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Tom Jerry mandering
Tom and Jerry fell victims to political correctness when TV watchdogs imposed a "ludicrous" ban on smoking in the cartoons.
The satellite channel Boomerang agreed to edit out scenes that glamourised or condoned smoking after media regulator Ofcom received a complaint from a parent.
In one episode, Tom tries to impress a female cat by making a roll-up cigarette and smoking it with just one hand. In the other, Tom's tennis opponent is seen smoking a large cigar.
Pro-smoking lobby group Forest claimed the move was a "joke", and said the violence featured in Tom and Jerry would be a better target.
Spokesman Neil Rafferty said: "We cannot believe this completely ludicrous decision. If you're going to analyse Tom and Jerry then I think Tom getting hit repeatedly in the face very hard with a frying pan is a much more dangerous example to set towards children. "
Mediawatch commentator John Beyer said that while he welcomed moves to encourage physical health among youngsters, he wanted Ofcom to focus its powers on more offensive issues.
He said: "There are films and programmes out there which deal with mental and adult issues that cause a very great deal of public offence. Ofcom seems unwilling to deal these more pressing issues. "
Poppycock
War veterans have been told that remembrance parades can not go ahead unless they adhere to endless health and safety rules.
Officials demanded that the old soldiers, many in their 80s, should provide £300 public liability insurance, carry out a risk assessment and organise stewards dressed in fluorescent jackets to police events.
One elderly soldier stormed: "When these people went to war they didn't have to fill out risk assessment forms. To say it is political correctness gone mad is an understatement. "
It is feared many associations up and down the country may now be forced to cancel their events because of the time and cost of complying with the regulations.
The march organisers have been told two lines of stewards in fluorescent jackets must accompany them and have an ambulance in attendance.
Mr. Lee-Hale said: "I could understand it if we were a bunch of yobs marching through the town, but what trouble do they think an 80-year-old ex-sailor is going to cause?"
It is not the first time war veterans have fallen foul of the politically correct brigade.
Last year poppy sellers were banned from pinning flowers on people's clothes in case they cause injury.
Wye Aye Pet!
Geordies were staggered to discover that they were no longer allowed to address people as 'pet' or 'love' for fear of their language causing offence.
Political correctness meant that such Geordie dialect, which was famed in the TV show 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet', was banned by Newcastle City Council.
Thousands of Council workers were sent on "equality and diversity" courses to be told how to address each other with dignity and respect.
It is not the first local authority in Britain to tell its staff that words like "love", "darling" and "sweetheart" are inappropriate for women. But it may be the only one ruling out the use of some of the local expressions, for fear of causing offence.
Tory MP for the North-East Martin Callanan said the move was "political correctness gone mad".
He added, "They are traditional North-east terms of affection. I can't believe anyone would be offended by them. Surely the council has more important things to worry about than its staff using friendly terms. "
Retired teacher Peter Arnold, who is chairman of the Northumbrian Language Society, said he supported the council's desire to promote diversity. But he added: "I am horrified that these words are to be banned.
"People have been speaking Northumbrian in this part of the world for 1,400 years uninterrupted. "
Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep
One nursery school in Oxfordshire made children sing 'Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep' in the name of "equal opportunities".
But angry parents forced the nursery to perform a U-turn on the politically correct policy after it was exposed in the Daily Express.
One couple whose daughter attends the group felt the nursery's stance had been "utterly laughable".
The father said: "It's absolutely ridiculous. But after all the publicity and once we made our views known, I am pleased to say today they are again singing black sheep. "
We revealed how the Sure Start Centre in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, had changed the words of the nursery rhyme Baa Baa Black Sheep. Centre manager Stuart Chamberlain had said equal opportunities justified the extraordinary decision.
"Basically we have taken the equal opportunities approach to everything we do. This is fairly standard across nurseries. We are following stringent equal opportunities rules, " he said.
"No one should feel pointed out because of their race, gender or anything else. "
But Paul Phoenix, of campaigning group Black Parents in Education, said: "Tackle the big rocks and the little stones will fall into place but to approach all these tiny, little, politically correct things wastes time and is irrelevant. "
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Political correctness is killing our freedoms
Europe's citizens must be on their guard against political correctness and moralising politicians, says the European Commission President José Manuel Barroso in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.
The former Portuguese premier and centre-Right politician is concerned that freedom can be the loser in European culture wars over climate change, cheap air travel, Islam and free speech.
"We should be aware of people who, sometimes for good reasons, try to establish what I call private moral codes, for this or that, be it climate change, religious behaviour or any kind of social behaviour," he says.
Mr Barroso, a former Maoist student firebrand who fought against the Portuguese dictatorship in the early 1970s, still regards himself as a freedom fighter, even when the calls for bans or restrictions are in a worthy cause, such as global warming or respect for Muslim communities.
"I was 18 years old when a democratic revolution came to my country. Before we could not read the books or listen to the music we wanted," he says, speaking in his 13th-floor office in the Berlaymont building in Brussels. "I am radical on these matters. If there is an excess of freedom, it is better to have excess than less." Europe has been deeply divided over controversies surrounding Islam.
Violent protests on the continent, in the Middle East and in Asia followed the publication in a Danish newspaper of cartoons caricaturing the Prophet Mohammed and the Pope faced calls to apologise after a speech on theology and the origins of Islam sparked international controversy.
But Mr Barroso backs the right to offend.
"We have to show respect for all communities but the fundamental right of freedom of expression is for me more important than other collective rights," he says.
Growing up in the Portugal of the 1960s, Mr Barroso remembers being compelled to wear quasi-military uniforms. "I hate uniforms," he says.
