http://www.pulpmovies.com/gagwatch Watching the watchers watching what we watch Thu, 08 May 2008 16:59:50 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Not ones to take a hint, or learn from past mistakes, Christian Voice has threatened (via) to take direct action against the BBC over a proposed TV show. Andrew Lloyd-Webber is planning a fourth instalment of his casting show in which hopefuls audition for a lead role in one of his ... http://www.pulpmovies.com/gagwatch/2008/05/you-could-be-jesus/ Australia’s National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies (NCEIS) was set up last year, with federal government funds, to advance knowledge and understanding of Islam and to play a leadership role in public debate on contemporary Islam. Naturally, this has led to outrage (via). At issue is the Women in Arabic ... http://www.pulpmovies.com/gagwatch/2008/05/outrageous-learning/ American anti-games campaigner, Jack Thompson appears to have taken a turn for rhe bizarre. Strauss Zelnick is the Chairman of Take-Two, the company that produces the GTA series of video games, so Thompson has written to his mother (via). The email is provocative, to say the least. Not only does ... http://www.pulpmovies.com/gagwatch/2008/05/anti-games-crusader-loses-touch-with-reality/ Two weeks ago YouTube deleted a 10,000-subscriber channel run by well-known Scientology critic Mark Bunker. The reason they gave for pulling Xenutv1 was that they had already axed Bunker’s earlier account, Xenutv, for infringing a few copyrights. The Register points out: YouTube’s terms of service clearly say “A user whose account ... http://www.pulpmovies.com/gagwatch/2008/05/double-standards-at-youtube-over-scientology/ Portland bookseller Michael Powell and owners of a dozen independent bookstores and community organizations are suing (via) the Oregon state attorney general and all 36 county district attorneys to block enforcement of a law forbidding the sale of “sexually explicit material” to people younger than 18. The plaintiffs - which include ... http://www.pulpmovies.com/gagwatch/2008/05/oregon-booksellers-unite-to-fight-censorship-law/ US campaign group, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is demanding (via) a stricter rating on Grand Theft Auto IV because the game – which currently has a Mature rating - includes the ability to drive while intoxicated. The group is also calling on publisher Take-Two Interactive and developer Rockstar Games ... http://www.pulpmovies.com/gagwatch/2008/05/madd-about-gta/ An Australian newspaper publisher has been deported from Fiji amid concerns over freedom of speech an human rights in the country. Ewan Hannah, the publisher of the Fiji Times was put on a flight to South Korea after a judge ruled he had broken visa conditions. This makes him the second ... http://www.pulpmovies.com/gagwatch/2008/05/fiji-steps-up-attacks-on-journalism/ MediaWatchWatch has picked up a story about a Matalan advertising hoarding being vandalised in Birmingham’s predominantly Muslim Sparkbrook area. Apparently the poster, advertising swimwear, was too much for the vandal who glopped thick white paint all over it. Vandalism happens and I wouldn’t have mentioned it here if it hadn’t ... http://www.pulpmovies.com/gagwatch/2008/05/pandering-to-criminals/ Last week I posted a story about Alan Craig, the Christian Choice candidate for Mayor of London, going to court over his claim that the BBC and ITV had censored his party election broadcast (PEB). His case has been rejected (via) by the High Court. It also turns out that ... http://www.pulpmovies.com/gagwatch/2008/05/the-censorship-story-that-wasnt/ The Turkish parliament on Tuesday approved a reform of the controversial Article 301 of the country’s penal code which sets limits on freedom of the speech by criminalising insults to “Turkishness”. At present the article imposes up to three years in prison for such an insult but, under the reform, ... http://www.pulpmovies.com/gagwatch/2008/05/turkish-parliament-votes-to-reform-article-301/