More on  www.ofcom.org.uk

The Root of All Evil?
Channel 4, 9 January 2006 & 16 January 2006; 20:00

Introduction

This was a short series of two programmes presented by Professor Richard Dawkins challenging, what he described as, "process of non-thinking faith". In the programmes he questioned why militant faith appeared to him to be on the increase and why religious people were allowed to teach their children their beliefs from an early age.

Over the two programmes, 23 viewers complained to Ofcom that the programme:

• showed a negative portrayal of religious beliefs and called religious faith a virus and that this was both offensive and harmful
• contained inflammatory comments, slanderous remarks and atheist propaganda, which resulted in possible incitement to religious hatred
• allowed an ill-informed presenter to treat religion with ridicule and scorn, and misrepresented religious views, which - along with disingenuous editing - offered no opportunity for debate.
• allowed the presenter to air bigoted, intolerant, biased and anti-religious views
• attempted to promote religious (i.e. atheist) views by stealth
• generally contravened Ofcom's rules on due impartiality and due accuracy

Response

Channel 4 said that the two programmes were a polemic series. It described Professor Dawkins as one of the foremost evolutionary scientists. He had gained prominence as a "professional atheist" and was an ambassador for the rationality of science.

Channel 4 was confident that the proper degree of responsibility with respect to the content was demonstrated, in that the proposed content was considered at a high editorial level and with advice from a lawyer.

Decision

Broadcasters have the right to impart information and ideas and viewers have a right to receive them as long as the Code is complied with.

Overall, these programmes were serious documentaries, questioning the validity of religion. In such areas as political and religious debate, it is essential that broadcasters and viewers have as much freedom of expression as is compatible with the law, to explore ideas. The programmes were clearly authored and the presenter had every right to challenge orthodox religion so long as there was a proper degree of responsibility and people's religious views were not subject to "abusive treatment".

Furthermore, this was an authored programme about religious faith presented by Professor Dawkins who has a reputation as a noted atheist. This was made clear from the start and throughout both programmes. Professor Dawkins regularly used expressions such as "believe (that)" and "I think (that)" signalling the polemic nature of these programmes.

With this in mind - and given Channel 4's general reputation, we concluded that such a challenging and provocative series was unlikely to exceed the likely expectation of viewers to Channel 4.

For those viewers of Channel 4 who were unaware of Professor Dawkin's reputation, we recognised that the series title and the explicit presentation information given before both programmes made it clear that this was a polemic which challenged religious faith.

From the complaints received, it is clear that viewers were able to engage with the challenging material, but did not necessarily accept the conclusions of Professor Dawkins. However, this was not, in this case, a reason for finding that the programme breached the requirements of the Code. The degree of offence likely to be caused from content with a series which is presented by a noted atheist and which is clearly signalled by the title and before and during the series as a polemic which questions religious faith and is within the likely expectation of the viewers for that service and series must be considerably reduced.

Taking this context into account we did not consider that the programmes had breached generally accepted standards as set out in rule 2.3 of the Code:

Some complainants stated that, in their opinion, the programme would incite religious hatred.

We appreciate that for some, such opinions may cause offence. However, the programmes contained no calls, direct or implied, to action - militant or otherwise - towards a particular religion or to individuals or communities. The series was about ideas and religious philosophy and so did not, in our view, amount to the encouragement or incitement of the commission of crime or were likely to lead to disorder.

Some complainants stated that the issues in the programme were not addressed with due impartiality and accuracy. However, the requirement for due accuracy and impartiality relates solely to news. Outside of news, only programmes dealing with matters of political or industrial controversy and matters relating to current public policy are required to maintain "due impartiality". Therefore the requirements for due accuracy and impartiality (as set out in Section Five of the Code) are not applicable to these programmes overall.

Taking all the above into account we do not believe the series was in breach of the Code.

From www.ofcom.org.uk

Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves
TV3 Sweden, 5 March 2006, 13:45

Introduction

A viewer was concerned that this film was inadequately edited for the time of broadcast. The film showed a close-up scene of a stabbing, the attempted hanging of a young boy, a sexual assault and included strong language such as "bollocks" and "fuck me".

Response

TV3 Sweden said that it had erroneously broadcast the original version of this film, rather than the UK version which had been edited and rated a PG by the BBFC. The broadcaster accepted that some of the scenes and language were inappropriate for the time the film was scheduled. This version of the film would not be shown again before the watershed at 21:00. [in which country? Sweden or the UK]

TV3 apologised for its oversight.

Decision

We welcome TV3 Sweden's acknowledgement of its error and the review of procedures that it has undertaken. We believe that this resolves the matter.

From X Biz

The FCC on Friday disclosed that the number of TV and radio broadcast indecency and profanity complaints jumped more than six times the 44,109 filed in fourth quarter 2005 and more than 10 times the number filed in the third quarter.

A recent Las Vegas episode on NBC included a scene in a strip club. The American Family Association says it filed more than 170,000 complaints alone against that episode.

AFA also says it had a significant number of complaints about NBC's dysfunctional priest drama Book of Daniel.

The Parents Television Council has led the way in rallying members to flood the FCC with indecency email complaints over shows that offend its members.

From The Age

Journalists, cartoonists, artists and filmmakers should be freed from the threat of prosecution for commenting on Government policy under sedition laws, the Australian Law Reform Commission says.

The commission wants the term "sedition" removed from the statute books, and says laws outlawing incitement to violence against the government or community groups should be redrafted.

Releasing a discussion paper containing 25 reform proposals, the commission's president, David Weisbrot, said yesterday the aim was to draw a line between free speech and the criminal law. There is no reason these offences, which properly target the urging of force or violence, cannot be framed in such a way to avoid capturing dissenting views or stifling the work or journalists, cartoonists, artists and filmmakers, either directly or through the 'chilling effect' of self-censorship.

The nation's biggest news organisations have slammed the new laws as a danger to media freedom, and want them repealed or amended. Fairfax (owner of The Age), News Ltd and Australian Associated Press have together condemned the laws' "excesses" as they relate to publishers, and called for a media exemption to guarantee a free press.

Fairfax's corporate affairs director, Bruce Wolpe, welcomed the commission's proposals yesterday, saying they had vindicated Fairfax's concerns.The Law Reform Commission is recommending the effective repeal of the sedition laws. It has explicitly recognised the profound threat the sedition laws pose to a free press, and seeking further protections for the media.

The controversial laws, intended to deal with incitement to carry out acts of terror, were pushed through Parliament late last year as part of the Anti-Terrorism Act

From The Times

The latest blockbuster of Bollywood’s most fêted star, Aamir Khan, has been banned in cinemas across the state of Gujarat after he joined a street protest against the building of a dam that will displace 35,000 people from their homes.

The film, Fanaa (Annihilation), which was released yesterday, would not be screened in the western state until Khan took back his remarks, cinema owners and members of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party said.

The actor took part in protests against the dam, which is regarded as essential for the state’s development, in Delhi last month, where he accused political parties responsible for its construction of being “thugs”. He said that farmers displaced by the dam had lost their livelihood and should be resettled.

BJP activists yesterday burned posters of the actor in the state’s capital, Ahmedabad, shouted slogans outside multiplexes and labelled Khan an enemy of Gujarat. Banning the film is a way of telling the world that we will not let anybody talk or act against the state’s development, said Amit Thakar, the national secretary of the party’s youth wing. He said that the dam was the lifeline of Gujarat and its opponents would be blacklisted.

Khan refused to apologise, saying that to do so would let down those people that the dam has displaced.

The controversy prompted Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister, to defend the actor’s right to free speech: Every citizen has the freedom of expression as long as he does not indulge in unconstitutional activities.

From the BBC
See also Irrepressible.info

Internet users are being urged to stand up for online freedoms by backing a new campaign launched by human rights group Amnesty International.

Amnesty is celebrating 45 years of activism by highlighting governments using the net to suppress dissent. The campaign will highlight abuses of rights the net is used for, and push for the release of those jailed for speaking out online.

It will also name hi-tech firms aiding governments that limit online protests.

Called Irrepressible.info, the campaign will revolve around a website with the same name. It aims to throw light on the many different ways that the freedom to use the net is limited by governments.

For instance, said a spokesman for Amnesty, around the globe net cafes are being closed down, home PCs are being confiscated, chat in discussion forums is being watched and blogs are being censored or removed.

The internet has become a new frontier in the struggle for human rights, said Kate Allen, UK director of Amnesty International. Its potential to empower and educate, to allow people to share and mobilise opinion has led to government crackdowns."

For instance, she said, Chinese journalist Shi Tao is serving a 10-year jail sentence for sending an e-mail overseas which detailed the restrictions the Chinese government wanted to impose on papers writing about the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

The pledge reads: I believe the internet should be a force for political freedom, not repression. People have the right to seek and receive information and to express their peaceful beliefs online without fear or interference. I call on governments to stop the unwarranted restriction of freedom of expression on the internet and on companies to stop helping them do it .

From The Guardian

One of France's most popular rappers will appear in court today charged with offending public decency with a song in which he referred to France as a "slut" and vowed to "piss" on Napoleon and Charles de Gaulle.

Monsieur R, whose real name is Richard Makela, could face three years in prison or a €75,000 (£51,000) fine after an MP from the ruling UMP party launched legal action against him over his album Politikment Incorrekt.

In the video for the song FranSSe, Makela appeared dressed as a gendarme with two naked women rubbing against the French flag as he rapped: France is a bitch, don't forget to fuck her till she's exhausted/You have to treat her like a slut, man.

When Daniel Mach, MP for Pyrénées-Orientales, heard the album last year, he proposed a law making it a criminal offence to insult the dignity of France and the French state. In November, when riots broke out in France's run-down suburbs, another UMP deputy, François Grosdidier, won the support of 152 MPs and 49 senators who demanded that parliament act against Makela's lyrics. But by then Mach had taken a personal action against Makela for making and disseminating "violent and pornographic messages" to which minors could get access.

From The Independent

Record numbers of viewers have complained about the latest series of Big Brother. The first week of the series generated 184 complaints, according to the media regulator, Ofcom.  An Ofcom spokesman said: We are considering whether these [complaints] warrant investigation.

Most concerned Shahbaz Chaudhry, whose dysfunctional mental state led to his leaving the Big Brother house last week after threatening to kill himself on air.

Last year's series attracted a total of more than 1,100 complaints. The current series is already predicted to be well on the way to exceeding this.

From the BBC

At Cambodia's prime minister has banned the use of videos on mobile phones over fears they might spread pornography - after a plea from his wife. Camera and video phones are growing in popularity in Cambodia, with a first 3G network planning to begin trading soon. But PM Hun Sen moved to outlaw the new phones after his wife, Bun Rany, said they could have negative consequences for social morality.

Hun Sen said Cambodia should wait 10 years before allowing video phones. Maybe we can wait for another 10 years or so until we have done enough to strengthen the morality of our society

In a petition submitted to her husband on 19 May, Bun Rany said the new phones could increase sexual exploitation of women and children and other vices that would cast our society as a very dark one.

Based on an article from The Guardian

Woman and Horse

On Monday Asia House announced that MF Husain exhibition was to be closed for "security reasons". While no British newspaper reported this event, the immediate reason for this was an agitation by the misleadingly named Hindu Human Rights Group which mounted a protest about the event as it charged Husain with showing obscene images of Hindu goddesses.

The Hindu Human Rights Group in its press release is demanding an apology from Asia House to the Hindu community for this exhibition. This is an outrageous attack on artistic freedom in the British context.

Based on an article from Catholic Online

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ordered a ban on the screening of The Da Vinci Code in response to an appeal made by the Catholic bishops of Sri Lanka.

Rajapaksa, who is also minister for religious affairs said that he had ordered the Public Performances Board to ban the screening of the movie in local cinemas and on local TV channels.

Two days earlier, the Catholic Bishops' Conference in Sri Lanka sent a letter to the president explaining why they saw an urgent need for the ban. The letter says: The book version has caused confusion between fact and fiction. It is manipulative and is an odious, false, unjust and irreverent portrayal of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church. It attacks the very roots of our Christian faith and hurts the religious sensibilities of all Christians.

In their letter, the bishops say the film is a product of a "totally perverted mind" and represents the depth of moral corruption.

The Da Vinci Code book is available in Sri Lanka. The ban does not cover the sale of the book, or of the movie on VCD or DVD, when these are available. The ban also does not cover the eventual telecast of the film on subscription-based cable or satellite television.

From Turkish Daily News

Chinese censors have cleared the Tom Cruise action thriller Mission: Impossible III for release in the country.

It's passed censorship, said Yuan Wenqiang, vice president at the state-owned China Film Group, one of the film's distributors in China.

Yuan said he didn't know what scenes, if any, censors deleted. There were concerns that some scenes set in Shanghai may be cut because they spoiled the image of the city. Some showed tattered underwear hanging from laundry lines. State media reported earlier censors also wanted scenes of a car chase and a shootout shortened or cut.

Yuan also didn't know when the movie will hit movie theaters. A spokesman for the film's international distributor, UIP, said earlier it's unlikely the film will be shown in June even if it passes censorship because dubbing will take time.

