and Government spin

From The Times see full article

New rules to prevent the publication of politically damaging memoirs by former politicians and civil servants will not be in force until after Alastair Campbell’s diaries are released, The Times has learnt.

The Government was due to announce restrictions on the publication of memoirs, diaries and biographies that may cause damage to the confidential relationships between ministers last September.

The move was in response to the controversial memoir by Sir Christopher Meyer, which called ministers who visited the US “political pygmies” and quoted John Prescott talking about war in the “Balklands” and “Kovosa”.

But the proposals have failed to materialise, despite a promise from Sir Gus O’Donnell, the head of the Civil Service, in February that they would be released “within a week or two”.

The delay has outraged opposition politicians, who suspect that Tony Blair is personally delaying their introduction to allow Campbell’s diaries maximum room for manoeuvre.

The Cabinet Office denied last night that the delay was connected to the Campbell diaries.

The new guidelines would restrict authors from publishing anything that may cause damage to international relations, may cause damage to national security and may cause damage to the confidential relationships between ministers, and between ministers and civil servants, or which would inhibit the free and frank exchange of view and advice within government.

Mysterious disappearance of freedom of speech during police interrogation

From Tamil Star see full article

Kelvikuri was completed in 17 days and went to the Censor Board. The problems started then. On the premise that the film depicted the police force in poor light, the Censor asked 2 police officers to see the film. When they police officers said they were horrified at the depiction of the police in the film, the Censor Board refused to give the clearance certificate.

What is so terrible in Kelvikuri for such strict action?

Simple! The hero's wife is taken by police for interrogation. There she dies under mysterious circumstances and no satisfactory explanation is given. The angry hero barges into the police commissioner's house and makes hostages of the inmates. He then invites the police officers one by one and takes revenge on them.

People under interrogation missing from police stations, committing suicide by hanging, people dying under mysterious circumstances are all everyday happenings in India. People protesting for justice against such actions of police are also common.

Whatever happened to freedom of speech?

   
Ruddock to publish paper discussing extension of censorship

From The Age see full article

Books, DVDs, computer games and internet sites supporting terrorist acts will be the targets of tough new censorship proposals released by the Federal Government this week.

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock will release a discussion paper outlining plans to expand the definition of material that can be banned in Australia.

The proposed bans would include changes to customs legislation to prevent material entering Australia, and tighter film and literature classifications.

A leaked copy of the discussion paper showed any material that encouraged someone to commit a terrorist act would be banned.

It said a lot of material might be controversial but that was not enough for it to be banned, and said the new guidelines would not cover "hate material".

Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls warned that any changes must be needed to maintain "fundamental freedoms", and material should not be banned if it simply "expressed different points of view".

The discussion paper said there were community concerns about the public availability of material that advocates people commit terrorist acts, and it was not certain the national classification scheme adequately blocked material.

The proposal would amend the National Classification Code to include the requirement that publications, films and computer games that "advocate terrorist acts" be refused classification.

"Advocate" is defined as material that counsels or urges doing a terrorist act, provides instruction on doing a terrorist act or directly praises a terrorist act, where there is a risk such praise could encourage someone to commit a terrorist act.

Patriotic movies or games that glorify war will be specifically excluded from tough new anti-terrorism censorship laws.

The discussion paper said "patriotic battle movies" were unlikely to advocate terrorist acts. But impressionable people needed to be protected from material that encourages people to carry out acts of terrorism through techniques such as praising terrorist acts or issuing calls for action based on ideological or religious duty.

Iran to filter 'immoral' mobile phone messages

From Gulf Times see full article

Iran’s telecommunications ministry will start filtering “immoral” video and audio messages sent via mobile phones.

The Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution has instructed the ministry to buy the equipment needed to prevent any misuse of Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS).

It did not give details of the techniques it would use to filter such messages, when it would start or how it would define “immoral” messages

Contributing to the hype for God of War II

Based on an article from the Daily Mail see full article

Electronics giant Sony has sparked a row over animal cruelty and the ethics of the computer industry by using a freshly slaughtered goat to promote a video game.

The corpse of the decapitated animal was the centrepiece of a party to celebrate the launch of the God Of War II game for the company’s PlayStation 2 console.

Images of the party have appeared in the company’s official PlayStation magazine – but after being contacted by The Mail on Sunday, Sony issued an apology for the gruesome stunt and promised to recall the entire print run.

At the event, guests competed to see who could eat the most offal – procured elsewhere and intended to resemble the goat’s intestines – from its stomach. They also threw knives at targets and pulled live snakes from a pit with their bare hands.

Topless girls added to the louche atmosphere by dipping grapes into guests’ mouths, while a male model portraying Kratos, the game’s warrior hero, handed out garlands.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare said it was "outrageous" that the animal’s death had been used "to sell a few computer games". A spokesman said: We are always opposed to any senseless killing of an animal and this sounds like a gruesome death. We condemn Sony’s actions. It is stupid and completely unjustified.

The party features across two pages of the latest edition of the company’s PlayStation magazine, which was due to hit newsstands on Tuesday but has already been sent to subscribers.

The article, based on a Sony Press release, shows more vivid pictures from the event under headlines such as Topless Girls! and Flesh Eating? It asks readers how far they would go to get hold of Sony’s next-generation console, the PlayStation 3.

How about eating still warm intestines uncoiled from the carcass of a freshly slaughtered goat? At the party to celebrate God Of War II’s European release, members of the Press were invited to do just that . . .

In God Of War II players follow Kratos into battle against a series of fearsome characters from Greek mythology. Sony describes it as an adult-rated, fast-paced bloodbath – and enormous fun to boot. Bigger, better and as brutal as ever.

