verdict,  a staged rape trial with a celebrity jury, real legal personnel and actors for claimant and defendants.

The organisers said: We asked the BBC to withdraw The Verdict but they have chosen to go ahead and further trivialise the trauma that rape victims undergo. For victims of rape, justice is very rare indeed and the conviction rate continues to fall.

We asked to see the producer of The Verdict and a representative of the BBC came to speak with us. We formally lodged a complaint in person and again asked the BBC to withdraw The Verdict.

As to whether the programme did trvialise rape, here's on opinion from The Guardian see full review

The programme was often good; often, dare I say, valuable viewing, apart from the grimly inexcusable way in which the camera lingered on the (unblinking, honest, thoughtful) face of Sara Payne during graphic sexual testimony. Thanks: we'd got the link. But far from exploiting or demeaning the idea of rape, it gave a timely and necessary lesson, to those who could sit through the anguished details and the well-acted tears, of the opacity which surrounds the reporting and prosecution of rape in this country, and the vagaries, ill and necessary, of the jury system. Hardly anyone, for instance, could have been left unaware, after this week's staging, of the staggeringly small number of reported rape cases which result in convictions. 6%,  nor, as crucially, of the guts and support needed to even make that report in the first place.

Nor could viewers have been left untouched by the anguish of this jury, even this staged jury, grappling with the burden of proof: tearful, exhausted, fraught by the end, reluctantly going for 'not guilty' despite strong instinct. Patsy Palmer, Jennifer Ellison and Honor Blackman looked shell-shocked by the end, torn by the thought they might come down on the side of the wrong - well, yes, actors, but you had begun to forget that, a little. Along the way we got some great slices of real real life: the nosy, dozy usher; the gossipy clerk; the barristers still awarding themselves, 40 years away from the desk at the front of the class, points for cleverness; a peppery old ex-judge, wise beyond his 194 years, a lifetime spent grappling with the same dichotomies filling the jury room with sound and fury.

Texas nutters eye adult industry for extra revenue

Based on an article from X Biz

Two Texas lawmakers have introduced separate pieces of legislation that would tax adult-oriented businesses in order to raise funds supposedly for victims of sex crimes.

A bill drafted by Rep. Ellen Cohen would add a $5 cover charge to all strip clubs throughout the state. If passed, Cohen’s bill would raise approximately $40 million in revenue per year for the state. However, the state Legislature would have the right to spend as it sees fit any amount raised in excess of $12 million.

A similar bill proposed by Sen. Royce West would put the onus on the businesses. His bill would call for a $5,000 annual registration fee for any adult-oriented business. West said the opening of an adult mega-store near his office inspired his bill. His bill also would require adult businesses to notify local officials of their intent to open a store or club at least 60 days prior to arriving in a community. West said he also was considering an additional sales tax to items sold or rented at adult video stores.

Both bills call for the projected revenue streams to go toward state-sponsored anti-sex-crime initiatives.

According to adult entertainment industry leaders in Texas, attempts by lawmakers to link sex crimes with sexually oriented businesses is unfair. To say there’s a link between sexual assault and gentlemen's clubs is ludicrous, said Angelina Spencer, the executive director for the Association of Club Executives. These taxes are a ruse to burden the club owner because somebody finds the business morally reprehensible. There is no evidence that links an increase in sexual assaults among women to adult entertainment clubs.

   
Criminalising porn viewing in Utah schools advances

From Desert News

Utah Youngsters who look at pornography on a school computer or bring pornography to school could be charged with a class B misdemeanor under a bill, HB100, passed by the House on Thursday.

Republican Representative Bud Bowman said Porn in schools is not a major problem now, but it is in society where minors and adults alike can easily find nude pictures of men and women on the Internet.

Bowman said he doesn't see school officials expelling or suspending a teenager for looking at porn once or twice on a school computer. But for those cases where it happens time and again, police and juvenile authorities want the option of charging the teen.

An adult who deals in porn in a public school can be charged with a class A misdemeanor under HB100, which now goes to the Senate. A class B misdemeanor carries a $1,000 fine and zero to six months in jail. A class A is a $2,500 fine and up to one year in jail.