The delay is a boon to China's thriving film pirates, who can flood the market with millions of illegal copies of a foreign movie just days after it is released abroad. Despite free market reforms, Chinese authorities still keep a tight watch over media content, wary of unfavorable depiction of the government. It only allows about 20 imported films a year.

Press Release from Sweet Entertainment Group

At least 10 opposition blogs have been inaccessible to Ethiopian internet users since last week, prompting suspicions the government has blocked them.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the domestic Ethiopian viewing of the sites, all of which contain posts highly critical of Addis Ababa, had been impossible since Friday and asked for an explanation.

In an open letter to information minister Berhan Hailu, it said technical faults were unlikely to be the cause and warned that shutting down avenues of free expression would likely raise already heightened political tensions: We would like to know if your government has deliberately blocked access to online publications ... thus taking the course of filtering the Internet. Preventing debate and controlling news and information circulating online will only aggravate an already very tense political climate.

An AFP correspondent in Addis Ababa confirmed that blogs listed by RSF as being blocked were no longer accessible through Ethiopian internet service providers.

Several of them contain posts attacking Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and criticising the alleged government shutdown as "an act of desperation."

Stephen Carter always had a way with fine words...But presided over some pretty shitty regulation...

From the Guardian:

Dedicated adult channels aren't allowed to show explicit consensual sex. Why? Because porn's embarrassing and tawdry and we don't want that muck on our airwaves? Then ban it outright and have done with it. This present fudge just makes Ofcom look like bigger idiots than the pornographers themselves. And that's saying something.

From The Times

Ofcom will announce today that Stephen Carter, its chief executive, will be leaving the communications regulator.

Carter, who has been at Ofcom since February 2003, is set to leave in the autumn. It is understood that Mr Carter, who was previously chief operating officer of NTL, the cable company, he is keen to move back into the commercial world. [Maybe he should be appointed to head up a UK adult channel]

It is not known who will replace Carter, and last night the regulator refused to comment on whether he would be leaving and who would replace him. Ed Richards, the former Downing Street policy adviser who is, in effect Carter’s deputy at Ofcom, was recently sent on the obligatory Harvard management course.

From The Telegraph

A total of 78 police officers were used, at a cost of £7,200, in the night-time operation to crack down on the lone anti-war protester Brian Haw in Parliament Square.

The raid ran up a bill of £3,000 in overtime and £4,200 for transport, catering and erection of road barriers, said Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan police commissioner.

The manpower involved in reducing Haw's permitted protesting space to a 10ft "cube" outside Parliament is almost four times the 20 suggested after the raid in the early hours on Tuesday. However, Scotland Yard said 24 of the 78 officers were "kept in reserve".

Sir Ian defended the scale of the operation after fierce criticism by some members of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), which oversees his force. The Met was accused of "overkill" and of creating the impression around the world that police were being used to suppress anti-war dissent.

Haw, a carpenter from Worcestershire who has dedicated five years to often very loud protest, is being prosecuted for allegedly failing to abide by conditions set down for his demonstration.

The Liberal Democrat peer, Lord Tope, an MPA member, said: Some may well find Brian Haw and his activities irritating, but being an irritant is a pretty fundamental part of our democracy. The right to protest. . . the right to irritate some of those sitting in Parliament feeling self-important. I do think it brings the Met into a bit of disrepute - 78 police officers arriving in the middle of the night to clear placards and chase mice. I really do think that it was huge overkill.

Damien Hockney, from One London Group, said: This has been interpreted around the world that Britain is suppressing dissent by people opposed to the Iraq war. That is the way it is being put across - policemen being sent in overnight to knock somebody down. From a PR point of view, that is a very dangerous thing to have done.

The court said Haw would have to apply to the police for authorisation to continue. He is due to appear in a magistrates' court for an alleged breach of the Act in failing to comply with conditions.

Based on an article from the Times of India

Nutters in Pakistan have decried Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code as blasphemous and satanic and have demanded that the government immediately ban the film.

Shahbaz Bhatti, chairman of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), said: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown attacks our belief in the divinity of Christ, the truthfulness of sacred scriptures, the integrity of the Holy Catholic Church and core values of Christianity and Christians.

He said that the movie was full of offences, historical and theological errors regarding Jesus, Gospel and the Church. It was based on false, baseless, unrealistic and shameful information.

He said that the blasphemous movie had hurt the religious sentiments of Christians throughout the world. We will not allow anyone to disgrace and insult our Jesus Lord and beliefs in the guise of freedom of expression.

Bhatti asked UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to condemn this act of blasphemy and introduce a charter to stop such elements from playing with the religious sentiments of people under the garb of freedom of speech.

He said that Western countries should also ban the circulation of the film and take strong action against the producer.

He demanded that the government officially condemn the film and prohibit cable operators, TV channels and Internet sites from showing it, in the same way as publication of the sacrilegious cartoons of Prophet Mohammed was banned. Bhatti warned of countrywide protests by Christians if the film was allowed to be screened in Pakistan.

Meanwhile from The National

The Catholic church in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has called for the banning of The Da Vinci Code.

President of the PNG and Solomon Islands Catholic Bishops Conference Francesco Sarego said was based on false assumptions and imaginations of the writer, which is offensive to believers. He said the Catholic bishops believe the movie should not be allowed into the country.

Deputy chief censor with the Censorship Board Jimmy Abani said they have received requests from several movie suppliers to import Davinci Code. But, the board had not responded to these requests because it is yet to view its contents, and give it a rating.

Meanwhile from PR Inside

The Da Vinci Code will be banned in the Solomon Islands, even though the South Pacific nation has no cinemas.

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare made the announcement on state-run radio warning the film undermines Christianity. He told  listeners, As a Christian nation, Solomon Islanders would take offence at the content of the film.

The Solomon Islands have no censorship body or movie theatres - most of the films watched in the country are pirate DVDs from Asia.

I bet the Home Office are slobbering to extend this tool to 'extrem pornography'

From Linx Public Affairs

The 24th May edition of the BBC programme Daily Politics covered the issue of network-level content blocking for images of child abuse, giving NSPCC campaigner Lesley Garrett an unchallenged platform to call for legislation to force ISPs to implement a blocking system “today”.

Garrett asserted (incorrectly) that the availability of such a technology meant we can stop anyone being able to see these images. This is untrue: existing network content blocking is only able to prevent accidental access to web sites, and is not designed or capable of preventing access to such material by those actively seeking it. Her remarks went unchallenged by the presenter, who described it as a very, very compelling case.

The transcript of the programme is at http://publicaffairs.linx.net/news/?p=502#more-502

From America's Network

The European Union is planning to seize regulatory control over the UK's communications sector in a plan that government officials have branded “harmonization by force,” a report from the UK's Daily Mail said.

The report said the idea was being promoted by EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media Viviane Reding.

But regulators and senior industry figures were queueing up to scrap the proposals, the report said.

The plan suggested that national regulators should give up powers to a new European central power. It would effectively be in control of regulating all broadcasting, telecom and the Internet, the report said.

The proposal is that Europe should be able to veto any penalty demanded by a national regulator. We are not happy with this. The impact could be enormous, Alex Blowers, international director of Ofcom, the UK communications watchdog, was quoted as saying.

Giving every national decision a further layer of regulation would not only rob local regulators of power but add a needless layer of complex red tape, Blowers claimed, according to the report.

Press release from the BBFC

BBFC President Calls For Forum To Consider New Media Regulation

In light of the rapidly growing range of audio visual content on offer via a range of media, the President of the BBFC, Sir Quentin Thomas, has called on the Government to bring together commercial and creative interests along with those operating the regulatory regimes to consider how best to provide the public with the information they need to choose which content they wish to consume and how to protect children and vulnerable people from harm.

Writing in his introduction to the BBFC’s Annual Report Sir Quentin said:
As the audio visual content on offer to the public grows rapidly, with a marked diversity in the nature of the medium and in the means of delivery or access, it is perhaps not surprising that some observers of this dynamic but confusing scene conclude that there is little future for regulation and the attempt to maintain it seems like attempting to shut the stable door when the horse has bolted. At the BBFC we do not share this view.

The BBFC’s Director David Cooke said:
We are putting a good deal of effort into researching, and speaking to others about, the implications of the growth of new media for our system of regulation. We do not argue for regulation except where it is genuinely needed. But effective regulation has clear benefits: the prevention of harm; enabling informed choices; creating a safe environment within which to enjoy creative content. We regularly see and deal with material, whether so-called ‘extreme reality’, abusive pornography, or simply content which is unsuitable for the age group to whom it is addressed, where our intervention is clearly necessary. No-one should assume that such material will be confined to established platforms such as film and DVD. Whether in a regulatory or an advisory capacity, we believe we have unique expertise and experience to offer.

Sir Quentin said:
There is no doubt that regulation must serve a relevant social purpose, and not needlessly be an impediment between the customer and the services available. Regulatory regimes must command and sustain public confidence and be fit for purpose. There is good reason for thinking that because of the nature of audio visual product and its potential impact the public is likely to expect some oversight, particularly with a view to the protection of children. We believe that there is also a strong commercial interest in demonstrating that product in this field meets accepted standards. Nonetheless, the rapidly shifting nature of the media scene, with new technological possibilities means that these issues need to be kept under review. We welcome the enquiry by the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee into new media and the creative industries and would welcome the establishment of a forum perhaps under the auspices of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to advance consideration of these issues.

The BBFC 2005 Annual Report includes the accounts for the year along with information about the work of the Board during the year. Copies of the Annual Report can be obtained from the BBFC, 3 Soho Square, London W1D 3HD or can be downloaded from the BBFC main website, www.bbfc.co.uk (select 'downloads' option on home page)

From Adam Comiskey. See www.ipetitions.com/petition/SelfClassification

You may be interested in a petition I have started. I am campaigning the government to create a system of self-classification for artists working in the medium of video.

Here is the aim:

1. To establish a system of self-classification for all video works*
2. The creation of logical, legal, evidence based and transparent classification criteria.
3. To provide a creative environment which allows British video artists to compete in the global market.
4. To put an end to the discrimination focused upon artists working in the video medium.

UK law currently prohibits a filmmaker from selling, renting or distributing their work without first seeking classification by the BBFC. Classification is an expensive and time consuming process which is even more burdensome for the independent short film maker, quite often beyond the means of the artist. This process effectively ensures that some video works such as student animation, whose films are only a few minutes long by design, have no chance of reaching their potential audiences. This situation becomes more frustrating for the low budget, independent filmmaker when you consider that similar restrictions are not placed on other forms of expression.

*Video works to be defined as any movie or still image works to be distributed on Tape, DVD, Disc or other digital storage media including linear and non-linear content.

Press Release from Sweet Entertainment Group

Sweet Entertainment Group (SEG) and Steve Sweet, will not be going to trial next month in Vancouver, British Columbia on charges of distributing films over the Internet in contravention of the British Columbia Motion Picture Act.

The British Columbia Film Classification Office (BC FCO) had taken the position that SEG fell under its purview and therefore had to have a license to distribute content over the Internet, and, in addition, to submit any content to the Commission for its review, rating and censorship. SEG balked at that idea and took the position it did not have to do so.

No doubt smarting from the acquittal of Mr. Sweet and SEG on obscenity charges, on June 16, 2004 the BC FCO decided to launch its own raid on Sweet’s studios. Assisted by the Vancouver Police Department FCO Inspectors seized computer discs and other corporate materials and then charged SEG, and Steve Sweet personally, for breaches of the Motion Picture Act; specifically for carrying on the business of an adult film retailer and distributor without being licensed to do so.

The Crown abandoned charges against Steve Sweet of obstructing a Film Classification Officer last month. Today Crown Counsel directed a stay of proceedings against all SEG corporate defendants and Mr. Sweet personally, bringing this latest prosecution to an end. SEG would like to once again thank its legal counsel, Paul G. Kent-Snowsell, for the tremendous job he did in defending these charges and bring the case to a successful conclusion.

Max Sweet

From The Guardian

Playing computer games may actually be good for children, according to a government study that found no proof that even violent games triggered aggressive behaviour.

The games can improve children's decision-making and instil 'positive learning traits', some research suggests. At least one study argues that make-believe violence helps children 'conquer fears and develop a sense of identity', as gruesome fairytales once did.

The review was ordered by ministers over concerns about possible links between bloodthirsty games and real-life violence. The fatal stabbing of 14-year-old Stefan Pakeerah, whose attacker was said to have been obsessed with a game called Manhunt, prompted a campaign by his mother to have violent titles banned.

The review concluded fears about violent games reflected deeper social concerns about 'the changing nature of childhood in a modern world'. Most research suggesting a link came from America and did not take into account the context in which children played.

Ministers have discussed age-labelling of games and are understood to be planning talks with the industry about helping parents choose titles.

From The Scotsman

Senior police officers have called for a TV advertisement for Irn-Bru to be axed because it allegedly encourages violence.

Two complaints from police in the VRU have been made to TV watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan and deputy Karen McCluskey have both voiced their concerns at the ad vert.

There have been a further 17 complaints from members of the public since the advert hit the screens in March. The ASA has launched an investigation into the complaints.

