UK Nutter News

Farmer Alan Graham was so 'shocked' to see Rihanna in his barley field wearing a red bikini or less that he pulled up his tractor, objected to her inappropriate state of undress and called a swift halt to proceedings.

While a meeting with Rihanna would be the stuff of dreams for most red-blooded males, Graham instructed her to brush up on her Bible reading before sending her on her way. He said:

If someone wants to borrow my field and things become inappropriate, then I say, 'Enough is enough'. I felt Rihanna was in more of a state of undress than a bikini top.

And indeed one photograph of the shoot appeared to show her topless.

Graham, a devout Christian, thought it time to impart some advice: I had a conversation with Rihanna and I hope she understands where I'm coming from. Everybody needs to be acquainted with God and to consider his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and his death and Resurrection.

The Democratic Unionist Party alderman for North Down Borough Council had given permission for the filming on his 60 acres of land in Clandeboye, outside Bangor.

Offsite Comment: Looney has a knock at Rihanna

30th September 2011.  See  article from  dailymail.co.uk by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

As a liberal [oh yeah!] and a Muslim who lives in London, I confess it is unlikely I would have much in common with farmer Graham, with his faith or his politics. It is possible I wouldn't even like the man much.

But that's not the point. I hugely admire what he did. In his small, humble way, this farmer demonstrated a kind of strength and conviction that used to be commonplace in society, and which, to our shame, has almost disappeared. He had the chance to make a tidy sum of money from one of the most successful pop singers on the planet, but was not prepared to sell out his principles for a fat cheque from anyone, however famous or important they might be.

Instead, Mr Graham made a brave stand against two of the worst excesses of modern life: the sexualisation of society and our celebrity culture. Rihanna is a good singer and performer, but that is not enough for the mindless followers of popular culture.

So she acts out the semi-pornographic and self-demeaning behaviour that is expected of so many female celebrities today; behaviour the music industry cynically tries to pass off as stylish.

The truth is the pop world has become a contaminated landscape where young women, even those born with exceptional talents, act suggestively to sell records and encourage their worship by fans.

...

Why is it that the national conversation about the degradation of our natural world and physical environment is considered so respectable and urgent, while anyone who questions the degradation of our moral and social environment is treated like a leper or a lunatic?

...Read the full article

Having watched Lovehoney's teaser ad, I'd say that if people's sexual happiness depends on buying Lovehoney's products then they might be better looking for a psychological or spiritual remedy first.

Many of us have given up on regulators like Ofcom, where the politically-correct liberal agenda rules OK. I cannot remember the last time they upheld a complaint over morality or decency.

[...err how about yesterday when Ofcom whinged at 50 Cent's music video with a trio of topless ladies].

Some will say that the adverts should be shown after the so-called watershed but I am not convinced that the watershed is either observed or that it is logically defensible.

Surely if children shouldn't be viewing sexual images because they are corrupt and corrupting then adults are compromising themselves as well. Since when did a need to watch or read pornography or listen to bad language become a mark of being an adult? Just as surely as good art exalts, evil art debases.

Pornography and brutality have no place in the culture of a vibrant society, and every civilisation which has exalted sex as we are doing today has been one in its death throes.

...Read the full article

Comment: More Nutter Comments

30th September 2011. See  article from  dailymail.co.uk

Director of the Family Education Trust, Norman Wells, condemned the decision to allow the adverts, saying:

Sex is an intimate expression of lifelong commitment between a man and a woman, not a commodity to be advertised and sold like washing powder or a mobile phone.

Sexual intimacy belongs in private and is cheapened when it is paraded on television and used as a tool to entice viewers to visit and make purchases from an online shop.

Many viewers will find this advert very distasteful, not because they are prudes who disapprove of sex, but because it divorces sex from its proper context and further adds to the sexualisation of society with all its damaging consequences.

Comment: And on a Brighter Note

30th September 2011. See  article from  dailymail.co.uk

LoveHoney has a relationship with sex therapist Tracey Cox, who sells a range of products through the site. She said the commercial was tame in comparison to the music videos which appear regularly on daytime TV. She said:

If you look at the ad and compare it to any music video clip -- like Rihanna for example -- this is pre-school. What they get away with in music videos is crazy

One in two marriages is failing and a way of dealing with that is to use sex toys. We should be encouraging it.'