   
Puerile police action over jokey Valentines cards

From The Sun

A florist was ticked off by 5 cops for having the words ‘Willy’ and ‘Fanny’ in his Valentine’s window display.

Mark Nicholas had cards saying Willy 4 Fanny and Who will you give one to this Valentine’s?

But four officers told him to take them down after complaints — and a fifth went to his home to issue a warning. Mark of Hayle, Cornwall, said: It seems ridiculous.

Police said: The words were not appropriate.

Nutters prepare for Life of Brian musical

Based on an article from ic Wales

Christian nutters in Wales have reacted angrily to plans to turn Monty Python's Life of Brian into a musical.

It is nearly 30 years since the Monty Python film, satirising the life of a man mistaken for Jesus, provoked condemnation from church and chapel congregations around the world who claimed it was blasphemous. A ban on screening it in Swansea cinemas stood for 17 years and was only lifted in 1997.

But yesterday campaigners vowed to hold fresh protests should the proposed new musical ever be staged in Wales or the UK.

Their ire came as it emerged founding Monty Python member Eric Idle has written a "comic oratorio" called Not The Messiah (He's A Very Naughty Boy), which will premiere in Toronto in June.

Stephen Green, Carmarthenshire-based head of nutter group Christian Voice, last night vowed to keep Not the Messiah out of the UK. Green, who led mass protests against Jerry Springer: The Opera, said, We would certainly be opposing such a blasphemous and scurrilous piece of work. With it being loosely hung around Handel's masterwork, it has got to be offensive to anyone who values music as means of expressing great ideas. If he brings that to Britain or Wales he can expect protests. He might not even get it off the ground here because we've been forearmed.

Richard Lewis, an independent councillor serving the Gower area, was one of those who voted to impose the ban back in February 1980. He said recently: We were right as a city council to ban Life of Brian. My views have hardened very much. I feel this latest musical is part of a continual drip feed of knocking religion and Christianity

After threats linked to death of Hrant Dink

From The Telegraph

The Turkish novelist and Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk is living in exile in the United States and is believed to be in fear for his life.

Amid a climate of intimidation that has seen the prosecution and even murder of dissident intellectuals throwing into doubt Turkey's aspiration to the join the European Union, Pamuk, who is living in New York, is said to have told friends he has set no deadline for his return. Instead, according to the prominent Istanbul columnist Fatih Altayli, the writer has quietly gone into exile.

Following the murder of an ethnic Armenian journalist, Hrant Dink, last month, Pamuk expressed fears for his own safety. The writer enraged Turkish nationalists by acknowledging that under the Ottoman empire Turks had triggered the genocide of one million Armenians nearly a century ago.

During the 1990s, Pamuk, whose novels includes Cevdet Bey and His Sons and The Black Book, began to write candidly about human rights issues and free speech in Turkey. The country's authorities vociferously campaign against any suggestion that the state has inherited responsibility for the unacknowledged massacre of Armenians.

In an interview with a Swiss newspaper last year, Pamuk said: One million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds were killed in these lands but no one but me dares talk about it.

Two weeks ago, Pamuk abruptly cancelled a speaking tour of Germany, fearing that his engagements would expose him to hostile elements within the diaspora. Yasin Hayal, a nationalist charged with incitement to murder Dink, made what appeared to be a threat against Pamuk. He said: Orhan Pamuk be careful.

In meetings with Western leaders, Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister, has moved to address concerns that the law granted a veneer of legitimacy to the shadowy figures who were threatening its liberal intellectuals. He has promised reforms of an ambiguous law that allows nationalists to demand punishment for those they accuse of insulting the Turkish nation.

Gul admitted that Turkey's standing had been damaged by Dink's murder and the threat to Pamuk.

   
Pupils rally to support teacher

Based on an article from This Is Lancashire

Pupils and tutors have leapt to the defence the teacher under investigation after complaints about her supposedly "lurid" gothic vampire websites.

Support for teacher Samantha Goldstone of St Christopher's CE High School came as it emerged her debut vampire novel was in a good book guide alongside horror legend Stephen King.