An AG Barr spokesman said: The script was passed by the Broadcasting Clearance Centre. A hardman dressed in a cuckoo suit - wouldn't you laugh?

The advert for Scotland's other national drink features a man dressed in a blue cuckoo costume mimicking a Glasgow hardman who bursts through a wall as an attendant dozes.

The man shouts: Wakey wakey, then yells: Smart Alec, are you? Well get this down your pie hole, clever clogs. Irn-Bru 32 - pure mental stimulation in a can. And it disnae taste like the bottom of my cage.

The librarian says: Shhh. The man replies: I'll shush you, you tweedy old crow.

He then makes a "come on" gesture while saying "cuckoo".

Last month another Irn-Bru ad caused fury among police officers when it called police "pigs". The billboard advert, part of a sales campaign, depicted a sheep with the caption: I nicked the cow's Irn-Bru so she told the pigs.

From the BBC

The government's school discipline adviser has warned that children might learn from violent rap lyrics if parents do not assert moral values.

Head teacher Sir Alan Steer complained in particular about the "anti-women aspect" of some songs. He told journalists at a National Union of Teachers behaviour conference some music motivated a small number of children in a violent sub-culture.

If you don't stand up for your morality when bringing up your children, it's damn sure they will pick up somebody else's, he said. It was unacceptable to talk about women as "bitches and whores".

From Community Newswire, See also www.asiahouse.org

Woman and Horse

Two Hindu organisations have today hit out at a London gallery over a new exhibition which features erotic paintings of Hindu deities.

The Asia House Gallery is staging a show by the Indian artist Maqbool Fida Husain who has repeatedly hit the headlines for painting Hindu Gods and Goddesses in sexual poses.

Today the Hindu Human Rights group criticised gallery chiefs and called on Hindus across the country to join a demonstration against the exhibition on May 27. And, in support of Hindu Human Rights, the Hindu Forum of Britain has backed their comments and called on the gallery to withdraw the exhibition.

The gallery has also come under fire for using Husain's explicit images of the Goddess Durga, who many Hindus regard as their mother, in a flyer to advertise the exhibition.

In 1996, three of his paintings depicting Hindu goddesses in the nude began attracting the ire of Hindu groups in India. Complaints against the paintings of Saraswati, Draupadi and Sita have been investigated before but have not resulted in criminal charges.

A spokesperson for Hindu Human Rights said: Hindus are certainly not anti-art and do not believe in blanket censorship of all Hindu imagery. We are against the abuse of Hindu images especially when done in an offensive way and for commercial gain and sensationalism with complete disregard for the feelings of Hindu society. The lack of consultation with the very large Hindu community here in the UK shows at best a blissful ignorance at the feelings and sentiments of Hindus or worse a willful disregard.

Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general of the Hindu Forum of Britain, said: As well as supporting the protests organised by the Hindu Human Rights group, we plan to make representations to Asia House to urge them to withdraw this exhibition. Kallidai added Hindu groups have also felt dismayed that the High Commissioner of India chose to inaugurate the exhibition despite the history of hurt and offence felt by the worldwide Indian community.

The protest will take place at the gallery, at 63 New Cavendish Street, London, at 3pm on Saturday, May 27. The exhibition of Maqbool Fida Husain's work is on until August 5.

From The Telegraph

Iran has suspended publication of its official state newspaper after it published a cartoon that sparked violent ethnic protests in the northwestern city of Tabriz, a senior judiciary official said today.

The cartoonist and the editor-in-chief of the “Iran” newspaper were arrested over the lampoon that was deemed to insult Iran’s Azeri minority, Tehran’s chief prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi said: Some charges were brought against both of them and they were transferred to Evin prison. He did not specify the charges.

The official Irna news agency said the cartoonist, Mana Neyestani, and the editor-in-chief, Mehrdad Qasemfar, were detained for “further investigation”.

Furious members of the Azeri minority pelted government buildings and banks with stones in Tabriz last night, enraged by the cartoon, eyewitnesses in the city said.

The cartoon, which appeared in Friday’s edition of Iran, showed a boy repeating the Persian word for cockroach in different ways while the uncomprehending bug in front of him says “What?” in Azeri.

The Azeris of northwestern Iran speak a language related to Turkish. Although Azeris have many luminaries among Iran’s commercial elite, Iran’s majority Persians mock them in jokes.

From X Biz

Government officials are accusing search engine giant Google of failing to protect South Korean children from Internet pornography.

According to a report by the Korea Times, national search portals take the responsibility of confirming that users are at least 20 years old before allowing them to access sites containing pornographic material. In fact, Korean search portals go as far as to restrict display pages resulting from keyword searches that contain any sex-related words. However, according to the paper, Google, which Korean users can access, does not follow the local practice.

While Google technically hasn’t broken any local laws, its failure to comply with local custom could cost the company, which has had trouble breaking into the South Korean market.

Google is not legally required to check whether Internet users are over 20 years old before showing the search results for adult content, Han Meyong-ho, an official at the state-run Information Communication Ethics Committee, said.

But, as Meyong-ho pointed out, it would be “proper” for Google to verify the age of its users — something that Yahoo’s Korean portal does do.

Based on an article from P2P Net

Australia's biggest ISP won't be taking part in a Tasmanian trial of network wide porn filtering.

We fundamentally believe that the protection achieved through PC-based filtering is much more effective than any network-based approach, Telstra operations manager Denis Mullane told a Senate estimates committee.

Telstra argues, individual customers should use their own filtering solutions on their computers because network based filters require too much processing power and may cause drops in speed. Our concern is it would lead to a false sense of security for our customers. We are not persuaded it has sufficient merit.

Currently, Telstra only filters content at a network level when asked to do so by the Australian communications watchdog.

The government backed trial will begin sometime after July.

From the Times of India

The Da Vinci Code, has been given the nod by the Censor Board after a week-long drama. The film is likely to be released on May 26 with just one disclaimer at the end.

Sources in the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry said the protests raised by the film producers, Sony Pictures, had prevailed and the recommendation to add a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie, had been struck down.

I&B sources said, The Censor Board has informed us that the issue has been cleared with the film's producers. They said that the film would now just have one disclaimer at the end.

The trouble with this sort of nonsense is that it means half the population will be glad to see the back of him.

Based on an article from the Warsaw Business Journal
Image from www.kingsblog.org.uk

The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Poland this week is likely to bring out the inner Catholic in even the most secular bureaucrat, but those governing Polish public television are not taking any chances.

TVP has called in a group of priests to scrutinize its content in order to make sure the broadcaster transmits no programs or advertisements deemed unsuitable or scandalous during Pope Benedict's visit to Poland. Viewers will not see commercials for beer or underwear, nor are they likely to see TV spots advertising bras, sanitary towels or contraception. Admirers of young, beautiful bodies will also be disappointed, as there will probably be no nudity shown during the Pope's visit.

TVP claims that the self-censorship was not motivated by pressure from politicians or the Church, but out of "respect for the sublime character of the religious event." A similar policy was undertaken during the pilgrimages of the late Pope John Paul II. Private broadcasters, who rely on commercials, are also considering limiting content that might be considered improper.

Bar owners will also have plenty of free time on their hands to watch the Pope celebrate mass, as the government has decided that no alcohol will be sold or served in cities on the day the Pope pays a visit.

From Media Week

Youth channel Rapture TV broke advertising rules by screening an ad with sexual references before the 9pm watershed, the Advertising Standards Authority has ruled.

The ad, for Def Comedy Jam DVDs, featured clips of stand up comedy routines, including one in which a man pulled a rolled up towel from his underpants. Others featured sexual references, an oblique reference to masturbation, and a man impersonating a gay rapper.

The spots were cleared by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre with the proviso that they be shown after 9pm. A viewer complained they saw the ad at 10.30am and that it was unsuitable for that time slot.

Rapture TV said they did not feel that there was anything in the ad which was inappropriate for broadcast at the time the complainant mentioned.

However, in a ruling released today, the ASA decided that the post-watershed restriction was appropriate and that Rapture should have observed it.

From the BBC

More than 10,000 people have taken part in an anti-pornography rally in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. They were supporting a bill before parliament which would include a ban on public kissing and erotic dancing.

The bill would make organising erotic dancing punishable by up to 10 years in prison and public kissing on the mouth punishable by five years or a fine.

Critics of the anti-pornography bill say it would curtail artistic freedom and violate women's rights. Anyone performing dances deemed erotic could also be punished by up to five years in prison.

Supporters of the hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia were amongst those who marched on the parliament building.

Women and children joined the protesters, many of whom held banners reading "Pornography can destroy nation's morality" and "Indonesia should be civilised".

From the BBC

The Indian release of The Da Vinci Code has been delayed indefinitely by Sony Pictures after a row with the country's censors. Sony Pictures said the censors' demand for disclaimers at the beginning and end of the film led to the delay.

The Censor Board has asked for disclaimers saying the film was a work of pure fiction.

The BBC's Monica Chadha in Mumbai (Bombay) says the Censor Board wanted the disclaimers to read it is a work of pure fiction and has no correspondence to historical facts of the Christian religion.

However, Sony Pictures said it had a legal statement at the end of the film and did not believe additional or modified language was required. Sony's statement reads the characters and incidents portrayed and the names herein are fictitious, and any similarity to the name, character or history of any person is entirely coincidental and unintentional.

The company statement also said it hoped an agreement could be reached as soon as possible so that the film could be released in India.

From News.com.au

The Pacific island nation of Samoa has banned The Da Vinci Code after church leaders frowned on the film about a fictional Catholic conspiracy.

Samoa's principal censor banned the Ron Howard movie from cinema, DVD and video rental and television broadcast.

The decision was made after leaders of the Samoa Council of Churches watched a weekend preview of the Da Vinci Code in the country's only cinema at the government's invitation.

The Archbishop of the Catholic Church in Samoa, Alapati Mataeliga, said the film would affect the beliefs of young people whose faith was not strong.

Magik cinema owner Rudolf Keil told the broadcaster the ban breached Samoans' human rights.

The censor said his decision was made according to Samoa's constitution and amendments to nation's film act.

Samoa has been staunchly Christian since missionaries arrived in the 19th century and has a reputation for being the Bible belt of the Pacific.

A Catholic organisation in neighbouring Fiji has called for a similar ban on The Da Vinci Code, which is screening at a cinema in the capital Suva.

I question the wisdom in approving this movie, given the widespread criticisms it attracted worldwide, Catholic League For Religious and Civil Rights Movement spokesman Kelepi Lesi said.

From the Bangkok Post

The Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) yesterday announced a plan to introduce a rating system for online computer games to help parents screen the products to suit their children.

ICT deputy permanent secretary Maneerat Phalipat said the ministry had asked Thammasat University's Research and Consultancy Institute to study and develop a game rating model for Thailand.

The model was introduced at a workshop yesterday which was participated in by representatives from both the government and private sectors, including game producers and distributors, parents and teenagers.

The proposed model has two kinds of labels. The first is an age rating, which would categorise games for five age groups - all ages, 3+ years, 6+ years, 12+ years, and 18 years and over.

There is also a ''Rating pending'' for games that are in the process of being rated.

The other kind of label is a content description which consists of seven warning signs - Bad Language, Drugs, Gambling, Fear, Love, Sexual, and Violence.

For Thailand the study has added two more special signs, Contrary to Thai Culture and Endless Game for those that could cause addiction among players.

Games labelled Contrary to Thai Culture will be banned, while the Endless Game label would remind parents to limit their children's playing hours.

The ministry also plans to adopt marketing strategies to encourage game distributors and importers to voluntarily apply for ratings. They said the system is aimed at raising public awareness of the threats of online games, while calling for operators to show responsibility for consumers.

Maneerat said the proposed model would be reviewed before being officially submitted to the ministry and later to the cabinet. She expected the system to be implemented by the end of the year.

From Asian Sex Gazette

The lower house of Russian parliament, the State Duma,  has rejected a draft bill offering a definition of legal pornography last week. The bill, submitted by the nationalist Rodina (Motherland) faction, received the support of only 91 deputies, while 226 votes were required.

The authors of the draft suggested amending the provisions of the penal code governing punishment for dissemination of pornography and offered a legal definition of pornography. The authors hoped that would help prevent ambiguities in interpretation. But most deputies rejected the draft, saying it was not likely to help improve the situation, on the contrary, it would make law enforcement even more complicated.

The current Russian law, Article 228, Russian Criminal Code(1), reads as follows: The production, circulation, or advertising of pornographic works, printed publications, pictures or any other articles of a pornographic character, and also the trading therein or the possession with the goal of sale or dissemination... shall be punished by deprivation of freedom for a term of up to three years, or a fine of up to three months' minimum pay, with the mandatory confiscation of the pornographic articles and the means of their production.

Anyone who has been to Russia in the past six years would probably be surprised to learn that there is an anti-pornography law on the books or that it is still enforced. Certainly, a casual survey of the wares of table merchants in urban underpasses would reveal that pornography (although its popularity has declined) is still in abundance on the streets.

More on Refused Classification where this is a list of films banned in Australia

Siren Visual Entertainment has lost another hentai DVD to the censors. The Classification Board banned Spotlight on May 10th.