A few feminists dressed as  butchers in aprons smeared with fake blood to protests against an adult industry conference in Central London. They explained that they were protesting against the meat market of the pornography industry.

The activists waved hopefully fake meat cleavers and chanted You're not welcome in our city, Pornographers go home!

The US based XBiz adult trade group is having a three day EU conference in Bloomsbury.

Speakers include Michael Klein, president of Hustler, and Berth Milton, chairman and chief executive of Private Media Group. The Xbiz website describes the conference as designed to deliver cutting-edge educational seminars, engaging technology workshops, special guest keynote presentations and high-energy business-networking and deal-making opportunities .

Watching the protest, Claire Wigington, head of marketing of Television X, said:. It's easy to say 'porn degrades women' but the women in the industry know what they're doing .

A nna van Heeswijk, the campaigns co-ordinator of the activist group Object organised the protest along with UK Feminista and other groups.

In the wake of Grand Theft Auto being mentioned in a murder trial, the Daily Mail seized upon a piece of research about computer gaming.

The Daily Mail reported:

How video games blur real life boundaries and prompt thoughts of violent solutions to players' problems

See  article from  dailymail.co.uk . By Jenny Hope

Some video game players are transferring their screen experiences into the real world - prompting thoughts of violent solutions to their problems, say researchers.

Fans of computers can become so immersed in their virtual environment they do things in the real world as if they were still playing.

The findings come after sailor Ryan Donovan was sentenced to 25 years in jail for shooting dead an officer on a nuclear sub to copy the violent video game Grand Theft Auto.

Researchers at Nottingham Trent University and Stockholm University have for the first time identified evidence of Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP), which results in some gamers integrating video experiences into their real lives. The study to be published in the next issue of the International Journal of Cyber Behaviour, Psychology and Learning.

The study involved 42 in-depth interviews with participants aged between 15 and 21 years old, all of whom were frequent video game players and had been recruited from gaming forums.

They thought in the same way as when they were gaming, with half of participants often looking to use something from a video game to resolve a real-life issue.

In some cases these thoughts were accompanied by reflexes, such as reaching to click a button on the controller when it wasn't in their hands, while on other occasions gamers visualised their thoughts in the form of game menus.

...

Violent solutions to real life conflicts appeared to be used by few of the players, at least in their imaginations says the study.

One 15-year-old gamer said: There (in the video game) you can get guns. This I want to do in real life, to get some guns, shoot down people. This I want to do sometimes with irritating people.

The study concluded: The close resemblance to real life scenarios in video games may have opened a 'Pandora's Box for some players.

...Read the full article

The UK's national health service has responded to this Daily Mail write up and added a much needed bit of perspective:

Video games blur reality , claims newspaper

From nhs.uk

The Daily Mail has today reported that video games blur real life boundaries and prompt thoughts of violent solutions to players' problems .

This headline is based on a small study exploring whether frequent video game players integrated elements of video game playing into their real lives - a theoretical process the researchers called game transfer phenomena (GTP). The study showed that most gamers experienced GTP, including experiencing brief involuntary impulses to perform actions as they would when playing a game. For example, they might try to click a button on their controller while it was not in their hand.

It is important to note that not all the players were affected by the games and the degree that people were affected varied significantly from person to person. Additionally, it is not clear from this study whether GTP was related to the game played or whether it related to the specific characteristics of individual game players. Many of the actions reported by participants were also unusual or novel, and do not provide evidence that games affect perception of behaviour. For example, one participant said that they like to pack their suitcase neatly like Tetris blocks.

Further studies will be needed to investigate whether GTP is a real, significant phenomenon and the potential link between GTP and a player's individual characteristics.

...

The Daily Mail's report covering this study tended to focus on the violent and negative aspects of game transfer phenomena (GTP) highlighted in the study. The Daily Mail presents GTP as a proven phenomenon with definite results, but the results of this interview-based study are debatable and GTP is still only a theory.