Former Minister Keith Vaz, Labour MP for Leicester East and a long-time campaigner against violent computer games, branded the stunt "distasteful and irresponsible: The slaughter of animals is not something that should be done to advertise a product. Sony as a global entertainment company has a social responsibility. At this event it failed in that responsibility. I think people should think very carefully before bringing games like this into their homes. I would understand if customers wanted to boycott other Sony products such as their televisions because of this controversy."

The company, which released the game in the UK on Friday, admitted that the stunt had been a mistake. In a statement it said: Sony does not condone or sanction any inappropriate behaviour by its staff or sub-contracted staff. It has come to our attention that at the God Of War II launch showcase, an element of the event was of an unsuitable nature. We are conducting an internal inquiry into aspects of the event in order to learn from the occurrence and put into place measures to ensure that this does not happen again.

The Sony spokesman said the animal had not been slaughtered for the event but had been bought from a local butcher by the Greek company hired to stage the event.

   
Selling Whatawhoppers about Australia's new censor

From The Age see full article

Prime Minister John Howard says he was not involved in the appointment of his close friend Donald McDonald as the new national censor.

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock appointed the former chairman of the ABC as national censor, despite criticism from the states that proper selection procedures had not been followed.

Howard said he supported the attorney-general's decision but did not have anything to do with the appointment: I, in fact, absented myself from the cabinet room when the appointment was discussed.

Howard said Mr McDonald was the right person for the job, regardless of their friendship.

McDonald, 68, will take up his four-year appointment on Tuesday 1 May. His previous positions include Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 1996 to 2006, Chief Executive of Opera Australia from 1987 to 1996 and General Manager of the Sydney Theatre Company from 1980 to 1986.

Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls lashed out at the Federal Government yesterday, describing Mr McDonald's appointment as "an absolute disgrace".

"The process and appointment of Mr McDonald stinks to high heaven and it shows that the Federal Government and the Attorney-General no longer even pretend to engage in a proper process," he said.

   
Christian Voice blasphemy prosecution of Jerry Springer: The Opera continues

From Ekklesia see full article

The High Court has allowed a legal challenge by activist Stephen Green to a magistrate's decision not to issue a private prosecution for blasphemy over Jerry Springer the Opera.

Mr Justice Underhill has granted a judicial review of the ruling of District Judge Caroline Tubbs not to issue a summons on the application of the head of a small group, Christian Voice, which made big media waves when the BBC and others mistakenly thought it had galvanised 50,000 protestors against the Jerry Springer show.

Both religious and non-religious groups opposed to the UK’s blasphemy law, which protects an Anglican version of Christianity from insult due to the establishment of the Church of England under the Crown, believe that, contrary to Mr Green’s designs, his case may finally help to bury the archaic legislation.

Stephen Green made a case in January 2007 against both the Director General of the BBC, Mark Thompson, a Christian himself, who allowed Jerry Springer the Opera to be screened on BBC2, and the show's producer, Jonathan Thoday, who staged it at the Cambridge Theatre in London's West End and then in a nation-wide tour.

But sitting at Horseferry Road Magistrates' Court, the District Judge refused to allow the summons to be issued.

The judicial review will proceed to a full hearing. However, Mr Justice Underhill was careful not to prejudge either the hearing or any ultimate prosecution.

He declared: I should in the circumstances of this case emphasise that I am saying no more than that the challenge to the District Judge's decision was arguable. That does not necessarily mean that it will succeed; still less that any eventually prosecution would succeed.

Legal observers suggest that the case might have been accepted to test a wider issue about private prosecutions in such cases, rather than because of the merits of Mr Green’s claims. The High Court will give a date for the judicial review hearing in a couple of weeks, but it could still be a long time in coming.

   
Jack Valenti bows out

From INS News

Jack Valenti, a colorful former White House aide who became Hollywood's top lobbyist in Washington for four decades and created the modern movie rating system, died Thursday.

Valenti, who was 85 died of complications from the stroke at his Washington, D.C., home.

Dan Glickman, a former congressman from Kansas who succeeded Valenti as head of the MPAA after his retirement in 2004, called Valenti a giant who loomed large over two of the world's most glittering stages: Washington and Hollywood.

President Bush said Valenti helped transform the motion picture industry. He leaves a powerful legacy in Washington, in Hollywood, and across our nation.

Valenti's introduction of a national movie ratings system in 1968 -- G, PG, R and X -- helped stave off calls for government censorship while allowing filmmakers and studios freedom to embrace complex and mature themes.

PG-13 was added in the mid-1980s in response to gruesome elements of otherwise kid-friendly movies such as Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. X, which had largely become linked to hard-core pornographic films, became NC-17 (no one under 17 admitted) in the 1990s.

   
and the censors are 'idiotic'

From the BBC see full article

Other councils are now understood to have followed Bristol's lead to overrule film censors and allow under-18s to see the new Shane Meadows film This Is England.

The BBFC had given the film an 18 certificate because it contained a scene of racist violence.

Although local authorities have the power to set their own classifications, this is only done on rare occasions.

A Bristol councillor who sat on the committee which imposed a 15 certificate called the BBFC's 18 verdict was "idiotic". Councillor Ron Stone said: It was a unanimous decision of the committee that there was nothing we saw in the film which was any worse than you would see probably on Channel 4 or one of the main TV channels at peak-time viewing.

We felt it was idiotic that what is basically a very good film and very well made, on a difficult but social issue, should be prevented from being seen by the audience it was targeted at. I think the censors actually are wrong in giving it an 18 certificate.

The film stars newcomer Thomas Turgoose as a lonely schoolboy whose soldier father was killed in the Falklands War. He is taken under the wing of an older gang which is true to the original skinhead movement, influenced by the ska and reggae movements. But the gang falls under the influence of a National Front supporter recently released from prison, and the film climaxes in a race attack.