This DVD is available from Critical Mass Video

From The Trumpet

Just as Iran wants to be viewed as the defender of all Islam, in the West we see another nation stepping up to bat for its region’s religious sensitivities. Germany—particularly its most nutter state, Bavaria—wants to be viewed as the defender of all Catholicism, especially since the Pope Benedict xvi hails from that state.

This was made clear in the controversy over the MTV cartoon Popetown. The series was met with outrage from a group “ranging from Bavaria’s Catholic governor Edmund Stoiber to the archdiocese of Munich to members of Germany’s ruling Christian Democrat Party. Germany’s moralists, apparently, are alive and kicking according to Spiegel Online. The article observed, Much of the outrage, not surprisingly, seems centered in Catholic southern Germany. Stoiber spoke about a ‘sordid attack on large numbers of people’ and charged the Bavarian minister of justice with developing new legislation on blasphemy.

Stoiber has even called a meeting of religious leaders in Germany for the end of May: a top-level meeting about the protection of religious feelings. The meeting will discuss ways of strengthening the (legal) protection of Christian symbols.

Under Edmund Stoiber, Bavaria—as the most vocally pro-Vatican province in Europe—is determined to be the protector of the faith in Europe. We particularly watch Stoiber when he is involved in religious affairs, he is the only German politician to have had a private audience with the pope since Germany’s conservatives took power in Berlin last fall. This is why we will be watching Stoiber’s conference over “religious feelings” at the end of the month. In this Holy Roman Empire, the Bible tells us that legislation in fact will be enacted that protects Roman Catholicism’s version of “blasphemy.”

Based on an article from CNN

Chinese director Lou Ye has said he will consider changing his new film Summer Palace, which features sex scenes and political drama, to meet censors' demands in his home country.

I will agree to remove any of the scenes they want, Lou told reporters at the Cannes film festival. I would do just about anything to ensure the film can be seen in China. That is very important, he added later,

Summer Palace, set against the backdrop of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, has caused a stir in China where government censors refused to approve it before its premiere on Thursday at the festival.

They unbelievably cited technical flaws with a fuzzy film print that was submitted to them.

Approval by China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is pivotal for Chinese filmmakers because, if a movie is shown outside the country before it has their approval, the board may try to block its release in China.

From AVN

The Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005 (S. 193) passed by unanimous consent in the Senate on Thursday.

The legislation raises fines from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for broadcast decency violators from $32,500 to $325,000.

Republican Senator Sam Brownback introduced the bill last January: I am glad the Senate took action and increased fines for broadcasters who show indecent material. Radio and television waves are public property, and the companies who profit from using the public airwaves should face meaningful fines for broadcasting indecent material.

I urge the House to take action on increasing indecency fines so we can send a bill to the White House. It's time that broadcast indecency fines represent a real economic penalty and not just a slap on the wrist.

From Zee News

Taking on the Indian Censor Board, Sony Pictures yesterday refused to attach the board-approved disclaimer to the controversial movie The Da Vinci Code. Sony maintained that its disclaimer that the characters and incidents portrayed in the film are fictitious is sufficient.

Sony categorically said it will not make any modifications to the language used in the disclaimer. It, however, welcomed the film’s ‘A’ certification.

The original disclaimer by Sony comes only at the end of the film and the Censors are demanding that it should be displayed in the beginning.

Thanks to Dan

The BBC has scrapped plans for a celebrity pole dancing show after protests from women's groups.

TV star Zoe Ball had signed up to take part in the one-off programme for Sport Relief.

Newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky and GMTV's Fiona Phillips had also been linked to the show, intended as a spoof version of Strictly Come Dancing. But the idea provoked outrage among women's rights campaigners.

Denise Marshall of the Poppy Project, a Home Office-funded support group for women trafficked into prostitution, said: Despite celebrity advocates promoting pole dancing as harmless fun, we must not forget that it has inextricable links to the sexual exploitation of women.

A BBC spokesman said: This idea was one of several that we were considering and will not now be developed further.

From The Irrawaddy

Burma’s best-known comedian, Zargana, has again been banned from giving public performances or promoting his latest film.

The ban, issued by the Motion Picture and Video Censor Board, follows an interview Zargana did with the BBC during the recent water festival in which he criticized the military regime’s arch-conservative rules on culture.

The ban also blocks all public screening of the actor-director’s new film We Can’t Stand Any More, a satire on Rangoon’s social life.

Zargana came to prominence in the 1980s for poking fun at the then socialist regime. This is not the first time. The authorities always scrutinize my work and if they think it makes them bad they ban me.

The comedian has been jailed twice for his social and political activism, first as a political dissident in 1988, then again in 1990 while helping his mother in her campaign for the May general elections that year. He was freed in 1994 on condition that he no longer practiced as a comedian.

The comedian—whose name means tweezers—won the Lillian Hellman and Dashiel Award in 1991 after being nominated by the Fund for Free Expression, a committee of Human Rights Watch.

 Based on an article from the BBC

A protest was staged in Bristol against the arrival of the show Jerry Springer - The Opera which opened at the Hippodrome on Monday as part of a nationwide tour.

Some nutters, including the Christian Centre in Brislington, accuse the show of blasphemy.

A statement from the theatre said: Our theatre is committed to presenting a rich and diverse programme of arts and entertainment throughout the year. It is not our role to act as censors, but for the adult ticket buying public to make their own informed decision.

Members of the Brislington group which staged the protest on Monday urged theatre-goers to "say no" to the show.

From Fox News

The "naked rambler," who has had numerous brushes with the law for nudity on land, was arrested again after shedding his clothes aboard an aircraft.

Stephen Gough was on his way to Edinburgh for a hearing at the Appeal Court, where he was challenging four contempt of court citations for nudity in Scotland.

Police arrested Gough at Edinburgh Airport.

At the Appeal Court, three justices decided that Gough's case merited a full hearing, on a date to be set. Lord Johnston urged Gough's lawyers to persuade their client that he was "doing himself no good" by continuing to go naked.

There is no law saying 'Thou shalt not go naked,' Gough said at one of his court appearances in 2004.

Based on an article from the Bangkok Post

The Hollywood film, The Da Vinci Code, has been cleared for release in India after protests by Christians. Censors gave it an adult rating but said disclaimers stating it was fiction were needed at the beginning and end.

Officials and Catholic leaders had a special viewing of the film on Wednesday after the broadcasting minister received over 200 complaints.

It is still unclear whether the film will open in India as planned on Friday, the day of its worldwide release, as the board has said it will wait for a response from Sony Pictures before formally issuing a certificate.

Catholic Secular Forum head Joseph Dias went on hunger strike to try to have the film banned. His organisation has described The Da Vinci Code as "offensive" because it breaches "certain basic foundations of the religion". He is suing the heads of Sony Films and the censor board for "hurting religious sentiments". The Mumbai (Bombay) High Court will hear the case on Friday

Based on an article from the Daily Mail

BBC3’s Death Detectives will show Home Office pathologist Dr Dick Shepherd cutting open bodies and describing the experience.

Tory MP Nigel Evans, a member of the Commons Media Select Committee, said: This is the worst kind of reality TV and sounds absolutely grotesque.

Nutters at mediawatch-uk branded the post mortem scenes ‘intrusive and voyeuristic’.

A Spokesman for the BBC said: You don’t ever see him cutting in to a body or see inside the body and you can’t identify the body.’

From The Times

China sentenced a veteran dissident writer to 12 years in jail for subversion yesterday, after he posted essays on the internet supporting a movement by exiles to hold free elections.
The sentence on Yang Tianshui is one of the harshest to be handed down to a political dissident since the trials that came after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on students demanding greater democracy. It underscores the determination of the ruling Communist Party to brook no opposition and to maintain a tight grip on the internet.

Yang is one of several writers and dissidents to be tried over the content of internet postings. He has no plans to appeal because he regards his trial as illegal. Li Jianqiang, his lawyer, said: He is most dissatisfied but he had expected such a sentence. He refused to answer questions because he does not recognise the legality of the court.

Yang was detained after he posted essays on the internet in support of Velvet Action of China, a movement named after the Velvet Revolution that overthrew the Communist Government in the former Czechoslovakia. He was freely expressing his opinion and posed no threat to state security. We argue that his actions were entirely within the Constitution, Li said.

The court, in the eastern province of Jiangsu, also found Yang guilty of plotting to form provincial chapters of the outlawed China Democracy Party and of receiving financial assistance from overseas. He is a member of the China chapter of International PEN, the movement founded to defend freedom of expression.

His lawyer said that the sentence was particularly severe because the writer already had a record. Yang served a ten-year jail term on charges of counter-revolution from 1990 to 2000 after he voiced opposition to the military crackdown on the student protesters in Tiananmen Square. He had faced a maximum sentence of death on the charges against him. We think even a one-year sentence is too much. This is very unfair, Li said.

Based on an article from the Bangkok Post

The producer of Mak Te Lok Talueng (Lucky Loser), a comedy movie that pokes fun at a fictitious Lao football team, has cancelled the opening after complaints from the Vientiane.

We will not release the film on May 18 as scheduled in order to show good faith, said Wisut Pulworaluck, chief executive officer of GMM Tai Hub. We don't want to create any problems that may lead to conflicts between the two countries.

MWisut made his announcement at a press briefing after a meeting yesterday with Lao ambassador Hiem Phommachanh.

Lao officials complained the movie's jokes belittled Lao people and the film, about a Thai coach taking the Lao football team to the World Cup, contained inappropriate scenes. The film shows Lao footballers dyeing their hair and underarms to get a Western look, while the team practised in refrigerated containers to get used to the cold weather.

Wisut said the ambassador made several points that prompted the company to cancel the release.

There was no plan for film edits to make it more palatable.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon has advised Thai film producers to be more considerate and respectful of other nations. He said Thai films have high potential in the international arena but the industry needs to be more sensitive about other peoples' feelings.

It is the second Thai film in less than a month to offend a neighbouring country. Horror flick La-Tha-Pii (Ghost Game) brought protests from Cambodia, which complained it exploited the tragic history of its Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s.

Romantic music soars as two virtual strangers couple frantically on a park bench. It’s the first sex scene in The Line of Beauty and occurs in the opening episode of Andrew Davies’s drama. It’s yet another television drama whose main selling point appears to be the promise of explicit sex on screen. Whether it deserves all the hype remains to be seen, but well watched it almost certainly will be...

Since the sexual revolution of the Sixties, many topics once deemed risqué have become mainstream and there has been a huge shift in public acceptance of what can be shown on television. Incest, rape, paedophilia, and lesbian and gay sex have even featured in soaps with family audiences. Mary Whitehouse wouldn’t have approved for sure but for all the lurid headlines, the last taboo – seeing real sex on terrestrial television – remains unbroken.

From the Daily Express letters, presumably from John Beyer

Having worked alongside the late, great Mary Whitehouse for many years I can say with certainty that she would not have approved of the latest BBC drama The Line of Beauty. However, Jane Warren is not right to say that explicit scenes have lost all power to shock us. It may be true that there is less protest about it but there are good reasons why this is so:

• Firstly, there is no effective law that will make the screening of explicit sexual conduct an offence.
• Secondly, the broadcasters know this and they know that the regulators will not intervene despite the requirement not to include offensive material in programmes.
• Thirdly, Ms Warren refers to a number of boundary-pushing dramas, each going further than the previous one, and so the public knows that protest is futile. More than 60,000 protests against Jerry Springer The Opera were summarily dismissed.
• Fourthly, the BBC, because it is licence-fee funded, knows that their funding will continue whatever they put on.

The Daily Express, in the past, has campaigned for the abolition of the licence fee. More and more people are questioning why their money should be used for the production of controversial programmes that are calculated to cause offence and fail to comply with the Communications Act. People who care about standards on television can no longer turn off and remain silent otherwise the “last taboo”, as with all the others, will certainly be broken.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has told the country's newspapers to stop publishing pictures of women as they could lead young men astray.

The move surprised some observers as the absolute monarch has sought to portray himself as a quiet reformer since taking the throne last year in the ultraconservative country.

All media in the kingdom are either owned by the state or run by it, but in recent months some Saudi newspapers have published pictures of women, always with the hair covered and only their face showing. The images of women wearing the traditional Muslim headscarf were used to illustrate stories connected to women's issues, including the right to vote and drive, both of which are withheld. The Saudi embassy in London declined to comment on the apparent ban.

The King reportedly told editors in a meeting this week that publishing a woman's picture was inappropriate. One must think, do they want their daughter, their sister, or their wife to appear in this way? Of course, no one would accept this. Young people are driven by emotion and the spirit, but the spirit can go astray. So I ask you to go easy on these things.

King Abdullah had been regarded by many Saudis as a quiet reformer who might begin to loosen the strict social codes. In recent months, however, many figures in the powerful religious establishment have used mosque sermons and websites to criticise any move towards liberalisation.

The authorities indefinitely postponed a move to replace male shop assistants with women at lingerie shops. The proposal, offered as evidence of progress on women's rights, has been quietly shelved amid claims that shopowners need more time to manage the transition.

From Linx, thanks to Shaun

In a Parliamentary written answer the new Home Office Minister Vernon Croaker set a deadline of the end of 2007 for all ISPs to implement a Cleanfeed-style network level content blocking platform. New ISPs will be required to implement such a blocking platform within nine months of starting operations.