News coverage also linked the study results to a recent murder trial where video games were reportedly implicated. This angle seemed to be a confused addition to news coverage of the research, as it could suggest to readers that games were found to be the primary cause of the incident, or that they could cause ordinary people to consider murder.

US religious organisations are gearing up to save London from the mythical hoard of 40,000 trafficked sex workers that travels the world's major sporting events.

The prime movers in the Olympic initiative are Christian Brothers Investment Services, a US fund manager that specialises in investing the money of Catholic institutions.

The project is also backed by the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, a broader US Christian coalition that speaks for investors, and, in the UK, the Church Investors Group, which encompasses the investments of the Church of England and Church of Ireland.

At the heart of their 'concerns' is the mostly mythical issue of human trafficking, which 'often' takes place for the purposes of prostitution. Major sporting or cultural events tend to bring in an influx of visitors and these periods have been linked with increases in trafficking, prostitution and sexual assault.

At last year's football World Cup in South Africa and at the US Super Bowl this year, Christian Brothers and the Interfaith Center fired off letters to publicly-quoted hotel and leisure groups asking them to detail their policies for avoiding association with this sex trafficking thing. After the South African campaign, hotel chains Hyatt, Accor, Carlson and NH Hoteles introduced training programmes for staff; and Accor, Carlson and NH signed up to an industry code of practice on countering sex trafficking.

At a meeting in Paris last week, Christian investor groups from around the world agreed to work more closely together. The London campaign will be one of their first joint initiatives. The UK and Irish churches have agreed to begin writing to UK-listed hotel groups - along similar lines to the previous South African and US campaigns.

In a statement announcing the tie-up, Richard Nunn, the chair of the Church Investors Group, said: It is important we use our voice as investors to hold companies to high ethical standards.

Tobacco campaigners have attacked incompetent film regulators and insouciant politicians for failing to act upon evidence suggesting that teenagers are being lured into smoking by seeing it in movies.

The call by the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies for a complete overhaul of film regulation to protect young people from pervasive and highly damaging imagery has been rejected despite what the centre considers compelling evidence.

 Alison Lyons and John Britton from the centre wrote:

Smoking in films remains a major and persistent driver of smoking uptake among children and young people, which the actions of irresponsible film makers, incompetent regulators and insouciant politicians are abjectly failing to control.

Researchers at the University of Bristol found that 15-year-olds most exposed to films in which characters smoked were 73% cent more likely to have tried a cigarette, and nearly 50% more likely to be a current smoker, than those who watched the fewest films featuring smoking.

The campaigners call for films that feature smoking to be automatically classified as 18 and to be regarded as dangerous as illicit drugs and violence.

A Department of Culture, Sports and Media spokesman said:

The Government believes the current arrangements provide sufficient control on the depiction of smoking in films and a total ban would be a disproportionate interference. This action would undermine the credibility, and therefore the quality, of domestically produced films.

Update: BBFC Reply

21st September 2011. See  article from  telegraph.co.uk

The BBFC said its current guidelines were proportionate; take due account of the available evidence of harm; and reflect the clear wishes of the public .

David Cooke, the board's director, said:

Glamorising smoking has been included as a classification issue in our published classification guidelines.

There is, however, no public support for automatically classifying, for instance, a PG film at 18 just because it happens to contain a scene of smoking.

Two Muslims have been fined for vandalism. They sprayed black burkas on images of hot women in street adverts.

They told the judge in their recent court appearance that it's a sin for women to dress provocatively, and that they were just trying to do good, reports the Daily Mail. They painted over a gigantic-bosomed angel on a Lynx deodorant ad, and defaced a poster for Nicolas Cage's new film Drive Angry , among others.

Hasnath and Tahir, both 18, told police that the way the women had been photographed was against their religion. Hasnath said: If someone was to look at our wife or mother or daughter with a bad intention, we would not like it, so we were just trying to do good.

They admitted to six counts of criminal damage, and were fined £ 283 each and released on a 12-month conditional discharge.

Pot of Dreams
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Sapphire Rooms, Lothian Road, Edinburgh
Through August 2011

An exhibition at The Sapphire Rooms will showcase two collections of photographs, laying bare the lives of the strippers behind the lingerie and the make-up.