Other councils across the UK are now understood to be following Bristol's lead include the local authority in Grimsby, Turgoose's home town.

The BBFC said it was a "borderline" 15/18 rated film but had been given the higher classification because of the race attack scene and its accompanying language.

What we are concerned about is young people seeing this in a context where they are not in a position to discuss the issues, and where it may come across as more attractive than offensive, said a spokeswoman. It is not a common occurrence for local authorities to set their own classifications, but they are certainly within their rights to do so.

Religious broadcasting tends to focus on the out of the ordinary... [...like resurrection, virgin birth, heaven, hell, miracles...]

Love your neighbour unless he's gay

From the Daily Mail see full article

The BBC is to relay a 'gay Mass' from San Francisco this Sunday, the first time such a service has been broadcast.

The 50-minute Mass at the Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in the predominantly gay Castro district of the city will feature prayers and readings tailored for the gay community.

The church has been described as an "inspiration" to gay and lesbian Christians around the world because of its ministry to homosexuals. But it has also infuriated many Catholics in the U.S. who have complained about such activities as transvestite bingo nights during which sex toys and pornographic DVDs were handed out as prizes.

John Beyer of Mediawatch UK, said he thought it was a mistake to broadcast the service: Religious broadcasting, apart from Songs of Praise, tends to focus on the out-of-the-ordinary and having this particular service I think will cause offence to people who feel that such practices are wrong and are taught as such in holy scripture: The BBC really ought to be focusing on mainstream services which are more in keeping with the public service requirement that it has.

However, Father Donal Godfrey, the U.S. Jesuit priest celebrating the Mass, said he was delighted the BBC was exploring how gay people fit into the perspective of the Christian narrative: Being gay is not special. It's simply another gift from God who created us as rainbow people."

The recording will go out at 8.10am on the BBC Radio 4 Sunday Worship programme.

Comment: Beyer Going to Hell?

Dan writes to John Beyer

Dear Mr Beyer,

Just read your views on the BBC showing a "gay mass".

You say this will offend people who think homosexuality is wrong. But should religious broadcasting only take one view (that's it's wrong) on homosexuality?

You also say that the BBC should stick to the mainstream and honour it's public service requirement. Does that public requirement mean only appealing to Christians who think that being gay means going to Hell?

   
Distributor interest massacred

From The Times see full article

Two Hollywood productions face being shelved indefinitely because their stories echo last week’s massacre on a university campus.

Distributors are refusing to touch the films Dark Matter, starring Meryl Streep, which is about an alienated Asian student who shoots fellow students and professors, or The Killer Within, about an American student who goes on a similar rampage.

One British distributor, who declined to be named, said: These films are too close to the knuckle.

Pam Rodi, an executive at Myriad Pictures, which produced Dark Matter, said: We still believe in the movie and the story that it's telling. Hopefully a film like Dark Matter gets inside the mind of someone with these kinds of issues without glorifying them.

The films’ makers will be hoping to stimulate interest by promoting it at the Cannes Film Festival next month.

Depicting censorship, revisionism and aboriginal political correctness

From Globe & Mail see full article

Murals in the rotunda of the British Columbia Legislature depicting native women as bare breasted and native men as subservient will be taken down more than 70 years after they were painted.

After a debate that touched on censorship, historical revisionism and government policies on aboriginal affairs, Liberals and New Democrats joined together to vote overwhelmingly in favour of correcting what they described as a grievous wrong. Only three of 71 legislators voted against a motion to endorse a proposal to bring down the murals.

Premier Gordon Campbell said shortly before the vote in the legislature. The decision to take down the murals sends a clear and unequivocal message that the contributions of aboriginals are valued.

Aboriginal leaders have being pressing to have the murals removed for decades, calling them offensive, demeaning and historically inaccurate. They have said that aboriginal women did not go topless in front of the European settlers. They also objected to the subservient manner of the chief before the judge.

   
Bill introduced to tax porn sales

From X Biz see full article

A California Assembly bill introduced by Assemblyman Charles Calderon, D-Whittier, is seeking to tax the sale, storage, use, or other consumption of adult materials, the percentage of which has yet to be determined.

Assembly Bill 1551 would levy a tax on adult products and on adult bookstores’ gross receipts from the retail sale of adult materials in an effort to combat supposed secondary effects. The bill alleges that the presence of brick-and-mortar adult retailers have negative effects on the community.

Funds from the tax would go to four places: local law enforcement to combat criminal activity in the vicinity of adult stores; programs to address decreased property values resulting in losses in property tax; provision of funding to address increased educational costs and funding to address related health issues including disease transmission and mental health treatment.

According to FSC attorneys, this bill is fraught with constitutional problems, said Matt Gray, FSC’s California lobbyist: and unfairly singles out the industry, while falsely promoting myths about adult entertainment.

   
Timed to exploit a Virginia Technicality?

Based on an article from the Washington Post see full article

Federal regulators, supposedly concerned about the effect of television violence on children, will recommend that Congress enact legislation to give the government unprecedented powers to curb violence in entertainment programming.

The Federal Communications Commission has concluded that regulating TV violence is in the public interest, particularly during times when children are likely to be viewers -- typically between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

The agency's recommendations -- which will be released in a report to Congress within the next week, agency officials say -- could set up a legal battle between Washington and the television industry.

For decades, the FCC has penalized over-the-air broadcasters for airing sexually suggestive, or "indecent," speech and images, but it has never had the authority to fine TV stations and networks for violent programming.