Croaker said: Recently, it has become technically feasible for ISPs to block home users' access to websites irrespective of where in the world they are hosted. It is clear from the various meetings that Ministers have had with the ISPs, that the industry has the will to implement solutions to block these websites. Currently, all the 3G mobile network operators block their mobile customers from accessing these sites and the biggest ISPs are either currently blocking or have plans to by the end of 2006.

We recognise the progress that has been made as a result of the industry's commitment and investment so far. However, 90% of connections is not enough and we are setting a target that by the end of 2007, all ISPs offering broadband internet connectivity to the UK general public put in place technical measures that prevent their customers accessing websites containing illegal images of child abuse identified by the IWF. For new ISPs or services, we would expect them to put in place measures within nine months of offering the service to the public.

Croaker went on to imply, but not directly threaten, future legislative compulsion, saying: If it appears that we are not going to meet our target through co-operation, we will review the options for stopping UK residents accessing websites on the IWF list.

Currently, the only web sites ISPs are expected to block access to are sites the Internet Watch Foundation has identified as containing images of child abuse. However such a platform is capable of blocking access to any web site added to the list (at least, to the extent that the implementation is effective), making it a simple matter to change this policy in future.

The Home Office has previously indicated that it has considered requiring ISPs to block access to articles on the web deemed to be glorifying terrorism, within the meaning of the new Terrorism Act 2006. Writing in the context of enquiries as to whether the Terrorism Act required network-level content blocking of the material it prohibits, Home Office officials have said:

At present, the government does not propose to require UK ISPs to block content and our policy is to pursue a self-regulatory approach wherever possible. However, our legislation as drafted provides the flexibility to accommodate a change in Government policy should the need ever arise.

Based on an article from the Bangkok Post

Thailand's film censorship board yesterday approved the full version of the film The Da Vinci Code, after its distributor appealed against the board's decision on Tuesday to order that the final 10 minutes be cut. The board voted six to five to allow the full version of the film to be shown. It is scheduled to open today.

Chaired by Pol Maj-Gen Somwong Lipiphan, deputy commander of the Central Investigation Bureau, and including Protestant and Catholic representatives, the board viewed the movie for the second time after receiving the appeal from its distributor, Columbia Tristar Buena Vista Films (Thailand).

The controversy erupted after the Thailand Protestant Churches Coordinating Committee, representing four nutter groups, asked the Royal Thai Police to ban the film, which is based on Dan Brown's bestselling novel of the same title. Critics say it insults Jesus and erodes the Christian faith.

Following the Christian protest, the board on Tuesday ordered the distributor to cut the final 10 minutes of the film, change some ''inappropriate'' Thai subtitles such as the words ''Jesus, the deceiver'', and display a warning message before and after the film to remind viewers that it is based on a novel.

Columbia Tristar had appealed against the order to cut the film and the order to display a warning message before and after the movie.

Pol Maj-Gen Somwong said the board finally decided to withdraw the order that the film be cut, but stuck by its decision on subtitle changes and displaying a warning message.

Anucha Chaiyadej, deputy director of Catholic Social Communications of Thailand, who was on a special committee considering the film, said the final decision was a compromise for both sides and he had to accept the board's decision.

He said protestants would not stage any more protests, as they had tried to understand the reasons of both the censorship committee and the film distributor.

Rev Dr Seree Lorgunpai, secretary-general of the Thailand Bible Society, said he had done his best in representing the Christians on the board, and had to accept the final resolution.

Christian groups have already prepared 100,000 copies of guidebooks for people watching the film, to be distributed in front of cinemas.

Thanks to Teddy:

To the Melon Farmers

A similar response from the Home Office as that sent to Shaun. One might ask whether their new found confidence in displaying the responses is bravura or bluff...assuming we do eventually get some transparency on this issue!

From Stephen Ruddell at the Home Office

With regard to the displaying the responses we received, we have no concerns in doing this in principle, apart from where some respondents have asked us not to. We are simply considering if this can be done and how best to do it as there are issues around how the Home Office website is used and the fact that the consultation received a very large number of responses..

But not to worry, the uncut version has been available for a couple of weeks on copy DVD.

Based on an article from the Bangkok Post

The police censorship committee in charge of movies has agreed to censor the climax of the movie The Da Vinci Code, even though the distributor promised to put a special notice on all copies stating the film was a work of fiction.

Thai censors and a group claiming to represent Thai Christians watched the movie today. After the special showing, police agreed to cut the last 10 minutes of the film.

A spokesman for the Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand said that the nutters objected to the part of the film that mentions Jesus having heirs alive today. Under today's agreement, Thais won't see that part of the film in the theatre.

The Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand, the Seventh Day Adventists Foundation of Thailand, and the United Christian Church of Baptism of Thailand had joined fellow Asian Christian nutters from India to the Philippines in urging their governments to ban the film, claiming it distorts the Bible.

Only Thailand capitulated.

Without the warning to audiences, the movie should not be shown in Thailand, Manote Cheangsuk, chairman of Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand, told a press conference. If (the movie) is not true, it cannot be shown.

Ironically, American filmmakers complained just yesterday that local censorship is a reason why audiences buy pirated VCDs and DVDs. Tienchai Pinvises, executive director of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) of Thailand specifically mentioned blurring out smoking and drinking in TV presentations of movies, but presumably cutting out parts of a movie also would apply.

In the Philippines, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) approved the showing of the controversial film in this predominantly Christian country.

Malaysian Christians disagreed completely with their Thai brethern, and said Malaysians were intelligent enough to figure out it was Hollywood.

From MiD Day

A question mark hangs over the release of the controversial movie The Da Vinci Code in India, with the government treading a cautious path, saying it will consult representatives of the Catholic churches to take stock of their opinion and sensibilities.

I will not allow it to be screened unless representatives of the Catholic churches along with the Censor Board watch the movie and clear it, Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi told reporters here. The minister, who would be watching the movie in the next 24 hours, said he would consult them "and if anything comes up which effects their sensibilities, we will not allow the movie to be screened".

The minister said around 300 organisations have sent a memorandum to him, requesting him to first watch the movie himself before allowing it to be screened.  The minister said he had directed the Censor Board to stop giving clearance to the movie before he gets the views of representatives of the Catholic churches in India.

From the BBC

In India, the head of the Catholic Secular Forum has begun a "hunger strike until death".

Activist Joseph Dias says his hunger strike will continue "until death". Joseph Dias said he wanted others to join him and pledged to continue until the film was banned.

His organisation has described The Da Vinci Code as "offensive" because it breaches certain basic foundations of the religion.

From The Times

Censors in China may ban Mission: Impossible III, the latest Tom Cruise action film, because it suggests that Shanghai police may not be the world’s finest thief-catchers.

The movie, which features scenes filmed in Shanghai, has yet to be given the all-clear by watchdogs in Beijing, fuelling speculation that it may be barred from cinemas or heavily edited.

The film was expected to be a hit in China, where much of it was shot. However, state-run newspapers are abuzz with reports that M:i:III may be banned because it shows Shanghai in an unfavourable light and suggests that Chinese police may not always be up to the task of catching criminals.

The Beijing Times said: In the Shanghai scenes all the roofs and alleys have raggedy clothes hanging from bamboo sticks everywhere. Many viewers had found the scenes shot in Shanghai and the village of Xitang “inappropriate”, given that both locations were used as sites for the storage of chemical weapons by the film villains.

One commentator said: Chinese viewers will have trouble accepting this plot of foreign criminal elements fighting publicly in Shanghai. Word has it that Chinese police registered outrage when it was noticed at a private screening that crimes could take place in China without being detected by the nation’s finest.

A manager overseeing the China operations of United International Pictures, which is responsible for M:i:III, said that he was still waiting for a final decision from the film administration. He said: These reports about how the movie is being blocked and so on, it’s all fake news. He said he was confident that the film would be a box-office hit if it won over the censors.

China rarely bans a foreign film outright. This is because it sets a quota of 20 for distribution each year, and most film companies propose only the movies that are likely to be a hit with both censors and audiences. The Oscar-winning Brokeback Mountain was not shown because distributors never expected a film with the theme of homosexuality to make it past the censors.

Based on an article from The Nation

Four major Christian nutter groups yesterday submitted a request to the Thai Police asking that the controversial Hollywood movie The Da Vinci Code be banned from Thailand.

Maj-General Phanomsak Thangthong, chief of the registration division, said the request had been sent to a censorship subcommittee for immediate consideration. The movie from Dan Brown's novel of the same title, is scheduled for screening in Thailand on Thursday.

The movie distorts the Bible and violates the dignity of the Jesus, Professor Wirach Koidul, an official with the Coordination Committee of the Protestant Church of Thailand, said in a statement released by the four groups. Our joint conclusion agrees that the novel and the movie deliberately insult Jesus Christ.The movie depicts Jesus as only a man, and not entitled to the prophecy, as believed by Christians worldwide.

Moreover, in the movie he is married to Mary Magdalene and fathers a son with her, which is completely false, he added.

The statement was made with the Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand, the Seventh Day Adventists' Foundation of Thailand, and the United Christian Church of Baptism of Thailand. They represent about 1 million Christians in Thailand, they said.

Opinion from The Observer by Nick Cohen

The United Nations held 'World Press Freedom Day 2006' earlier this month. I don't know why. Maybe the UN realised that so many of its member states stifled press and other freedoms they needed encouragement to do better. If so, the day was a wretched failure.

It began promisingly. At a meeting in Westminster, Roger Koeppel, editor-in-chief of the centre-right German paper Die Welt, gave a classic defence of freedom of expression. He had done what no British editor dared do and printed the Danish cartoons of Muhammad. He received the customary death threats, but didn't regret it, because: it is essential to protect freedom of expression because of all the pain we have invested to keep our liberal, secular society.

Dr Maleeha Lodhi, the Pakistani High Commissioner to Britain, opposed him. She denounced the tendency in the West to say, "We insult our own, so we can insult yours, too". Well, no. We do have a problem with that and we demand respect. Her 'demand' for censorship was a faithful reflection of her masters' policy. The Pakistani military dictatorship not only has blasphemy laws, but also forces journalists to resign, arrests them and holds them in solitary confinement. The monitoring agency Freedom House succinctly describes the Pakistani media as 'not free', and they aren't.

So, on the one hand, we had an editor from a liberal democracy saying: I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to my death your right to say it and, on the other, the servant of a military junta that says: We may disagree with what you say and if we do, we will send you to prison. What division could be more natural?

Next week, the Council of Europe is holding hearings on whether freedom of expression should include the right to offend religions. It is already clear that the tide is with the supporters of suppression.

Meanwhile, Franco Frattini, the EU's Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security, has already banned the use of the phrase 'Islamic terrorism' to describe Islamic terrorism. You cannot use the term "Islamic terrorism", he insisted. People who commit suicide attacks or criminal activities on behalf of religion, Islamic religion or other religion, they abuse the name of this religion.

Yet the EU wishes to deny that political Islam inspires terrorists to blow up everything from mosques in Baghdad to tube trains in London, even when Islamist terrorists say explicitly that it does. You should always pay your enemies the compliment of taking them seriously. The EU can't understand what its enemies are saying, because it won't call them by their right name.

Keith Porteous Wood, of the National Secular Society, is going to the Council of Europe this week to uphold the battered cause of freedom of speech. He has files full of policy papers from religious groups agitating for the EU or UN to impose a universal blasphemy law. It won't work for the same reason that New Labour's incitement to religious hatred law hasn't worked. A law that protects all religions is self-contradictory, as each religion is blasphemous in the eyes of its rivals.

Supposedly liberal states of Europe are showing an indecent eagerness to reach for their lawyers. Their contempt for plain speaking, as much as the refusal of the European Commission to accept the 'no' votes in the French and Dutch referendums on the European Constitution, shows their waning faith in liberal democracy. A backlash from Europeans who believe they have the right to speak their minds and have their votes respected strikes me as inevitable.

Based on an article from Boz News Life

Indian Catholics seeking a ban of Tickle my funny bone, scored a victory after censors postponed the release.

KBC, distributors of Tickle my funny bone, about a "sexy nun" reportedly apologized saying they will not use posters showing censored portions of the film.

The General Secretary of Catholic Social Forum, Joseph Dias had urged the Central Board of Film Certification’s regional officer Vinayak Azad in Mumbai to initiate the action.

Dias said Azad had assured him that all visuals of Christian symbols – church, rosary, cross, clergy and a woman dressed as nun would not appear in the film.

I wonder what prompted this story?

Based on an article from The Telegraph

A record number of films containing extreme violence and explicit sex are making it onto the big screen without any cuts.

Figures compiled by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) show that during the past decade, less than 3% of the 4,951 films released into cinemas have had to lose footage in order to get their preferred certificate.

The drastic fall in the number of films requiring cuts, from a high of 27% in the 1970s, comes as a new generation of film makers compete to push the boundaries of taste and decency.

Whereas in the 1960s and 1970s X-rated films were routinely cut on the grounds of taste and decency, the board will now cut 18 certificate films only if they encourage illegality or if the content is likely to encourage someone to harm themselves.

