Brights News Feed

Is Google-aquisition YouTube censoring some videos that are critical of Islam? Slashdot notes that YouTube banned “popular atheist commentator Nick Gisburne” recently. Gisburne was Flagged as Inappropriate by users — by a “pressure group”, he speculates — in response to a video he posted consisting only of disagreeable quotes from the Qu’ran. This lead to the closure of his account. He opened a new account, and re-posted all his videos, but the Qu’ran-quoting video was again deleted by administrators. A very similarly formatted video of disagreeable quotes from the Bible was left in place. (The Qu’ran video can still be seen, mirrored by another user… for now? He talks about the account deletions here.)

In another emotional video response (”CENSORED again“) Gisburne thanks other YouTubers for re-posting his content, putting their own accounts on the line, but knows he cannot upload the video again or he will face the closure of his new account.

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Days after TheSpoof.com satirically speculated that footballer David Beckham might be joining the Church of Scientology — adding that wife Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham “wouldn’t touch it with a bargepole” — it has been non-satirically suggested that the reverse is in fact the case.

Following David Beckham’s expensive signing to soccer team LA Galaxy, questionable British newspaper the Daily Express mulls over the friendship that the Beckhams share with Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes (who are both infamously members of the Church). The article drudges over rumours that Victoria Beckham “spent time getting to know” David Miscavige (Cruise’s best man and the head of the Church) at the Cruise-Holmes wedding. Victoria Beckham is also quoted as saying: “I’ve spoken to Tom about Scientology. I’m quite inquisitive but I don’t know anything about it. They do what they do and they’re cool.”

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From the nation that brought us the Enlightenment, the French edition of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? features an astonishing display of scientific ignorance en masse. For €1,500 the question is “Qu’est-ce qui gravite autor de la Terre?” — “Which of these is in orbit around the Earth?” Is it A, the Moon; B, the Sun; C, Mars; or D, Venus?

Not only does the contestant not know the answer, he uses his “Ask the audience” lifeline… with astonishing results.

See the YouTube. (Only limited French required to follow it.) (Via Perlocutionary.)

Comedian Stewart Lee discusses the popular interpretation of comic pieces like Borat, Little Britain, and The Office, in today’s Guardian: “Guilt-free pleasures“. He argues that such output is pervasively misrepresented, citing comments such as “Borat raises an index finger to political correctness and all its exponents”. In reality, he says:

There’s a vast difference between the casual, inadvertent offence prevalent in my childhood and the choices made today by performers and writers of my generation, operating in a post-PC world, where they are aware of the power and meaning of the taboos they choose to break. […] I am a great fan of political correctness, even though, as one of the writers of Jerry Springer the Opera, I was routinely praised for apparently attacking it[…]

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GALHA (The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association, UK) has offered a limited backing to comments by Elton John in Observer Music Monthly which were hostile to the homophobia of organised religion. (Observer: “When Elton met Jake“; GALHA: “GALHA Backs Elton John on Religious Homophobia“.)

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The regular London Brights Meetup group were filmed on Monday, for an upcoming Channel 4 documentary presented by Rod Liddle. Liddle has previously made a documentary about the sometimes evangelical nature of City Academy “faith schools”. Monday’s talk was “Brights in the UK” delivered by Martin Freedman, which apparently went well according to the Meetup organiser. The documentary may be shown some time this October.

The UK’s Independent newspaper reports from the Edinburgh Festival (Independent: “The politics of humour: Religious extremism? What a joke“). Johann Hari is delighted by the anti-religious humour pervading the comedy.

If one sentence summarises the mood of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, it is this earnest pledge, muttered by a Bushalike President as he orders a new terror raid: “I have to keep killing religious fanatics. God told me to.”

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Jon Stewart and the Daily Show once again stick it to the man, showcasing a bizaree selection of Middle East-related “end times” stories from the US media.

On YouTube (via Thinking Aloud).

Madonna’s live performances for her “Confessions” Tour — now on its Italian leg — have come under fire again. US and UK churches and church groups had criticised the show in May (BBC: “Madonna defends mock crucifixion“). But now responses from Vatican officials to her hanging on a large mirrored crucifix have been vitriolic. Cardinal Ersilio Tonino, speaking with the Papal approval (Scotsman: “Catholic fury at ‘blasphemous’ Madonna“), said:

“To crucify herself during the concert in the city of popes and martyrs is an act of open hostility. It is nothing short of a scandal. What is really offensive is the exaggeration of it all; it is clearly anti-Church, in poor taste and, most of all, an insult to Christ.

“The time will come when this woman will realise that Christ died on the cross for her as well, that He spilt His blood for her - I feel pity for her.”

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