Those "dirty" Europeans, MySpace, YouTube, censorship and the Thai Military Junta

I'm always amazed about how hot under the collar some people get when the topic of s*x is mentioned. Haven't prudes got anything better to do than be offended by a bit of nudity and rumpy-pumpy? The latest shock-horror outrage is a fairly harmless little advert produced by the European Commission to promote "art house" films.

According to news reports today, the clip, one of the most viewed on YouTube at the moment, has attracted the unwanted attention of the dirty (on the inside) raincoat brigade.

In the interests of balance - that is offending everyone equally - here it is. Nothing to it really, though it does show gay couples embracing the "beast with two backs" position. Oh, and if you look closely I think the woman in the first shot has a Brazilian - they're everywhere now, so common. Nothing risque anymore in a close and personal shave, a bit like tattoos really. There's someone who looks under 18 (to me anyway) in the audience, mouth agape (as you do in "art house" cinema). And, just by the way, aren't there any non-whites living in Europe these days? It would be far more offensive to the neo-nazis to have black and brown people doing the rhythm thing.
Nothing to see here folks, keep moving!



Perhaps the only sensible thing to do is to take a leaf out of the Thai military junta's playbook and ban bloody YouTube altogether. That way no one can be offended. In May 2007 YouTube agreed to remove four clips from its site that the Thai government said were insulting to the king. YouTube agreed! Why?

Well, advertising revenues might be one answer. The world of "DIY" video-stardom is also expanding. MySpace last week (29 June 2007) launched a rival site, MySpaceTV.

Our obsession with self-celebrity is destructive to say the least. Not to mention making it easier for the forces of Laura Norder to keep a weather eye on the trouble makers.