In January, the BBFC allowed an unaltered version of the horror film Hostel into cinemas even though, in its own words, it contained scenes of "bloody violence, torture and strong sex". Eli Roth's film, in which a group of wealthy Americans pay to fulfil their most depraved fantasies, shows one character having his eyes gouged out, and was denounced as "perverse" and "obscene" by some critics.

In 2004, when the number of films cut by the BBFC reached an all-time low of 0.9%, the board allowed unaltered versions of Michael Winterbottom's film 9 Songs into cinemas even though it featured people having sex.

On its own website the board admits that such a decision would probably not have been made 10 years earlier.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the BBFC required producers to make cuts to around one in four films and, even in the 1980s, it was still requiring content changes to 17% of mainstream releases.

So far this year, five films or 2.9% of the total released, have been required to make cuts to get their preferred classification.

None of these films were 18 certificate and all made cuts to secure the lucrative 12A classification rather than the 15 certificate.

The total amount of footage dropped amounted to two minutes and 54 seconds.

John Beyer, the nutter director of Mediawatch UK, which monitors the work of the BBFC, has attacked its reluctance to take action. He said: It is a free for all. Films should be classified by a body which is not linked to the industry.

But Andreas Whittam Smith, the BBFC's president between 1997 and 2002, said classification had to reflect the moral climate of the time: The board should be guided by what the public wants. We shouldn't have a situation where the board tells the public what it wants.

A BBFC spokesman said the board was in the business of classification rather than censorship. We leave it up to adults to make up their own minds about the films they see.

From Pittsburgh Live

The Da Vinci Code will not be seen in Egypt when it is released worldwide Friday.
Nor will the long-awaited film play in Jordan or Lebanon, which banned Arabic translations of the book.

Observers here blame fears that the film's controversial take on Christ's life will fan sectarian tension.

Christian-Muslim relations in Egypt are especially strained after two deadly clashes in Alexandria, the country's second largest city.

Youssef Sidhom, editor of a Christian newsweekly, thinks many Egyptians may view the film as "a conspiracy against Christianity." But he opposes banning it, which he expects would provoke more curiosity, and a greater demand for pirated copies.

Jordan's Council of Churches urged the government to ban the film. Council secretary-general Hanna Nour said the film tarnishes the memory of Christian and Islamic figures and contradicts the truth as written in the Bible and the Quran about Jesus.

Moustafa Darwish, a film critic explains the lines of reasoning weighing against "Da Vinci" opening in Egypt: One is that the film will be sent here after the agents are sure it will be approved by the censors. Two, the producers decided not to send it here because the agent advised that it could be banned. ... Basically, it is self-censorship.

Government censorship director Ali Abu Shadi insisted censors have not seen the film, adding: "We cannot ban it if a copy hasn't come to us."

Allied Film Distributors, the film's local agent, removed movie trailers and publicity material from Cairo theaters. The company in America has to decide whether we are going to offer it or not because of a 90%chance it will be banned, said Allied spokeswoman Nevene Refaat.

For now, Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are the only Middle Eastern countries scheduled to show "Da Vinci" upon its release.

From Backlash

Just read the list of the Government changes and it seems Blair made a clean sweep at the Home Office. Paul Goggins now moved to the Northern Ireland Office as junior Under Secretary of State. This move in the past considered as demotion.

The new minister seems to be Vernon Coaker MP for Gedling. I couldn't spot anything much to indicate likely attitudes to censorship and human rights.

From the BBC

Eleanor Burnham has launched a vigorous defence of artistic freedom in Wales. Her campaign to preserve artistic freedom has already received the backing of the National Campaign for the Arts.

Burnham tabled a Statement of Opinion on freedom of expression in the arts in response to increasingly vocal calls for censorship - particularly but not exclusively around Jerry Springer the Opera. There have also been calls for the Assembly to intervene in what can and cannot be performed in Wales.

Burnham, the Welsh Liberal Democrat spokesperson on Culture said: Freedom of expression has come under enormous pressure in the last two years with ever increasing calls for greater censorship. It is a difficult time for all artists, especially those who seek to tackle controversial and difficult subjects. Artists, performers and playwrights have an important role in exploring difficult issues, even if they offend people in doing so. This right must be protected. It is all too easy to want to silence the views that offend us. But we must remember that the same freedom that allows someone to offend us also allows us to argue back.

Victoria Todd, Director of the National Campaign for the Arts, has added her backing to the campaign for artistic freedom. She said: Now more than ever we need the arts to explore issues thrown up by cultures and religions, yet proponents of censorship are becoming emboldened. The National Campaign for the Arts has consistently worked to ensure that all artists have the right to provoke thought and challenge convention, lobbying with success on UK-wide legislation such as the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill. Whatever infrastructure is ultimately deemed appropriate for the arts sector in Wales, it must incorporate real safeguards for freedom of expression to allow the promotion of debate and understanding in a tolerant society.

The statement also reiterates the Welsh Liberal Democrat's continued support for an arms length between the funding and control of arts and the Assembly Government.

From the Daily Record

Kids in Stirling will be able to watch a Swedish sex film after its BBFC 18 certificate was overruled. The Ketchup Effect will be locally rated 12A and can be seen by under-12s as long as they are with an adult.

Stirling councillors reduced the age limit as they believed the film would be educational for children.

It will be shown this weekend at Stirling's MacRobert Centre after the theatre lobbied for the change. The BBFC rated the movie 18 as it "contains strong sex and language".

It tells the story of a 13-year-old girl preparing to start at a new high school in Sweden. After drinking a boozy cocktail stolen from her dad, Sofie goes to a party and passes out. Boys take lewd pictures of her which are circulated throughout the school. She then has to try to restore her reputation. Much of the controversy centres on a scene where Sofie has a sexual discussion with a boy and a prosthetic penis is seen.

MacRobert boss Liz Moran said: "There was no point in showing it to adults only. We've lived through and dealt with being this age and getting into impossible situations: We felt this film should be shown to 13-year-olds.

From Ecumenical News International

Some Indian Christians are so incensed with the fictional blockbuster The Da Vinci Code they want the government to ban it and one [distinctly unchristian] Roman Catholic has offered a bounty of US$25 000 on the head of author Dan Brown, leaving other members of the faithful embarrassed by the reaction.

The Mumbai Catholic Council has threatened to stop the screening of the movie if the government fails to ban the recently released movie of the book. Another group called the Catholic Social Forum has said if the shows go ahead it will launch a death fast from 12 May.

Nicolas Almeida, a Catholic and former Mumbai municipal councillor, offered a reward of 1.1 million rupees ($25 000) for the head of author Brown, leading a Catholic journalist to compare Almeida to the Taliban.

Some Catholics have, however, rebuffed the moves to ban the fictional work.

Offering bounty for the head of the author is a Taliban-like response, Kay Benedict, a Catholic journalist, told ENI. With their protests, he said, Catholics have ensured "more than enough publicity" for the movie in India. The Christian faith is 2000 years old and it is not so fragile as to be destroyed by a single movie.

From the BBC

Internet regulators have finally rejected plans to create a domain for pornography websites ending with the .xxx suffix. Internet regulator Icann's chief said the decision was not political.

Advocates of the exclusive domain had argued that it would make it easier for web users to locate - or avoid - pornography online.

Conservative opponents of the plan said it would legitimise pornography, while opponents in the porn industry warned it could lead to more state control.

Based on an article from the BBC

Sir Elton was talking about the first anniversary of the Billy Elliot musical live on Channel 4's The New Paul O'Grady Show.

He said that when  one of the show's young stars asked his middle name, he replied it was Hercules. His real name, Reginald Kenneth Dwight, made him sound like a banker, or a wanker, one of the two, he said.

O'Grady ended the programme by saying: Sorry if it has been a bit raucous, ladies and gentlemen.

About 20 nutters complained after the show, which finished at 1800, a Channel 4 spokeswoman said: It is a live show and Elton is a guest but Paul dealt with it there and then and apologised. She added: I don't think it is the strongest language, and we feel that Paul dealt with it appropriately.

From the Jakarta Post

Some 5,000 people under the banner of The Nationalist Network will take to the streets Thursday in another protest against the Indonesian pornography bill. The protesters will comprise some 42 community groups,

They will start marching from the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta, passing through Semanggi flyover toward the House of Representatives in South Jakarta.

While the porn bill is still being deliberated at the House of Representatives, with some revisions made, many groups, particularly artists and people interested in the study of culture, are still trying to convince the House to drop the bill, saying it would deny the people freedom of expression.

Network coordinator Nur Aini said it was important to keep the cause alive because the porn bill only served the interests of politicians and not the general public.

From the Star

The Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry wants MPs to view Lelaki Komunis Terakhir (The Last Communist) to see for themselves whether the banned film is inappropriate for Malaysians.

We will invite the MPs to watch the movie at Finas, but I doubt if many of them will want to come, said Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim. We should not comment on the movie if we haven’t seen it. How can you say that the movie promotes Chin Peng and causes security concerns if you haven’t seen it?

Dr Rais said he would seek a review of the film although it had been banned by the Home Affairs Ministry. The film should have been given impartial treatment by everyone first, he said, but agreed that the title could be “repulsive” to Malaysians.

Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang asked why the film was banned when representatives from the Board and Special Branch officers had viewed and approved it for screening. He said if the film had actually glorified Chin Peng, the Government should then sack the Board members for approving it.

In Ipoh, the Perak Heritage Society said the 90-minute semi-musical documentary, shot mainly in the state, was a fun movie that dealt with serious and depressing situations in a light manner. Chin Peng, the exiled leader of the banned Communist Party of Malaysia, doesn’t even appear in the movie, said society president Law Siak Hong.

He stressed that the film did not glorify Chin Peng in any way.

Based on an article from the BBC

Cable television operators in Indian administered Kashmir say that they have indefinitely cancelled programming after threats from militant nutters. They say they have been warned that all programmes must be permanently off air within the next 10 days.

The operators say they have been targeted because their broadcasts are deemed to be obscene by some militants. The owner of the main cable TV company in Srinagar told the BBC that the decision to stop programming was taken after several of their offices in the city were visited by militant groups complaining about the "depraved" nature of their output.

The BBC's Altaf Hussain in Srinagar says that all cable programmes - including news channels, documentaries, Western films and Hindi movies - are no longer available.

The threats against the cable companies are reported to emanate from the little-known Al-Madina Regiment militant group which warned them they would "face severe consequences" if they did not cease their programming within 10 days.

However the main militant group says the shut-down has been orchestrated to divert attention from a local sex scandal. Violent protests broke out in Srinagar last week after allegations that a number of senior government and police officials are alleged to be involved in a prostitution ring.

From BozNewsLife

A Christian official of the Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC) has urged the Indian Film Censor Board to forbid the release in India of the The Da Vinci Code, saying the film "offends Christ" and the church he founded.

Since this movie is sheer blasphemy and has deeply upset the sentiments of Christians, on behalf of the Christian community, I request (you) not to allow the screening of this movie" DMC Chairman Arnold James wrote in a letter to censor chief Sharmila Tagore.

There was no immediate reaction from Tagore,

The Catholic Secular Forum announced it had called on thousand of people to attend a protest on Wednesday, May 10, in Mumbai, India's film industry capital known as Bollywood, to burn effigies of author Brown.

Earlier about 100 people gathered for a protest on May 9, in Mumbai and burnt pages of the book, but were prevented by police from burning an effigy of Brown.

Others have urged Christians to go on hunger strike over the film...[Maybe a call that would be supported by mischievous opponents as well as fellow Christians]

From Spiegel Magazine

A new MTV pilot cartoon making fun of the pope has stirred up nutter outrage in Germany. Can one really show the pope hopping through the Vatican halls on a cross-shaped pogo stick?

Shortly before 10 p.m. last Wednesday, MTV presenter Markus Kavka announced that things were about to get serious: No more fooling around.

Sitting next to Kavka were Dirk Tänzler from the German Catholic Youth League, Johannes Vogel, chairman of the Young Liberals (the youth organization of Germany's free-market FDP party), Joachim von Gottberg, chairman of Germany's Organization for the Voluntary Self-Control of TV Production, and Smudo, a popular German rapper. They were there to clarify whether Popetown is an insult to the Christian faith or not, and whether the TV series should be aired.

In Germany, catastrophes of national or global importance are often showcased in an extended television feature aired on primetime national TV. And last Wednesday, MTV followed suit, airing a News Mag Special Popetown. The show featured a discussion round featuring politicians and media experts.

Such a show -- a political discussion round devoted to a cartoon series -- had never been seen before on German TV. And it's a phenomenon that likely says less about the cartoon business than about the times in general. It's become shockingly simple to anger large numbers of people -- especially if they come from the business of religion or morals.

"Popetown" might have gone unnoticed. The series was going to be shown on MTV, a channel that controls only 2.1 percent of the German market and is watched mainly by a 14-29 year old audience. But MTV made the fatal mistake of launching an ad campaign the week before Easter. The recurring image showed Jesus sitting in front of a TV after having come down from the cross and featured the motto: It's Better to Enjoy Yourself Than to Hang Around. It was obviously a calculated provocation -- after all, MTV hadn't succeeded in provoking anyone for quite some time.