The report commissioned by members of Congress in 2004 concludes that Congress has the authority to regulate "excessive violence" and to extend its reach for the first time into basic-cable TV channels that consumers pay to receive.

First Amendment experts and television industry executives, however, say that any attempt to regulate TV violence faces high constitutional hurdles, particularly regarding cable, because consumers choose to buy its programming.

Further, any laws governing TV violence would have to define what violence is. The FCC report contains broad guidelines but leaves the details up to Congress.

Parents are always the first and last line of defense in protecting their children, but legislation could give parents more tools, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said yesterday regarding the report. I think it would be better if the industry addressed this on its own, but we can also give parents" help through regulation.

The FCC's conclusions probably will form the basis of legislation being drafted by Sen. Jay Rockefeller who is a Commerce Committee member.

The FCC is finishing its recommendations amid heightened sensitivity to the issue, given the round-the-clock TV news coverage of the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech.

Call for DVD ban on challenge to greenhouse theory

When did scientific fact become a reason for censorship? Perhaps these people should call for the banning of all religious works too on the grounds of misleading nonsense.

From The Guardian see full article

Dozens of climate scientists are trying to block the 7th May DVD release of a controversial Channel 4 programme that claimed global warming is nothing to do with human greenhouse gas emissions.

Sir John Houghton, former head of the Met Office, and Bob May, former president of the Royal Society, are among 37 experts who have called for the DVD to be heavily edited or removed from sale. The film, the Great Global Warming Swindle, was first shown on March 8, and was criticised by scientists as distorted and misleading.

In an open letter to Martin Durkin, head of Wag TV, the independent production company that made the film, the scientists say: We believe that the misrepresentation of facts and views, both of which occur in your programme, are so serious that repeat broadcasts of the programme, without amendment, are not in the public interest ... In fact, so serious and fundamental are the misrepresentations that the distribution of the DVD of the programme without their removal amounts to nothing more than an exercise in misleading the public.

The programme featured scientists known as climate sceptics. It argued that mainstream researchers ignore evidence that counters the consensus that most recent warming is down to human activity. It said there were problems with the computer models that predict future climate change and that solar activity, not greenhouse gas emissions, is to blame for recent warming. Wag TV called the programme a "definitive response to Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth". Scientists complained that the programme makers distorted evidence, and made elementary mistakes such as claiming that volcanoes produce more carbon dioxide than human activities, when in fact they produce less than 2% of that caused by the burning of fossil fuels.

Ofcom said it had received 246 complaints, and was investigating. The letter was coordinated by Bob Ward, a former press officer with the Royal Society. He said: This isn't about censorship, it's a question of quality control. We have no objection to the DVD being distributed if all the errors are corrected, but if they correct all the errors then the whole premise of the program will fall to pieces.

   
Record industry executive suggests voluntary restrictions

From The Sydney Morning Herald see full article

Hip-hop executive Russell Simmons recommended eliminating the words "bitch," "ho" and "nigger" from the recording industry, considering them "extreme curse words."

The call comes less than two weeks after radio personality Don Imus' nationally syndicated and televised radio show was cancelled amid public outcry over Imus calling a women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos."

Simmons, co-founder of the Def Jam label and a driving force behind hip-hop's huge commercial success, called for voluntary restrictions on the words and setting up an industry watchdog to recommend guidelines for lyrical and visual standards.

We recommend that the recording and broadcast industries voluntarily remove/bleep/delete the misogynistic words 'bitch' and 'ho' and the racially offensive word 'nigger', Simmons said in a statement.

Yet Another Chinese Internet clean up

From AVN see full article

Chinese President Hu Jintao on Monday launched a campaign to rid the country's Internet of "unhealthy" content and make it a springboard for Communist Party doctrine, according to state television report.

With Hu presiding, the Communist Party Politburo—its 24-member inner council—discussed cleaning up the Internet, and during the meeting Hu promised to place the oft-unruly medium more firmly under propaganda controls.

Development and administration of Internet culture must stick to the direction of socialist-advanced culture, adhere to correct propaganda guidance, according to a summary of the meeting read on the news broadcast: Internet cultural units must conscientiously take on the responsibility of encouraging development of a system of core socialist values.

   
Soaps reach the limit of acceptability

From the Daily Mail see full article

Media watchdog Ofcom said violence in programmes such as Coronation Street and EastEnders - both shown before the watershed, at a time when children are likely to be watching - has reached the 'limit of acceptability'.

The move was prompted by four episodes of Emmerdale, broadcast last September, which showed a woman being shot in the chest.

The regulator said: Ofcom recognises that these programmes are aimed at an adult audience and that, to reflect real life, producers will include challenging material.

However, given that these programmes are generally transmitted some time before the 9pm watershed, such content must be treated with particular and due care.

ITV, which said the shooting episode had been one of the most popular in Emmerdale's history, apologised for having caused offence. But it defended its decision to run the storyline, saying: While our stories do not condone violent acts, it need not and should not shy away from them.

Censored Star Trek episode eventually to air in Ireland

From SyFy see full article

The 17 year old episode, The High Ground from Star Trek: The Next Generation never aired in Ireland. Was it censorship? Or was it an effort to keep the peace?

The beef the government and critics have had against the episode is a simple line Data speaks in the episode that says Ireland won't unite until 2024, and only then because the terrorists in that region would be successful. Ireland spent years with constant infighting, and in 1990, didn't seem to have any end in sight.

But peace was achieved in Ireland well before 2024, with those fighting putting down their guns, and with "unionism" taking root in the country.

Ireland wasn't the only country that never had a chance to witness The High Ground on state TV. None of the United Kingdom has seen the episode where Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) is taken hostage by a terrorist organization that feels violence is the only way they're going to be heard.