As revealed in Saturday's paper, the English and drama teacher has agreed to stay away from the church school she has taught at for three years while the complaints are investigated.

Investigations centre on the part-time gothic fiction writer's personal websites and others that promote gothic literature written under her pen name Paigan Stone which she says contains adult content with vampire eroticism, violence and blood lust.

Following complaints from parents, headteacher Alasdair Coates has launched the investigation.
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But more than 60 messages have been posted on the Telegraph's website - many from past and present pupils and teachers supporting her.

One former pupil from Burnley writes: As a past pupil of Samantha Goldstone's I feel that the way she is being treated is appalling. She was a great teacher and has helped many pupils in their English and Drama work. What she does in her personal life should not affect her role as a teacher.

And a teacher writes: Mrs Goldstone may have been a touch naive by posting her picture on her website but what on earth has she done wrong?.

Another posted by a pupil named as "Laura" states: I'm one of Mrs Goldstone's drama pupils and she is the best thing that has happened to this school.

But not everyone is as sympathetic, one message reads: Do you think it is right for pupils ages 11-16 to see their teacher like this? St Christopher's is a respected school, and I don't think they should have teachers who do things like this.

   
Russell Brand winds up the nutters

From the BBC

Brits host Russell Brand has triggered  hundreds of complaints with jokes about the Queen and the Iraq war.

ITV1 had received around 300 complaints by Thursday morning, while broadcasting watchdog Ofcom logged a further 135. Ofcom said most of the calls concerned the tone of the jokes made during the ceremony, which was shown live for the first time in 17 years.

Broadcaster ITV defended Brand, calling him an edgy host for an edgy event, but apologised for any offence caused.

The presenter opened the show by poking fun at singer Robbie Williams, who is currently being treated in a rehab clinic for addiction to prescription drugs. Pointing at a padlock that formed part of the set, Brand said it was "Robbie Williams' medicine cabinet".

Announcing the international breakthrough artist award, Brand commented: I think a good international breakthrough would be if the British and American soldiers tell each other where they are standing.

ITV1 said that swearing was bleeped out before the watershed and the broadcaster said the complaints were about Brand rather than any bad language.

   
Lost in Beijing to be shown uncut

From EUX.TV

An uncensored version of one of China's entries in this year's Berlin Film Festival is to be shown at the Berlinale without the cuts that had been demanded by the authorities, festival officials said Thursday.

A Berlinale spokeswoman said that, because of technical and logistic reasons, it was not possible to screen the altered version of Lost in Beijing from 34-year-old Chinese director Li Yu.

The festival spokeswoman went on to say that the Berlinale was not expecting any incidents at Friday's showing of Lost in Beijing, which was one of two films from China entered in the festival's main competition.

The censors in Beijing have been very sensitive to films portraying contemporary life or movies that in some way touch on politically charged issues such as Tiananmen Square where the Chinese authorities launched a major crackdown of pro-democracy demonstrations in 1989.

We cut all the scenes of Tiananmen Square, the national flag, and we also cut scenes of dirty streets, Lost in Beijing producer, Fang Li, said.

Nutters complain about Times Online advert

Based on an article from The Guardian

An ad for the new Times Online website featuring a woman in a bra with money stuffed into her cleavage could be investigated by the advertising watchdog after a member of the public complained. The ad is accompanied by a quote from Top Gear presenter and Sunday Times columnist Jeremy Clarkson: Money and rumpy-pumpy are the twin engines powering everything we do. The twin engines allude to "news plus views".

The nutter said the poster ad, which is part of a campaign to promote last week's launch of the new-look Times Online, was irresponsible and should not be shown where it can be seen by children.

The Advertising Standards Authority is considering whether to launch an investigation into the campaign, on the grounds that it could be in breach of the advertising code for taste and decenc

Japanese government wound up by biography about princess

From The Telegraph

Japan's extreme sensitivity over its royal family was laid bare when it reacted furiously to an unauthorised biography of its most famous princess.

Lodging a formal protest with the government of the author's native Australia, the Tokyo government described the account of the life of Princess Masako as "disrespectful and distorted" and demanded an ap