Much of the outrage, not surprisingly, seems centered in Catholic southern Germany. Augsburg bishop Walter Mixa defined Popetown as "mental pollution." Joachim Herrmann, the parliamentary leader of the CSU party, sued MTV for its ad campaign. Markus Söder, the general secretary of the CSU, began thinking about introducing higher penalties for blasphemy. Edmund Stoiber spoke about a "sordid attack on large numbers of people" and charged the Bavarian Minister of Justice with developing new legislation on blasphemy.

Some members of the Christian Democrat CDU party, furthermore, demanded that MTV be stripped of its broadcasting license. The Munich archdiocese took legal mesasures to try to stop the ad being shown, and even talkshow host Thomas Gottschalk, normally known for his inability to keep his eyes off the legs of his female guests, defined the ad as "simply unacceptable." In the end, even Germany's Islamic Council had something to say on the issue.

The discussion turned out not to be very inspired -- mainly because no one really seemed to know what a "religious sentiment" is and how exactly it gets "injured" or "offended." Religion is a pretty nebulous concept, and so is that of sentiment -- when the two coincide, things can get very abstract.

Poor Dirk Tänzler from the Catholic Youth League said he found Popetown stupid rather than funny. Smudo replied that he thought the same of Germany's Catholic CSU party. They should be banned too, you know, because they offend my liberal-democratic worldview.

And in the end, the CSU and the Catholic Church were probably grateful for having been reminded of their own existence. It was wonderful to be offended -- like true believers. The Catholics have caught up with the Muslims in the ongoing competition over who can muster the most outrage. Edmund Stoiber has scheduled a meeting with the leaders of Germany's religious communities for the end of May -- "a top-level meeting about the protection of religious feelings."

Which leaves only the question of what God thinks of the whole thing. He's been invoked so often recently He's probably feeling a bit dizzy. Or maybe not: As TV presenter Henry Gründler said during the MTV debate: God is great; He'll put up with anything -- even religion.

Thanks to Shaun

Email from Shaun to Stephen Ruddell at the Home Office

Any news? Are the responses (where the author has given permission) to be published so we can all read them ?

WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO READ THE RESPONSES if they are going to be used to JUSTIFY further restriction.

It seems that MOST of the responses are AGAINST the government? So is the Home Office STILL going to impose this unwanted repressive censorship on us ?

Email from Stephen Ruddell to Shaun

I'm afraid the responses aren't yet available.

We aren't averse to doing this - it is simply because the HO website isn't built in a way to facilitate it. I know the Scottish Exec have done it but they received a much smaller number of responses. We are still investigating if there is a way of doing it electronically.

The Government certainly intends to produce a 'response' to the responses, prior to the summer recess.

As you will be aware we are still consulting on the paper with various groups who raised particular issues.

Email from Shaun to Stephen Ruddell

Hmmm..

As a professional software developer of some twenty years experience, I know that it really is a load of bunkum, about your web site not being able to put up the responses.

All the webmasters have to do is stick up the pages in PDF format or HTML or DOC and provide links to them on your pages. They don't even have to bother converting them. They could even be downloaded and read by interested parties in the format in which they were received, after removal of any personal info, if that is needed.

Whoever told you that your web site can't support such pages is, in my view, telling you porkies....... Or you people are telling US porkies, because you don't want us to see the responses...

Probably because (as I suspect) most of them are not in your favour and you are still going to impose this human rights abusing legislation upon free people regardless of the views of respondents.

Perhaps a freedom of information request to see the responses might do the trick?

From Norwich Evening News

Nutters converged on the Norwich Theatre Royal last night for the opening of the controversial Jerry Springer The Opera. Religious groups from across the city united to object to the six-night show claiming it is blasphemous.

The 40-strong crowd, which was carrying placards with "Jesus Saves" and chanting Christian songs, were met with chants of "Jerry Jerry" from an opposing Norwich Anarchist group.

However, the storm did little to deter the several hundred theatre-goers who remained adamant they were going to see the show to have a good time.

Based on an article from CWACKERS (Class War Against Christian Wankers)

Every Christian nutter in Norwich appeared outside the Theatre Royal on 9th May to protest against the performance of Jerry Springer: The Opera.

The out of tune hymn singing rabble were roused out of their local catacombes by an assortment of rightwing fundamentalist church leaders who recently passed around and signed a letter complaining about devil worship and other such dangers if the show were to go ahead.

This opera is full of expletives and foul language which if used on the streets of Norwich could possibly result in arrest and prosecution, say the nutters. This opera is highly offensive to Almighty God and to many Christian believers. We cannot stand by whilst the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is being denigrated in this way.

The Christian community has been conducting a campaign against the opera for some months; people have prayed; petitions have been signed; many have written to Peter Wilson at the Theatre Royal to express their opposition; letters have been written to corporate supporters and local councillors questioning their support, with Council Tax money, of a theatre which pays no regard to the blasphemous content of this opera.

Having discovered that the tamborine slapping, guitar spanking biggots were planing to try and kick up a ruckass Jehovah style, members of Norwich Anarchists and the Norwich Brigade of CWACKERS (Class War Against Christian Wankers) decided to demonstate in favour of reopening the Colliseum and reintroducing the old pastime of 'chucking the Christian wacko's to the lions. Large members of Norwich's public it seems couldn't agree more...

From inq7

Archbishop Ramon Arguelles has urged Philippine film censors to ban the Hollywood film The Da Vince Code, dismissing it as blasphemous.

In a predominantly Christian country like the Philippines, making publicly available such film is sinfully condoning blasphemy and undermining the very limits of the people's value and religious foundation, Arguelles wrote in his letter to The Movie, Television, Review, and Classification Board.

Arguelles said that after reading the book, he was convinced that the film could shake the belief of even the most devoted Catholic: I appeal to the MTRCB and the government to ban the film on the grounds that it injures the religious sentiments of the majority of Filipinos.

The imminent release of the film has stirred religious passions worldwide with the Anglican Church in Sydney and Catholic bishops in the United States launching websites and videos refuting claims made in the novel. The movie poses the explosive idea that Jesus Christ married his follower Mary Magdalene and started a bloodline that still exists in secret.

Based on an article from the BBC

The Archbishop of Wales has criticised the planned staging of Jerry Springer - The Opera at the Wales Millennium Centre (WMC) in Cardiff next month.

The archbishop, Dr Barry Morgan, said there could be protests when it is staged between 12 June and 17 June. Dr Morgan said he believed its content "crossed a line".

He said: "I'm deeply disappointed. On the one hand, I can see that we need freedom for the arts to express what they want to express. On the other hand, I think they've crossed a line here, because what they say about Jesus in this opera is likely to cause scandal and they'd never get away with saying the same things about the prophet Muhammad. What they say about Jesus here is blasphemous and gratuitously offensive and I think when an opera does that, then it's time to call a halt.

Why should Christianity endure this kind of offensive blasphemous treatment

[...because Christians don't keep their beliefs to themselves and try to inflect their intolerance on those that consider Christianity to be unbelievable nonsense.]
 

Based on an article from Sun 2 Surf

The curtains shall remain closed on the movie Lelaki Komunis Terakhir (The Last Communist) because that is what the Malaysian public supposedly wants.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho said even though the National Film Censorship Board (LPF) had approved the screening of Amir Muhammad's latest film, the minister, Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad, retracted the approval.

Under Section 26 of the Film Censorship Act 2002, the minister has the right to revoke or cancel approval because of public interest, and that is why the movie is not being screened, Tan said.

The Act says the minister may at his absolute discretion, prohibit the exhibition, display, distribution, possession, circulation or sale of any film or film publicity material if he or she is of the opinion that it would be contrary to public interest.

Tan said he heard there were many objections from the public about the movie after newspapers publicised it, and the minister had to consider these. The public was not very happy about the movie, Tan said, denying that the objections were from any religious group.

The semi-musical documentary inspired by the early life and legacy of Chin Peng, exiled leader of the banned Communist Party of Malaysia, was scheduled to make its debut on May 18, 2006.

Among public protests to the movie were news reports and editorials in Malay dailies, particularly over the last week that highlighted objections from veteran politicians, members of Parliament and historians.

One editorial in Berita Harian by Akmal Abdullah said while it might not be fair to punish the film without watching it, especially since the LPF had already approved its screening, the movie was a "tribute" to a Communist leader and the Communist struggle.

From the BBC

Leading UK Catholics and members of Opus Dei have formed a group to respond to the negative impact the Da Vinci Code film is expected to bring.

The book, which has sold 40 millions copies worldwide, has been attacked for portraying the Catholic Church as a shadowy organisation that has spent 2,000 years covering up Christ's bloodline.

The Da Vinci Code Response Group, which also includes a Benedictine abbot and two priests, has condemned Dan Brown's book as "fiction trading as fact".  The group criticised its "damaging and grotesque" account of their faith.

The response group is being co-ordinated by Austen Ivereigh, the director for public affairs of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster and head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

In a statement the group said: We believe the Da Vinci Code is fun and harmless in so far as it is treated as fiction. We do not believe in condemnations, boycotts or protests. But we are also exasperated that many people without a good understanding of the Catholic Church and its history have been understandably deceived by Dan Brown's claim that the Da Vinci Code is based on facts and respectable theories. That deception is likely to be reinforced by the film because images are much more powerful than words."

Opus Dei, a conservative Catholic group with 86,000 members worldwide, are particularly angry about their order being portrayed as murderous and power-crazed. The organisation has arranged special information evenings in London for the public and has asked Sony Pictures, which produced the new film, to include a caption explaining the film is fiction. Sony has previously declined to reveal whether the film would carry such a disclaimer.

From Scoop

Internal Affairs Minister Rick Barker has announced appointments to the Film and Literature Board of Review: On 31 May 2004 the terms of eight members of the Film and Literature Board of Review expired. Changes to relevant legislation and the 2005 General Election caused considerable delays in the appointment process for these positions. The eight members agreed to remain in office until such time as the appointment process could be completed. The process is now complete and I am happy to announce the reappointment the eight incumbent members of the Board. The terms of appointment will be varied, so that in future years all eight vacancies will not arise at the same time.

The Film and Literature Board of Review is a statutory appeal body. It examines publications already classified by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (the Chief Censor’s Office). Each publication is examined without regard to the initial classification.

Claudia Elliott has been reappointed as President, Greg Presland as Deputy President, Mark Andersen, Brian McDonnell, Marion Orme, Peter Cartwright, Lalita Rajasingham and Stephen Stelhin have been reappointed as members.

Surely it must be a good thing that the BBFC now rarely make the news.

Based on an article from The Telegraph

It opens with a mutilated body, features a series of bloody murders and even portrays a monk flagellating himself with a rope. But the most disturbing thing about the Hollywood adaptation of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code is its musical score and sound effects, according to the BBFC.

The producers of the new film were told that their request for a 12A certificate was inappropriate because the film's score was too tense for young children, and its sound levels accentuated the violence. The BBFC told executives at Sony, who are distributing the film in Britain, that unless significant changes were made to the film's audio content they would end up with a restrictive 15 certificate, which would have had a serious impact on the film's box office prospects.

A move to turn down a film's certification on the basis of its soundtrack is virtually unheard of. Normally, film producers have to cut only visual scenes to get the certification they require.

The Sunday Telegraph understands that the board viewed two different rough cuts of the film at the beginning of last month.

David Cooke, the BBFC's director, saw a version that contained hardly any soundtrack and is believed not to have raised any concerns.

Difficulties ensued, however, when two of the board's examiners viewed a version complete with the full soundtrack the following week. It was when the movie was viewed again with the soundtrack that the problems emerged, a studio source said. Everyone was full of praise for the score but the BBFC felt that the way it was being used to build up the tension was simply too much for very young children. The BBFC also thought that the film had a very high 'crunch factor'. You didn't just see the fight scenes, you heard the bones break.

Aware that anything other than a 12A certificate would have undermined the film's commercial prospects, Sony was forced to moderate the audio content for the finished version of the film. Last week, it was finally granted the desired 12A certificate by the board.

A BBFC spokesman said: We advised Sony that, as things stood, the film would receive a 15 certificate unless changes were made. A good score is obviously there to build up the tension. But in this case, we felt it was making things too tense for a very young audience. The sound mix was also accentuating the violence to a degree which was unacceptable for a young audience.

John Beyer, the nutter director of Media Watch UK questioned whether adjusting the sound was the right way to protect young people: You do have to wonder if just turning down the sound is going to help matters that much. Even after the sound has been adjusted, you are still left with the problem of the violent imagery and it's this kind of imagery which really worries people.

From the National Secular Society

Foreign Office minister Kim Howells told an Islamic conference in London this week that blaming the West for the problems in the Muslim world was “an act of self-denial”. Howells told a meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) that although he accepted that Muslims were offended by the publication of the Mohammed cartoons, the press in some Islamic countries had to take some blame for the ensuing bloodshed.

The 57 members of the Saudi-based Organisation of the OIC had already issued a statement on Wednesday, saying it was committed to press freedom...BUT... that journalists should be deterred from premeditatedly vilifying and defaming religion. This call for censorship was, ironically, issued to mark World Press Freedom Day.