Mediawatch-UK invite MPs to 'Conference'

Based on an article from the BBC see full article
See TV: The Cause of All Evils for more on Aric Sigman's views of TV

Mediawatch-UK have organised a conference called Children and Media. It will be held at the House of Commons and target MPs

One of the speakers will by Dr Aric Sigman who will call for TV rationing for children and that the TV should be banned from their bedrooms. He also argues that children under three should watch no TV.

Thailand to introduce film ratings

From Monsters & Critics

Thailand's ministry of culture has drafted a new Thai Film Act to be submitted to national legislators in an effort to update the kingdom's currently archaic censorship system.

It's now ready for the NLA (National Legislative Assembly), senior ministry official Ladda Tangsuphachitold The Nation newspaper. The major change is that it will introduce a film-rating system.

The Thai film industry has been petitioning governments for decades to amend the current Thai Film Act that was promulgated in 1930.

Under existing legislation, Thai and foreign films are subject to appraisals by a strict censorship board, dominated by senior police officers, that have a reputation for cutting out all explicit sex scenes and anything deemed offensive to the national religion, Buddhism, or themes thought politically sensitive.

The industry has been lobbying to have the current censorship system replaced by film ratings, such as 'R' for films restricted to adults.

The debate over film censorship became a news items last week when the award-winning Thai film Saeng Sattawat (Syndromes and a Century) missed its local debut in Thai theatres on Thursday because Thailand's board of censors insisted on cutting several 'sensitive' scenes.

   
Chinese book censor faces the axe

From Javno See full article

China's chief censor is likely to lose his job amid criticism over a ban on books that has highlighted the country's strict media controls.

The South China Morning Post said Long Xinmin, director of the General Administration of Press and Publication, would soon be demoted to a deputy director of the Central Party Literature Research Centre.

One source told the paper it might be due to Long's handling of the January ban of eight books examining sensitive events in China's recent Chinese history, such as a book about long-dead Peking Opera stars written by Zhang Yihe.

While banning of books, magazines and newspaper has long been common in one-party China, the censorship office has come under intense international and domestic criticism since Long took up his job 15 months ago.

The South China Morning Post said Zhang applied to a Beijing court on Wednesday to overturn the ban on her book on the high-pitched matters of traditional opera.

   
Recommended censor unsuitable for governmental guidance

From The Age see full article

A close friend of Prime Minister John Howard will get the job as Australia's chief censor at the expense of a recommended candidate.

The appointment will go to Donald McDonald, the former ABC chairman, who has never hidden his friendship with Howard. He will become director of Australia's reformed classification board despite a selection panel's recommendation of another candidate, who has not been named.

Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock, who made the appointment, was adamant yesterday that the Prime Minister had nothing to do with his friend winning the job.

But the move angered state attorneys-general meeting in Canberra, with Victoria's Rob Hulls saying it was a case of "jobs for the boys". The meeting of attorneys-general also decided to delay talks on Ruddock's plan for tough new laws on racial incitement until their next meeting in July.

Critics have linked the appointment to the Government's desire to take a firmer stance against literature that incites or instructs terrorism.

Ruddock refused to identify candidates for the position but in a letter to state attorneys-general he said: The selection committee made a recommendation to me for the director of the classification board. However, having considered the recommendation, I believe that Mr Donald McDonald, AC, would be a better candidate.

He wrote that McDonald had the skills to handle work that can be controversial and attract significant media attention", and his appointment would ensure the board remained "broadly representative of the Australian community.

The Office of Film and Literature Classification has recently been absorbed into the federal Attorney-General's office after being an independent body since its inception in 1995.

   
Shell reclassifies Penthouse & Playboy as sophisticates

Based on an article from World Net Daily see full article

Shell Oil Co. has determined Playboy and Penthouse no longer are pornography, but instead are "adult sophisticates," according to a company statement.

The issue arose when nutters of the Florida Family Association contacted Shell about the sale of such magazines at convenience stores owned by Circle K in southeastern parts of the United States.

David Caton, executive director of the pro-family organization, said his group asked Shell to require Shell-branded Circle K Stores to stop selling the pornography, as it has done in the past with other retailers: However, Shell Oil Company has decided instead to change their definition of pornography, unlike all other major oil companies, to exclude Penthouse and Playboy magazines which are sold by Circle K Stores.

The confirmation came in an e-mail from Otto O. Meyers III, a Shell executive, who told the Florida Family Association those stores selling Penthouse are not selling pornography: In regard to your inquiry about specific Circle K locations, our investigation has concluded that these stores are not selling pornography as one would think the general public defines it, but rather 'adult sophisticate' magazines such as Playboy and Penthouse.

BA ridiculed over censorship of Richard Branson cameo

From The Telegraph see full article

Richard Branson, the Virgin Atlantic chairman, who makes a brief cameo appearance in Casino Royale, the latest James Bond film, is somehow missing from the version shown on British Airways flights.

In the cinema version, Sir Richard is seen passing through a security arch at Miami airport. However on BA flights, while he can be seen from the back, the scene when he turns round and faces the camera has gone.

This is not the first occasion that BA has been sensitive about the appearance of its rival on screen. Scenes filmed in Virgin's premium cabin were cut out of The Wedding Date before it was deemed suitable for BA passengers.

The decision to cut Sir Richard from the film was taken by BA's in-flight entertainment team, which vets films on grounds of taste and suitability before allowing them to be shown.

The fractious relationship between the airlines dates back to their legal battles on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1990s. After an apparent thaw, hostilities appeared to resume last summer when Virgin was identified as the "whistle blower" that triggered a price-fixing investigation in Britain and the United States.

