UK Nutter News

Catherine Bennett of the Guardian/Observer writes a laudable piece about Exhibit B being shut down by free speech deniers and bullies:

What price artistic freedom when the bullies turn up?

The closure of a Barbican show, forced by self-appointed censors claiming it was racist, threatens free expression.

See article from theguardian.com

Surely this can't be the same writer who is such an aggressive bully and free speech denier when it comes to the subject of Page 3:

It bears repeating: page 3 is still an ugly institution

The Sun's owner is having doubts about naked breasts. What a pity those in power don't share his concerns

See article from theguardian.com

A British Muslim has launched a campaign to ban Peppa Pig after claiming the cartoon inspired his young son to want to be a pig rather than a doctor.

Zayn Sheikh set up a Facebook page called Muslims against Peppa Pig and posted a video explaining the reasons - which has been shared over 9,000 times. In the video he said:

Some of you, right, might have seen this abominable creature before, right, this Peppa Pig. Haram pig. It is completely wrong that our kids are being shown these things on TV and my son...he wants to be a pig now.

I think that we need to change this so I'm going to set up a Facebook group, Muslims against Peppa Pig and instead, because children still need cartoons to develop their minds, I propose we introduce Abdullah the cat.

Sheikh has also set up an online petition called Remove Peppa Pig from TV currently at about 100 signatures.

But the campaign has been met with strong opposition, with thousands of people hitting back. And a rival Facebook group has been set up, called Save Peppa Pig from Muslim Fanatics. Aysha Razwan posted:

I'm sorry, I am Muslim and really do not see the problem with Peppa Pig at all. My children watch it and will soon grow out of it, it isn't like there is a pig on screen saying eat me. People like you give the rest of us Muslims a bad name

Update: Inevitably not quite as it seems

7th September 2014. See article from mirror.co.uk

And indeed the campaign has now been laughed off as a joke or hoax. But this stills seems a bit unconvincing. It is clear nothing good, or even particularly funny, could have been expected to come from such a joke or hoax.

The Mirror reports that the same man has now posted a second video in which he revealed the campaign was nothing but a parody. In the video, the man says:

The last video I made was a parody, was a joke. I am not against any race, religion or ethnicity I speak out against discrimination wherever I come across it.

At the end of the day whatever is going on in the rest of the world is not to do with us regular Muslims in the UK because we are just like any other people. We are normal people. We are just trying to get by.

The video was meant as a joke and if you cannot realise its satirical it's not a concern of mine.

Christian campaigners have lost a High Court bid for a ruling that London Mayor Boris Johnson was personally responsible for an improper and politically-motivated ban of an anti-gay advert on buses.

Campaign group Core Issues Trust (CIT) had accused him of an abuse of power and imposing the ban for the nakedly political purpose of currying favour with gay lobby groups and boosting his re-election campaign in 2012.

The Trust advert that never made it to the sides of buses in the capital read: Not Gay! Ex-Gay, Post-Gay and Proud. Get over it! It was meant to be a response to posters promoted by lesbian and gay campaigners Stonewall that said: Some people are gay. Get over it! . Those did appear on buses.

But CIT's judicial review action, brought over Transport for London's April 2012 decision not to allow the group's advertisement to appear on the outside of its buses, was dismissed by a judge in London. Announcing her conclusions, Mrs Justice Lang declared: Mr Johnson was not motivated by an improper purpose, namely, to advance his Mayoral election campaign.

The advert was banned on April 12 2012 , a day before the Mayor addressed an election rally organised by Stonewall. At a hearing in March last year, Mrs Justice Lang declared the banning order on the CIT poster lawful. She also ruled that the Mayor, in his capacity as chair of TfL, was entitled to be involved in the decision-making process leading up to the order, though it would have been improper for him to use the situation to advance his re-election campaign.