Dear oh dear!Nanny really does get her knickers in a twist when it comes to religion, one might almost think that she was a bit religious herself. That of course would be unthinkable, as we all know that religion and politics should not mix!
Anyhoo, this time Nanny has decided to try to be fair; she knows that a lot of you have been worried about her alleged anti Christian bias. You know the sort of thing; the word Christmas banned, crosses removed from registry offices etc.
This time dear old Nanny has decided to ban the word Muslim.
Her lackeys on London's Underworld railway have decided that a poster for the new TV thriller about a Muslim spy is just way toooooo offensive. Therefore they have banned it.
The poster advertises the American series Sleeper Cell, and shows a man on a mobile phone with the tagline "America's latest hero is a Muslim straight out of jail".
Nanny's toads in the London Underworld railway decided that the words were offensive, and have refused to have it on platform walls unless the word " Muslim" is removed.
A spokesman for London Underworld said:
"The text on this poster is clearly intended to be sensationalist and could give offence.
Following consultation with Viacom, which manages advertising on the Tube, it was decided to ask for the words 'is a Muslim' to be removed.
This decision was taken in line with our standard policies which seek to avoid gratuitously insulting large groups of Londoners."
Is the same Underworld system that gratuitously features posters of scantily dressed women, thus potentially offending 50% of the population of London?
Sleeper Cell is about an undercover FBI Agent called Darwyn Al Sayeed, who infiltrates a terrorist cell.
Now the subtle point here is that the Muslim is shown to be a "good guy", unlike so many films which portray Muslims as crazed loons intent on world destruction; the hero is trying to save lives.
You would have thought that had Nanny used her limited brains, she would have noted that this film kind of tries to redress the balance a bit.
A spokesman for FX, the channel which airs the series, said the channel was "shocked" by the decision.
"The line 'America's latest hero is a Muslim straight out of prison' is meant to sum up the basis of the show's plot.
The show's hero is put in prison in order to gain access to the cell he aims to investigate and eventually expose.
It is in no way intended to cause offence or upset to Muslims."
It is the first American TV drama to feature a Muslim as the lead heroic character, and I would suggest a much needed and late attempt to redress the appalling media bias.
Needless to say, in Nanny's world details and facts are for the small people (ie us), she only deals with the "broader picture".
Personally I think they have been a bit half hearted about this. I would have banned the ad completely. Anything that encourages the masses to watch TV, especially made for US TV, cannot be a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI take your point about the scantily clad models in the underwear ads but I think they now fall into the category of 'tradition'. I certainly cannot remember the tube without them. They should be considered as an art form and part of what 'Britishness' is about, though if agreed I suppose we would run the risk of a Saatchi putting in a bid for the whole lot and turning London's transport network into a private art gallery.
He might do well to avoid Kings Cross though.
Grant, I think you missed the point. Nanny *wants* everyone half-comatose in front of american TV so that when they next follow like a puppy behind the USA into the next war we'll either not notice or not care!
ReplyDeleteYou are not wrong, artela. TV is a pernicious form of social control, whether by the government or big business. It rots your brain, too!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.familyresource.com/
lifestyles/mental-environment/
television-opiate-of-the-masses
I have junked my telescreen and am being terrorized by TV Licensing, which is a subset of Crapita plc. These people are nothing more than government thugs. If you want some interesting reading about the way Nanny uses the BBC to pacify her sheep, check out:
http://www.marmalade.net/lime/tvla.html
We're getting beyond mere government incompetence -- things are turning distinctly sinister.
Time for a revolution, methinks.
(We're getting beyond mere government incompetence -- things are turning distinctly sinister)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you Winston. You may find the following article an interesting read:
Mass Mind Control
Through Network Television
Are Your Thoughts Your Own?
By Alex Ansary
Outside The Box
http://www.rense.com/general69/mass.htm
Thanks for the link, Quester. His general argument is a bit well trodden, and the piece needs editing by someone literate, but I found it very interesting.
ReplyDeleteHow can anyone at the BBC keep a straight face and say the Corporation is independent? It's funded by what is now officially classified as a tax -- the size and very existence of which are determined by the Minister of Culture (present incumbent: the fragrant and hyper-honest T. Jowells, Mrs). The World Service, that poisonous nest of traitors, is even funded directly by the Foreign Office!
We must assume that when Alastair Campbell was Blair's mouthpiece the BBC still retained some shreds of integrity; otherwise why did Campbell hate and fear it so much? Since the Hutton "Inquiry" cowed it, though, the BBC has become little more than a conduit for whatever lies and preposterousness No 10 wishes to spew out. Besides this, of course, it continues in the role perfected for it by Greg Dyke, churning out prolefodder.
Do you know that George Orwell based the Ministry of Truth in 1984 on the BBC?
Artella, I didn't really miss the point. I can see why Nanny would wish to encourage the pastime of watching pap but get confused by the need to offend no one under any circumstances. I did say that "I" would have banned the ad in an attempt (pointless perhaps) to discourage self inflicted brain death. Surely someone will ban that right at some point, won't they?
ReplyDeleteA few years I had a similar degree of attention from Crapita as Winston Smith has experienced. After my mother passed on her TV licence (free) came up for renewal which prompted me to call the number and advise them that the house was not permanently occupied at the time. I called twice. Then wrote. Still the letters came, though eventually addressed to "The Occupier". I gave up trying to help their admin system. Eventually the letters started arriving once more addressed to my late mother. 2 or 3 a month, presumably because Crapita are paid based on how many letters they send out ... ?
In the end I gave up and kept the kettle warm when I was at the house in anticipation of a visit from the TVLA gestapo. It never happened. I expect they were all too busy with monitoring halls of residence at universities. Now that IS a scam if ever there was one. Makes Turpin of Downing Street look like an amateur.
I was going to keep the Crapita letters and paper a wall with them but my life manager seems to have disposed of them.
Interestingly, on the subject of general dissatisfaction with things, I seem to be meeting more and more people who are volunteering the information that they are rather or very unhappy with the way this country is developing. These are mostly ordinary people who I would have judged to be the very last ones to feel the need to voice such opinions. And they are not just the usual general moans either.
Maybe there is a form of revolution brewing.
But if they seek a political change of tack, who on earth would they vote for?
You can safely ignore Crapita. I merged two flats into one dwelling 7 years ago and have received many, many letters from TV Licensing addressed to "The Occupier" of the flat that was subsumed by the other.
ReplyDeleteThe tone of these letters follows a yearly cycle: early in the year, they will say ".. have your accidentally forgotten to renew your licence?". Then they will remind you gently a couple of times over the next couple of months.
After several months they will tell you that "...watching a TV without a licence is a criminal offence and you could be fined £thousands...".
Towards the end of the year they say things like "... we know where you live and we're going to send one of our boys round....."
Then they will send a postcard pretending that one of their inspectors called to "... interview you under caution...".
If can steel yourself to ignore everything they send, then once the year is up, the letters change back to the first one in the cycle: "... have you perhaps forgotten to renew your licence? etc"
Just a crummy computerised system.
Thanks for that advice. I have discovered quite a bit about TVL and their little ways at this site:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tvlicensing.biz/
where there is also a forum worth browsing.
This is becoming more and more like a police state.