A BA spokesman confirmed that changes had been made to Casino Royale. All films are screened .... we want to ensure they contain no material that might upset our customers.

   
Games not involved in Virginia Tech killings

From CNET News see full article

In the rush to explain massacres like the one at Virginia Tech, experts including popular TV psychologist Dr Phil McGraw dusted off a familiar scapegoat, violent video games, movies and other media.

The mass murderers of tomorrow are the children of today that are being programmed with this massive violence overdose, McGraw said on CNN's Larry King Live.

Common sense tells you that if these kids are playing video games, where they're on a mass killing spree in a video game, (or where) it's glamorized on the big screen, it's become part of the fiber of our society.

You take that and mix it with a psychopath, a sociopath or someone suffering from mental illness and add in a dose of rage, the suggestibility is too high.

From Slashdot see full article

I imagine it's been a hard week for a lot of people; gamers in particular have been jumping to defend their hobby from the likes of Dr. Phil and Jack Thompson, both of whom were quick to link gaming and the tragedy in Virginia. Despite their vigor, it seems like game enthusiasts can breathe easily this week. As far as most people can tell, gaming was in no way involved. Even the mainstream media is coming to realize that gaming isn't always the right place to turn when youth violence grabs the headlines.

   
BBFC review policies on video games

From the MCV see full article
see also BBFC Video Games Report [pdf]

The BBFC is set to alter its system of deciding on age ratings after new extensive research into video games showed that interactivity could actually limit the effect of violence on gamers.

The BBFC currently uses the same set of parameters for rating both movies and games, but this week’s report has led the body to a new understanding of key differences between the two mediums.

We’re looking to review our games classification policy in the next few months – and that’s one of the reasons for this research, BBFC spokesperson Sue Clark told MCV.

We have traditionally taken the view that because a game is interactive, by definition we need to be more careful. But when you watch a film you actually have less control than when you play games. It’s easier for you to lose that sense of reality.

One of the key conclusions of this report is that interactivity actually helps players distance reality from adult experiences in games.

   
The inevitable tragic aftermath

Thanks to Dan who suggested the following runners

• Violent movies 6/4
• Video games  3/1
• Marilyn Manson 10/1
• Rap music 10/1
• TV programmes 12/1
• Pornography 15/1
• The actual killer himself 100/1
• Guns 100/1
• US gun laws 100/1

From The Times see full article

An ultra-violent South Korean revenge thriller may have partly inspired the massacre. In videos that he posted to NBC in New York on the day of the killings, Cho Heung Sui imitates two distinctive images from Oldboy.

The South Korean-born student depicts himself wielding a hammer in imitation of the film’s hero, who embarks on a murderous rampage against the people who held him captive for 15 years and destroyed his life. Elsewhere in the videos, filmed over six days, he holds a gun to his head, copying another scene from the film.

Unhappy schooldays play a role in the plot. Oldboy was the second film in Park’s acclaimed Vengeance trilogy. In an interview with The Times in 2004, its star, Min Sik Choi, described his character as the loneliest, most miserable character on Earth . . . like a dry wooden block with only revenge on his mind and nothing else, not even emotion.

Nick James, editor of Sight and Sound, the film magazine, said: Oldboy is a very, very distinctive film and the most highly regarded of the films now labelled Asian Extreme cinema but it is also so ludicrously over the top that no sane person could mistake it for reality.

Other cultural clues to Cho’s state of mind were being debated on the internet yesterday. Another pose in the NBC videos shows him holding guns in both hands. It recalls the films of the Hong Kong action director John Woo and a publicity shot of the actor Laurence Fishburne, used to promote The Matrix Reloaded in 2003.

From The Telegraph see full article by Gerald Kaufman

The most chilling aspect of the Virginia Tech massacre is that its perpetrator, Cho Heung-sui, a South Korean, was directly inspired by a recent South Korean splatter movie, Oldboy as well as by the Columbine high school massacre in 1999.

However, even after the Virginia Tech bloodbath there is no sign that those in power in America have drawn the lesson that one way of diminishing the possibility of such lethal events is by removing the apparently God-given right of every American to carry a lethal weapon and facilitate a situation in which 11,000 people a year die as the result of gun violence.

But another issue that demands urgent consideration is the apparent God-given right of every film-maker to depict what was described in the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange as "lashings of the old ultra-violence." In fact, the so-called ultra-violence in that movie, though deeply unsettling, was as nothing compared to the sanguinary content of Oldboy or of the John Woo murder movie Face/Off, which Cho seems also to have seen and, Heaven help us, been inspired by.

Now of course the makers of Oldboy and Face/Off were in no way minded to seek to have the bloodshed in their films motivate real-life killings. Yet, in a world where the boundaries between film/video/DVD and real life are wearing thin almost to non-existence, with the ghastliest events filmed on mobile phones and then immediately beamed around the world, it may be that the time has come for film-makers to exercise at least a modicum of self-censorship, now that institutional censorship of films has vanished pretty well to the point of total evaporation.

I am not saying that all copies of Oldboy or Face/Off, or other such movies, made in the Far East, Hollywood, or elsewhere, should be destroyed. I am saying that all movie-makers, whether they regard themselves as artists or simply manufacturers of conveyor-belt would-be entertainment, should accept that they have a wider responsibility than simply to enable aimless people to pass the time until their next visual fix.

Canadian private member's bill smells bad.

From the p2pNet

Canada's conservative MP Joy Smith has introduced the Clean Internet Act. The private member's bill would establish an Internet service provider licensing system to be administered by the CRTC along with "know your subscriber" requirements and content blocking powers.

Smith introduced it by warning against the use of the Internet to support human trafficking and added that the bill would address the fact that child pornography is not okay to put on the Internet throughout our nation, though the Criminal Code already does that.

