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Sadistic, brutal and bleak: censors ban Manhunt 2 game | Technology | Guardian Unlimited Technology

Censorship is a horrible thing, of course, but the question of whether something material or intellectual is “fit for public consumption” is a legitimate one. If governments can ban certain foods (for example, the Guelaguetza chain here in Los Angeles no longer serves grasshoppers.) from consumption, then it is fair to ask whether they can ban other things from being consumed.

Germany and Austria have, understandably and justifiably, banned Nazism from public consumption. The Federal Communications Commission in the US has banned consumption of Janet Jackson’s nipple by the general public (and we are told that the Superbowl watching audience is one and the same with the general public, but I have my suspicions). And now, the British government is recommending the banning of the video game Manhunt 2 because the game has “an unrelenting focus on brutal slaying”, and because “The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) rejected the game after finding it ‘constantly encourages visceral killing’.”

Is this a legitimate banning of virtual cocaine? Is it equivalent to (though clearly not on the same scale as) the banning of Nazism and Janet Jackson’s decorated nipple? The FCC will probably argue that Manhunt 2 will not be broadcast to innocent children as JJ’s nipple was, but the argument skirts the real question of whether anything as sadistic as Manhunt 2 is fit for consumption by anyone. Certainly, the government deems it necessary to keep everyone safe from child pornography, bestiality, and snuff films. Why is it that a virtual murderous rampage is morally more defensible than Janet Jackson’s nipple, and child and bestial pornography?

If the corrupting of the mind is a scourge to be battled by authorities, then why not ban a game containing no political statement, no intellectual content and no aspirations of decency? Why do the purveyors of trash enjoy greater freedoms in the US than do dissenting political factions? It seems as if the British authorities have a better notion of what is fit for public consumption than their American counterparts.

Deep fried Snickers bar, notwithstanding.

Amnesty appeals against death by stoning | Iran | Guardian Unlimited

When descriptions of the Iranian penal code read as follows:

The code also states that the stones used should “not be large enough to kill the person by one or two strikes; nor should they be so small that they could not be defined as stones”.

The stoning was due to take place in public, reportedly in the presence of a judge, who was due to cast the first stone. Those present at the gathering were to continue the stoning until the pair were pronounced dead.

One has to wonder whether the geniuses at Monty Python were on to something when they conceived and performed the stoning sequence in Life of Brian (or was it part of Monty Python’s Flying Circus? I forget.) Is it the case that they anticipated the absurdity of this act perfectly, or is it the case that those who plan on perpetrating the act are Monty Python fans?

As disconcerting as beheadings in Saudi Arabia may be, a slow painful death carried out in a country that leads the world in sex change operations is particularly horrifying. It reminds one of the Nazi era in Germany. It is a stark reminder that no matter how sophisticated people may look, how educated they may be, and how cultured they may appear, they are capable of unspeakable cruelty. Worse, they are capable of inflicting such cruelty for no reason at all.

It is a frightening reminder that mankind is still ruled by its baser instincts, no matter what its cultured veneer may project.

Jerusalem braced for gay parade clashes | Israel and the Middle East | Guardian Unlimited

Stories like the one above beg the question: do gay pride parades foster tolerance? Gay pride parades take place only in cities that have had long histories of tolerance toward homosexuality. Certainly, the began in cities like New York and San Francisco where tolerance was informally and unofficially codified. Hence, as aerial bombings frequently strengthen the resolve of the victims of the bombing, it is fair to ask whether confrontations of this sort with abjectly intolerant people end favorably.

Most certainly, gays ought to have every freedom to exercise their right to congregate in this way, but does the exercise of this right have any effect on the closed-minded citizens of Jerusalem? After all, the problem seems to be that intolerant fundamentalists (and the neo-nazis of Russia) express and act as if they are above the secular laws that govern their lands. Does a pride parade remedy this problem in any way?

Tolerance seems to have been institutionalized in Israel. That battle seems to have been won. As long as they don’t have any power, need gays confront fundamentalists?

Stoppard epic breaks records with seven Tony awards | Theatre story | Guardian Unlimited Arts

This is a somewhat dated story, but it’s difficult to keep up with all of the bad news for New York City. This story played out at the Tony Awards ceremony two weeks ago, and the opening paragraph in the Guardian story says it all.

Tom Stoppard’s epic trilogy Coast of Utopia last night set a new record at the Tony Awards, rounding off an exceptional Broadway season in which British imports have continued to dominate.

And, there you have it. The assault on the cultural life of New York City is now complete. It began with the evisceration, mostly under Giuliani, of the underground culture that had supplied blood to every other endeavor. And, now it has culminated in the slumping of broadway. The Producers may have been a smashing success, but it seems as if it is the British exports that are garnering all of the praise and all of the cash the past few years.

Perhaps New Yorkers are beginning to feel like Angelenos: if it weren’t for imported culture, there would be no culture at all. This may very well explain why they have been moving to LA in droves.

Milwaukee Officer Found To Be Illegal Immigrant – washingtonpost.com

Exactly when did law enforcement become as disposable a profession as picking avocados, clearing tables or babysitting?

Or is that a silly question?

Update  Senior judge cleared of flashing | BBC UK

Alas, this story has no juicy ending. Faced with “he said, she said”, the presiding judge elected to throw the charges out.

Flashing stranger on train was top judge, woman says | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited

Perhaps flashing is the ultimate means of relieving the tension accumulated from overseeing the trial of a Brazilian who was mistaken for a suicide bomber and shot dead. In this instance, at least, pints of Boddington do not seem to have supplied sufficient relief.