The OIC said the publication of the Mohammed cartoons provided absolute evidence of the consequences of non-abidance with these regulations. It said the caricatures had insulted a faith embraced and revered by over one-fifth of the world population, and a religion that advocates peace, tolerance and moral virtues.

The OIC said the conference in London was the first ever major international conference aimed at countering “Islamophobia,” which brought together politicians, diplomats, scholars, media representatives and others from Western and Islamic countries. It was opened by OIC secretary-general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. He claimed that Muslims and their religion had been increasingly stereotyped, defamed, marginalised, discriminated against and targeted for “hate crimes” in the West since 9/11 and subsequent terrorist attacks in Madrid and London.

Of the Mohammed cartoons, Ihsanoglu said the OIC had been trying to explain that nobody is actually challenging the freedom of expression and press and that the real issue is disrespect for religious symbols and values. He said the OIC had expected backing for its stance from European governments...BUT... “to our dismay” those governments had instead supported Denmark.

In his address, Kim Howells criticised some Islamic media for their handling of the issue, saying the existence of anti-Western and anti-Jewish media and material in the Muslim world, some of it in state owned press, undermined as hypocritical the moral indignation that was expressed. Howells said it was right that the issue of Islamophobia was addressed, but Islamic governments and organisations should also address problems that give Islam a negative image.

He cited support for Taliban-type legal and social systems, recent statements coming out of Tehran, practices that segregate and subjugate women, and conspiracy theories about 9/11 being a CIA plot and polio vaccines being contaminated with viruses. And reports of raped women being punished and stoned, restrictions on other religions, including death sentences pronounced on Christian converts, poor human rights records and authoritarian, undemocratic environments all have a negative impact which we cannot ignore.

Howells also challenged views in the Islamic world that he said were wrong, such as the perception that our foreign policy is deliberately anti-Muslim. The reasons for action in Afghanistan and Iraq had nothing to do with the faith of Islam but with the political and security issues that these countries posed. He said the Islamic world had the right to criticise policies pursued by Britain, the U.S. or the European Union, but continuing to blame the West for all the ills of the Muslim world is an act of self-denial.

Based on an article from Daily India

Once again cracking down on supposed vulgarity in cinema, Bangladesh's censor board has reinforced a ban on two films and warned some more of strict action.

The film censor board ordered a reinforcement of its earlier ban on Bengali films Lalu Kashai and Bostir Rani Surya after a court in Faridpur withdrew an interim injunction against the sanction.

The two films had been showing scenes cut by the censors. The censor board decision was challenged and subsequently withheld by the Faridpur court, which vacated the injunction.

The censor board also issued a stern note of warning against two other films Dushmoner Dushmon and Kathin Protigya saying they too might face the same fate if exhibited with supposedly vulgar scenes.

The censor board actions and warnings come amid a growing campaign against vulgarity in Bangla movies with the Information Ministry issuing a statement urging filmmakers to abide by ethics and codes saying excessive vulgar scenes in contemporary films even expose the censor board members to embarrassment.

These nutters seem happy to make a joke about Londoners lacking common decency yet the get all uppity when someone makes a joke about them.

Based on an article from The Christian Institute

Some 900 nutters from churches across Tyneside held a dignified protest outside the Theatre Royal for the opening night of Jerry Springer: The Opera, singing hymns and holding placards. The protest was organised and stewarded by The Christian Institute.

Speaking today, Colin Hart (Director of The Christian Institute), said: I am delighted with the excellent turnout. This is the biggest demonstration yet outside a performance of Jerry Springer the Opera. I hope that Christians in other venues will also protest. There were more protesters outside than patrons inside. We counted 700 people going into the theatre and there were 900 Christians outside. A show like this may be popular in London's West End, but the people of Tyneside have more respect for common decency.

From Asia Media

Around 1,000 supporters of a proposed anti-pornography bill that would ban kissing and sensual dancing in public rallied in the Indonesian capital on to demand the immediate adoption of the law.

The protesters, dressed in black, and some driving motorbikes, gathered at Jakarta's main downtown roundabout, about a week after the same number of people demonstrated against the bill.

Thursday's demonstrators called on leaders to impose the law sooner to prevent "public displays of women's sensuality." We support the bill because it could protect the moral of the people, said Sarkawi, a protest organiser.

The anti-pornography bill that was originally drafted in 1999. It is currently being considered by a special parliamentary committee.

Based on an article from the DNA

Catholics agitating against the movies Tickle My Funny Bone and Da Vinci Code on Thursday filed a police complaint with the Vakola police station, calling for criminal proceedings against Sony Pictures’ managing director Uday Singh, Chairperson of the censor board Sharmila Tagore and others responsible for the proposed release of the movies.

The nutters want action under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings”.

Joseph Dias, general secretary of the Christian Secular Forum (CSF), the organisation which has raised the issue and filed the complaint, said, The censor board is allowing a lot of films that are derogatory to the Christian faith. We are asking the police to take action against the board and concerned authorities. We feel that the peaceful nature of the Christian community has been taken advantage of. Senior inspector at Vakola police station Uttam Navghare said: We have received the complaint. But the people whose arrest is being sought do not live in my jurisdiction.

Abraham Mathai, general secretary of the All India Christian Council, said, The censor board needs to be more sensitive while dealing with the movies representing communities. We will also file a civil writ petition asking for the cancellation of the censor board certification for Tickle...

From Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

A report on media censorship around the world says Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov has reestablished a Soviet-style dictatorship in his country that relies on brutal intimidation to silence journalists and human rights activists.

The report, issued today by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, focuses on the 10 most censored countries. It says Karimov's regime uses an informal system of state censorship to prevent the media from reporting on widespread police torture, poverty, and an Islamic opposition movement.

The report also says Uzbekistan is the former Soviet republic with the most journalists in jail at the end of 2005.

From the BBC

Catholic leaders in Germany have acted to try to prevent music channel MTV from showing the cartoon series Popetown. Bishops from Bavaria say the satirical series is insulting to Catholics, and have filed a legal injunction.

The first episode of Popetown - which features a Pope on a pogo stick - is due to be aired soon.

Popetown was commissioned by the BBC in 2002, but later dropped. BBC bosses were concerned the 10-part animation, set in a fictional Vatican, would offend Catholics. It shows an elderly Pope bouncing through St Peter's in Rome on a cross-like pogo stick and satirises religious ceremonies.

In this way the Catholic faith and the Catholic church are exposed to ridicule, which is justified neither by the freedom of opinion, of art, of the press nor of broadcasting, the archdiocese of Munich and Freising said in a statement.

We will initially broadcast this first episode and then will make a decision based on the feedback of the viewers, said Mats Wappmann, a spokesman for MTV in Berlin.  MTV has invited church representatives, a youth political party and viewers to discuss the show in a debate to be broadcast after the cartoon on Wednesday.

From the Advertiser

A South Australian MP has called for reclassification of video and DVD rental film The Brown Bunny which features a controversial oral sex scene.

The film, released in December last year, is available from Blockbuster stores in South Australia with an R-rating and features graphic oral sex scenes performed by Hollywood actress Chloe Sevigny.

Family First MLC Dennis Hood said the view of fellatio involving a fully erect penis "was pornographic": If that's not pornography, then what is? Any depiction of actual sex is clearly X-rated,

He called on the Attorney-General Michael Atkinson to order a review of the film's classification status.

Atkinson yesterday said it was too late to reclassify The Brown Bunny.

Written, directed, produced and edited by maverick director/actor Vincent Gallo, the film first caused a stir at Cannes 2003. While it did not show in cinemas in Australia, a spokeswoman for distributor Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Katie Hull, said the movie had: done quite well as a rental title.

From Video Business

The Middle East film biz is facing some chaos as it grapples with inconsistent censorship and falling box office due rampant piracy and competition from satellite TV. And piracy has gone beyond simply leaving local distributors feeling lighter in the pocket.

There is evidence that terrorist groups are financing their activities through sales of these illegal DVDs. It's a market worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but it's probably the only illegal activity in the Gulf which isn't punishable by prison, says Hamad Atassi, president of Prime Pictures.

Illicit DVD vendors face only a fine or possible deportation for foreign pirates.

The irony, of course, is that religious extremists have inadvertently opened up their societies to the very Western values they claim to despise. Unfettered access to uncut films is having a positive effect, particularly in the more conservative Gulf territories. Whether through pirated DVDs sold door to door by street vendors in Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E, online downloads and file-sharing or simply through parallel imports from Internet outlets such as Amazon, audiences across the region can see whatever they want, whenever they want, regardless of the authorities' attempts to curb their enthusiasm.
The result is a generation of outward-looking youths hungry for uncut Western entertainment.

Nowhere is censorship, and indeed piracy, more prevalent than in Saudi Arabia. Cinemas have been prohibited for the past three decades, while up to 70% of DVDs are also banned from official releases.

There are signs, however, that authorities in the notoriously strict kingdom are loosening up. Last year saw the first limited public screenings of animated films, to which only women and children were allowed.

As for such censorship in other parts of the Arab world, sometimes the decisions can appear random. The censorship didn't stop people from seeing the film, of course. You can find copies everywhere in the market, said the film's Lebanon rep, Tony Chacra.

No matter what they do, they cannot stop the public, said Hiyam Salibi of Italia Films, the Mideast reps for Brokeback Mountain, who were told by censors there was no chance the film would be approved. All the people can see the complete version if they want.

From The Guardian

Time Out's film guide, 1,000 Films That Change Your Life, is to be published later this week.

Top of the list came Salò, or The 120 Days of Sodom, which draws on the Marquis de Sade's novel to depict the final dark days of Italian fascism as four officials inflict revolting sexual, physical and psychological violence on nine kidnapped teenagers. The film caused outrage throughout the world when it was released in 1975, and has proved a hot potato for film certification boards. In Britain, the first cinema to screen an uncut version of the film in 1977 was raided by police. A heavily cut version was shown until six years ago, when the BBFC agreed to reclassify the movie, acknowledging its capacity to vividly illustrate the idea that "absolute power corrupts absolutely".

Other films on the list include Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers, Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ and David Cronenberg's Crash, which was banned in 1996 by several local authorities in Britain. The oldest film on the list is Birth of a Nation, directed by DW Griffith in 1915. Griffith, who said he was not racist, used the movie to present viciously racist portrayals of black Americans.

The only director on the list to ignite controversy with comedy, Terry Jones, is granted ninth place for his 1979 movie Monty Python's Life of Brian. Christian groups deemed as blasphemous the satire about the reluctant saviour whose mother insists: He's not the messiah; he's a very naughty boy.

Most controversial Films:

1. Salò (1975) Pier Paolo Pasolini
2. Natural Born Killers (1994) Oliver Stone
3. Crash (1996) David Cronenberg
4. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) Martin Scorsese
5. The Devils (1971) Ken Russell
6. Pretty Baby (1977) Louis Malle
7. Birth of a Nation (1915) DW Griffith
8. Straw Dogs (1971) Sam Peckinpah
9. Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) Terry Jones
10. Bandit Queen (1994) Shekhar Kapur

Based on an article from the Mumbai Mirror

Christian nutters and priests have demanded a ban on the movie, Tickle My Funny Bone, which apparently disparages nuns and the Church.

The Central Board of Film Certification that certifies films before their public exhibition said that most of the objectionable scenes depicted on the movie’s poster have been deleted from the movie. Tickle My Funny Bone, described as a ‘Hinglish comedy’, tells the story of a young nun who falls in love with an NRI. The nun’s attempts to flee the convent supposedly create hilarious situations.

However, Christian groups fail to see the humour in the plot; they have demanded a ban on the movie. Catholic Secular Forum, a community organisation has filed objections against the movie with the Censor Board. Christians are being made soft targets with impunity by film producers. Last year, the Censor Board allowed the release of a movie with the theme of a straying priest, said Joseph Dias, general secretary of the group.

Director Yogendra Konkar said that the Censor Board had cleared the film early this month. Scenes with nudity had to be deleted before the film was given an exhibition certificate: This was done keeping religious sentiments in mind. The movie is about nuns; but they are not shown in a bad light. It is just a comedy.

From DNA

Another forthcoming film is angering the city’s Catholic community. It’s Hollywood version of Dan Brown’s bestseller The Da Vinci Code, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks.

The community has decided to pull out all stops to prevent the film’s release. We will picket Sony Pictures’ office, said Joseph Dias, secretary of the Catholic Secular Forum. We will also file a petition asking for a ban on its release.

Sony Pictures is releasing the film worldwide on May 19.

Abraham Mathai, general secretary of the All India Christian Council, a nationwide alliance of Christian denominations, mission agencies, institutions, federations, and Christian lay leaders, said, We protested against the book also, but the protests against the movie will be at an all-India level. It hits at the founder of our faith, Jesus himself.

Bishop Percival Fernandez, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, said, The movie presents a figment of the author’s imagination as the truth. But how many from the general population will be able to tell the truth from fiction?

[Maybe the nutters have a point. India's population has a significant number of people that believe in the unbelievable nonsense of religion, so surely they have in fact demonstrated the inability to tell truth from fiction]