• an ISP licensing system to be administered by the CRTC that is defined so broadly that it would seemingly capture anyone offering a wifi connection
• a "know your subscriber" requirement where ISPs would be required to deny service to past offenders (though the ISP would escape liability if upon learning of an offending customer, it terminated service and notified the Minister of Industry)
• a new power that would allow the Minister of Industry to order an ISP to block access to content that promotes violence against women, promotes hatred, or contains child pornography. ISPs that fail to block face possible jail time for the company's directors and officers.
• the Minister of Industry can prescribe special powers to facilitate searches of electronic data systems (ie. lawful access)

Given that this is a private member's bill, it is very unlikely to become law. But this bill would not look out-of-place in countries that aggressively censor the Internet.

Racism directive will threaten free speech

From the BBC see full article

European interior ministers have agreed to make incitement to racism an EU-wide crime, but have stopped short of a blanket ban on Holocaust denial.

The agreement makes it an offence to condone or grossly trivialise crimes of genocide, but only if the effect is incitement to violence or hatred.

The deal follows six years of talks, and will disappoint Germany, which pushed hard for a Holocaust-denial law. Berlin has also had to drop a proposal for an EU-wide ban on Nazi symbols.

Under the agreement, incitement to hatred or violence against a group or a person based on colour, race, national or ethnic origin must be punishable by at least a year in jail. However, member states can choose to limit prosecutions to cases likely to disturb public order.

Punishing incitement to hatred against religion will only be compulsory in cases where it amounts to inciting hatred against a national or ethnic group, race or colour.

Some countries will have to put the agreement to parliamentary vote, before it is finally adopted. Each member state will then have two years to bring its laws into compliance.

Officials said the wording was carefully designed to avoid criminalising films or plays about genocide, or discouraging academic research. But dissemination of "tracts, pictures or other material" is punishable if it is designed to incite violence or hatred.

Countries where it is already a crime to deny the Holocaust will stick to their existing rules, but other countries will not be obliged to help them with judicial investigations.

From The Telegraph see full article

British bloggers said yesterday that free speech on the internet is under threat from draconian new laws, which could see them jailed for up to three years.

Europe's justice ministers have agreed genocide denial and race hatred legislation that will outlaw remarks on the internet carried out in a manner likely to incite violence or hatred.

The measures are contained in the European Union's Racism and Xenophobia Directive and could hit controversial European bloggers, even if their websites are hosted in America. The directive is set to enter British law before 2010.

David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: "We don't need yet more law to combat racial hatred and incitement to violence. We already have British law dating back to 1861."

As religion is often worthy of hatred

From The Scotsman see full article

Britain has narrowed the scope of a European Union-wide ban on incitement to religious hatred in a proposed anti-racism law.

The British move means EU justice ministers are likely to agree this week on anti-racism legislation that will be significantly watered down from original proposals put forward six years ago.

The new legislation requires EU states to punish incitement to hatred against religion only if it is a pretext to incite hatred against a group or person because of national or ethnic origin, race or colour, a draft seen by Reuters shows.

One EU diplomat said this was a longstanding British demand, aimed at making sure that religion could be criticised as long as it was not done with racist intent.

Diplomats stressed that countries could continue to punish hatred against religion more broadly even once the EU text is adopted, as tougher national rules would still be allowed.

The EU has struggled for almost six years over proposals for an EU-wide anti-racism law which would include harmonised rules on punishing claims that the Holocaust of European Jews by Nazi Germany never took place, as well as racism in general.

But EU states failed to agree on a way to outlaw genocide denial, and diplomats said countries had agreed on a compromise that would allow them to retain their own legislation.

   
Even before the fallout from the Virginia Tech tragedy

From 1P Start see full article

It’s no surprise that Jack Thompson has stepped up in the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy to push his rhetoric. Regardless of the details of this attack, video games are sure to be pushed to the forefront as a primary cause. Some gamers have set it upon themselves to fight Jack Thompson and all those who would use this horrible event to their own ends.

Empire Arcadia (A website devoted to cultural development through gaming) has set up an event called Fellowship of the Gamers. Here is what the organization says about the pending event:

This demonstration is to show that gamers will not take the blame of this tragic matter but we will do what we can to help put an end to terrible events like this. We reiterate and urge that all leaders of gaming communities, organizations down to the last gamer to set aside 10 hours of this day to pay respect and come together not just as gamers but as HUMAN BEINGS for peace.

Fellowship of the Gamers will take place on May 5th, 2007 in New York City at Bryant Park. The event starts at 1pm EST.

for making Britain violent

From Metro see full article
Image from www.moonbattery.com

Ken Livingstone launched a vitriolic tirade against violent TV, films, gangsta rap and Margaret Thatcher, blaming them all for making Britain violent.

The London mayor claimed hit TV series 24 'seems to justify torture', and also laid into Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.  Livingstone said the film simply glorifies violence rather than showing people that use their brain power to achieve their goal.

The Thatcher years helped create a generation of people whose children did not have a moral code, he claimed.

He also said some rap music was behind the current spate of violence and society's moral breakdown.

   
BBFC published research re playing video games

From the BBFC see also BBFC Video Games Report [pdf]

Video games tend to polarise opinions in a way that other entertainment media do not. People who do not play them cannot understand their attraction and that lack of understanding can lead to some games being demonised. While there is research designed to show the short term physical reactions of video games players, there is very little information about why people play video games and what impact they think playing games has on them. The BBFC today published the results of a research project involving video games players ranging from children as young as seven through to players in their early 40s; parents of young games players; games industry representatives; and games reviewers.