But while the intimate pictures will expose every detail of their normal working lives, the girls themselves will be keeping their clothes on, while performing pole dances and talking to visitors about the industry

In the first ever Edinburgh Fringe show of its kind, lapdance bosses have invited anyone over 18 to the month-long programme of free events at the Lothian Road club, including the display of frank images depicting life behind the scenes in a strip club, as well as burlesque workshops and the chance to chat one-to-one with the girls who dance into the night.

They will also demonstrate some pole dances - although with their clothes kept on - while art installations including wire models will hang from the club's ceiling.

The exhibition, called Pot of Dreams, is aimed at giving the public a better understanding of the industry.

Ex-dancer and photographer, Holly Davidson, has created several artistic six-foot photographs to capture the curves, flow and movements of the strippers, while Jannica Honey spent two and a half months backstage with the dancers to capture grittier and humanising images of the girls as they went about their daily routines.

Miserable comedian Liz Ely claims that lap dancing bar is an unsuitable venue for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

16th July 2011. See  article from  scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com

One of Scotland's largest strip clubs has been unveiled as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe's newest venue. Lap dancing club, Sapphire Rooms, will host live music, acrobatics, burlesque and art exhibitions throughout August.

But miserable comedian Liz Ely believes Festival organisers have made a serious error by granting official venue status to a lap dance club. The feminist performer said:

I guess the Fringe think they are being radical and pushing the boundaries by holding events in a strip club, but all they are doing is supporting the dominant culture which exploits the bodies of women via the wallets of men.

The event literature describes the venue as 'decadent', but I'm not sure what's decadent about watching performances in a place where a bunch of sad old businessmen and boozed-up sweaty stag parties pay to see boobs.

However, Dr Sarah Vernon, whose PhD examined the socio-political impact of stripping in Scotland, defended the club's right to be included in the world's largest arts festival. She said:

There is no reason why a venue that provides striptease-based entertainment should not be part of the Fringe.

The idea that a performance space automatically has no artistic value simply because it is a strip club is unfair, illogical and judgemental.

How do we define a community? That question has been all too rarely asked in the debate about cultural diversity and community empowerment. In fact, much cultural policy as it has developed over the past two decades has come to embody a highly peculiar view of both diversity and community. There has been an unstated assumption that while Britain is a diverse society, that diversity ends at the edges of minority communities. The claim that The Satanic Verses is offensive to Muslims, or Behzti to Sikhs, or indeed that Jerry Springer: The Opera is offensive to Christians, suggests that there is a Muslim community, or a Sikh community or a Christian community, all of whose members are offended by the work in question and whose ostensible leaders are the most suitable judges of what is and is not suitable for that community.

...Read the full article

Update: Believable Self Censorship

15th July 2011. See  article from  thestage.co.uk

Munira Mirza, the Mayor of London's adviser on culture, has warned that the arts sector has become very nervous about offending ethnic and religious minority communities, resulting in an era of self-censorship.

Speaking at an event organised by Index on Censorship, Mirza said:

I think a different type of censorship has emerged over the last 20 to 30 years which is not explicitly controlled by the state, but is almost internalised within the arts sector and by thinkers, writers and intellectuals.

There is a culture now of people thinking twice about what they say about particular communities. I think, as it happens, that people from those communities are less inhibited. I think there is a greater fear on the part of the establishment and the people outside those communities.

The arts world, on some level, has become very nervous about saying things which are deemed to be offensive or controversial.

The Index on Censorship's event was scheduled around the launch of its pamphlet, Beyond Belief - Theatre, Freedom of Expression and Public Order.

Britain's first 24-hour counselling service for online pornography 'addiction' has been launched.

HelpAddictions.org will operate 24/7 to support a few of the UK's estimated 1.2 million adult addicts.

The service includes live telephone sessions with trained counsellors and accountability software that monitors online activity and sends a list of viewed x-rated websites to users' therapists. Other treatments include a home study program, daily exercises, audio files and access to a confidential online forum where users can discuss their conditions with, and support, fellow addicts.

The six-week 'cure' costs from £ 89 to £ 349

Update: Closed

11th October 2016.

The website is now closed and was last seen in 2015.