The research set out to gain insights into a number of issues including:

• the attractions of playing video games
• what impact games players think playing has on them and their behaviour
• whether the interactivity element of games alters the experience
• what players think about the violence in some games
• how they choose which games to play
• what parents think about video games.

The key findings of the research were:

• that children begin playing games at an increasingly early age, but that the overall age of games players is getting older
• there is a sharp divide between male and female games players in their taste in games and how long they spend playing
• female games players tend to prefer ‘strategic life simulation’ games like The Sims and puzzle games and spend less time playing than their male counterparts
• male players favour first ‘person shooter’ and sports games and are much more likely to become deeply absorbed in the play
• younger games players are influenced to play particular games by peer pressure and word of mouth, but negative press coverage for a game will significantly increase its take up
• people play games to escape from every day life and to escape to a world of adventure without risk which is under the control of the gamer, unlike the real world
• games provide a sense of achievement and are active, unlike television and films which are passive. However, games are better at developing action than building character and as such gamers tend to care less about the storyline than making progress in the game
• gamers appear to forget they are playing games less readily than film goers forget they are watching a film because they have to participate in the game for it to proceed. They appear to non-games players to be engrossed in what they are doing, but, they are concentrating on making progress, and are unlikely to be emotionally involved
• gamers claim that playing games is mentally stimulating and that playing develops hand eye coordination
• violence in games, in the sense of eliminating obstacles, is built into the structure of some games and is necessary to progress through the game. It contributes to the tension because gamers are not just shooting, they are vulnerable to being shot and most gamers are concentrating on their own survival rather than the damage they are inflicting on the characters in the game. While there is an appeal in being able to be violent without being vulnerable to the consequences which similar actions in real life would create, gamers are aware that they are playing a game and that it is not real life
• gamers are aware that violence in games is an issue and younger players find some of the violence upsetting, particularly in games rated for adults. There is also concern that in some games wickedness prevails over innocence. However, most gamers are not seriously concerned about violence in games because they think that the violence on television and in films is more upsetting and more real
• gamers are virtually unanimous in rejecting the suggestion that video games encourage people to be violent in real life or that they have become desensitised. They see no evidence in themselves or their friends who play games that they have become more violent in real life. As one participant said: I no more feel that I have actually scored a goal than I do that I have actually killed someone. I know it’s not real. The emphasis is on achievement.
• non-games playing parents are concerned about the amount of time their children, particularly boys, spend playing games and would prefer that they were outside in the fresh air. However, they are more concerned about the ‘stranger-danger’ of internet chat rooms. While the violence in games surprises them and concerns some of them, they are confident that their children are well balanced enough to not be influenced by playing violent games
• while parents agree that there should be regulation of games some are happy to give their children adult games because they are “only games”.

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said:

The BBFC classified just under three hundred video games last year. Most games in the UK are classified under a pan-European voluntary system, but those with adult content are required to come to us. We take this part of our responsibilities under the Video Recordings Act very seriously. Our examiners actually play the games for up to five hours, assessing all levels of the games and considering all the key issues. Players and the parents of young players can be sure that all aspects of the game have been taken into account before reaching a classification. We require key issues to be flagged and aids such as cheat codes to be supplied to us. We take context into account, and examine works in a way which is as thorough and penetrating as anywhere in the world.

The element of interactivity in games carries some weight when we are considering a video game. We were particularly interested to see that this research suggests that, far from having a potentially negative impact on the reaction of the player, the very fact that they have to interact with the game seems to keep them more firmly rooted in reality. People who do not play games raise concerns about their engrossing nature, assuming that players are also emotionally engrossed. This research suggests the opposite; a range of factors seems to make them less emotionally involving than film or television. The adversaries which players have to eliminate have no personality and so are not real and their destruction is therefore not real, regardless of how violent that destruction might be. This firm grasp on reality seems to extend to younger players, but this is no reason to allow them access to adult rated games, as they themselves often admit that they find the violence in games like Manhunt very upsetting. Parents should not treat video games in the same way they would board games. We will continue to examine very carefully those games which come to us, to flag any concerns we have and, if necessary, to use our statutory powers.

There is no question that video games are an important form of entertainment for an ever increasing number of people. As the technology improves the games will become more and more realistic and it is important that games are properly rated to protect younger players from the games with adult content, which the BBFC does. This research provides some valuable insights into why people play video games and what effect they think playing has on themselves and friends. It has also highlighted parental attitudes to video games. We hope that it will provide some food for thought for the industry, and everyone who has an interest in the impact of games and we will be taking the research outcomes into account as we review our games classification policies over the coming months.

IWF publish their annual report

From IWF see Annual Report 2006 [pdf]

The IWF  have a remit to minimise the availability of potentially illegal internet content, specifically:

• child abuse images hosted anywhere in the world
• criminally obscene content hosted in the UK
• incitement to racial hatred content hosted in the UK

However the report rightfully concentrates on action against child abuse images and there is little if anything mentioned about actions against adult obscene content.

The IWF have added a note about avoiding the term 'child pornography'. They say: Please note that the terms ‘child pornography’ or ‘child porn’ can act to legitimise images which are not pornography. Rather, they are permanent records of children being sexually abused and as such should be referred to as child abuse images.

The Mary Whitehouse Story to air on BBC

From The Mirror see full article

Julie Walters is to play moral standards crusader Mary Whitehouse in a film by her archenemy, the BBC.

Devout Christian Whitehouse became a household name after starting her campaign against "blasphemy, bad language, violence and indecency" on the airwaves when she heard The Beatles say "knickers" on a show in 1964.

Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story was written by Amanda Coe, who helped script Channel 4's Shameless. It will reveal how former BBC director general Hugh Carleton Greene reacted to her attacks by commissioning a nude paintin