His own personal experience of authoritarianism has made him wary both of those who are seeking to ban the wearing of the Islamic veil and Muslims who require girls to cover up. "I think the UK has the right approach. The veil should not be banned just as girls should not be forced to wear it.
"People should be able to choose what clothes they wear - as long as they don't go naked of course."
As the European Union prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding Treaty of Rome, Mr Barroso insists that the rights of the individual, within the law, over moral strictures from either secular or religious communities, are sacred.
"Shall we respect the rights of a community to impose, for instance on a girl, a specific way of doing things or shall we give primacy to the rights of the girl, or it could be a boy, to choose?" he says.
"I have no doubts. In the Europe I want, the right to choose has primacy."
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Tom and Jerry fell victims to political correctness when TV watchdogs imposed a "ludicrous" ban on smoking in the cartoons.
The satellite channel Boomerang agreed to edit out scenes that glamourised or condoned smoking after media regulator Ofcom received a complaint from a parent.
In one episode, Tom tries to impress a female cat by making a roll-up cigarette and smoking it with just one hand. In the other, Tom's tennis opponent is seen smoking a large cigar.
Pro-smoking lobby group Forest claimed the move was a "joke", and said the violence featured in Tom and Jerry would be a better target.
Spokesman Neil Rafferty said: "We cannot believe this completely ludicrous decision. If you're going to analyse Tom and Jerry then I think Tom getting hit repeatedly in the face very hard with a frying pan is a much more dangerous example to set towards children. "
Mediawatch commentator John Beyer said that while he welcomed moves to encourage physical health among youngsters, he wanted Ofcom to focus its powers on more offensive issues.
He said: "There are films and programmes out there which deal with mental and adult issues that cause a very great deal of public offence. Ofcom seems unwilling to deal these more pressing issues. "
Poppycock
War veterans have been told that remembrance parades can not go ahead unless they adhere to endless health and safety rules.
Officials demanded that the old soldiers, many in their 80s, should provide £300 public liability insurance, carry out a risk assessment and organise stewards dressed in fluorescent jackets to police events.
One elderly soldier stormed: "When these people went to war they didn't have to fill out risk assessment forms. To say it is political correctness gone mad is an understatement. "
It is feared many associations up and down the country may now be forced to cancel their events because of the time and cost of complying with the regulations.
The march organisers have been told two lines of stewards in fluorescent jackets must accompany them and have an ambulance in attendance.
Mr. Lee-Hale said: "I could understand it if we were a bunch of yobs marching through the town, but what trouble do they think an 80-year-old ex-sailor is going to cause?"
It is not the first time war veterans have fallen foul of the politically correct brigade.
Last year poppy sellers were banned from pinning flowers on people's clothes in case they cause injury.
Wye Aye Pet!
Geordies were staggered to discover that they were no longer allowed to address people as 'pet' or 'love' for fear of their language causing offence.
Political correctness meant that such Geordie dialect, which was famed in the TV show 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet', was banned by Newcastle City Council.
Thousands of Council workers were sent on "equality and diversity" courses to be told how to address each other with dignity and respect.
It is not the first local authority in Britain to tell its staff that words like "love", "darling" and "sweetheart" are inappropriate for women. But it may be the only one ruling out the use of some of the local expressions, for fear of causing offence.
Tory MP for the North-East Martin Callanan said the move was "political correctness gone mad".
He added, "They are traditional North-east terms of affection. I can't believe anyone would be offended by them. Surely the council has more important things to worry about than its staff using friendly terms. "
Retired teacher Peter Arnold, who is chairman of the Northumbrian Language Society, said he supported the council's desire to promote diversity. But he added: "I am horrified that these words are to be banned.
"People have been speaking Northumbrian in this part of the world for 1,400 years uninterrupted. "
Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep
One nursery school in Oxfordshire made children sing 'Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep' in the name of "equal opportunities".
But angry parents forced the nursery to perform a U-turn on the politically correct policy after it was exposed in the Daily Express.
One couple whose daughter attends the group felt the nursery's stance had been "utterly laughable".
The father said: "It's absolutely ridiculous. But after all the publicity and once we made our views known, I am pleased to say today they are again singing black sheep. "
We revealed how the Sure Start Centre in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, had changed the words of the nursery rhyme Baa Baa Black Sheep. Centre manager Stuart Chamberlain had said equal opportunities justified the extraordinary decision.
"Basically we have taken the equal opportunities approach to everything we do. This is fairly standard across nurseries. We are following stringent equal opportunities rules, " he said.
"No one should feel pointed out because of their race, gender or anything else. "
But Paul Phoenix, of campaigning group Black Parents in Education, said: "Tackle the big rocks and the little stones will fall into place but to approach all these tiny, little, politically correct things wastes time and is irrelevant. "
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Political correctness is killing our freedoms
Europe's citizens must be on their guard against political correctness and moralising politicians, says the European Commission President José Manuel Barroso in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.
The former Portuguese premier and centre-Right politician is concerned that freedom can be the loser in European culture wars over climate change, cheap air travel, Islam and free speech.
"We should be aware of people who, sometimes for good reasons, try to establish what I call private moral codes, for this or that, be it climate change, religious behaviour or any kind of social behaviour," he says.
Mr Barroso, a former Maoist student firebrand who fought against the Portuguese dictatorship in the early 1970s, still regards himself as a freedom fighter, even when the calls for bans or restrictions are in a worthy cause, such as global warming or respect for Muslim communities.
"I was 18 years old when a democratic revolution came to my country. Before we could not read the books or listen to the music we wanted," he says, speaking in his 13th-floor office in the Berlaymont building in Brussels. "I am radical on these matters. If there is an excess of freedom, it is better to have excess than less." Europe has been deeply divided over controversies surrounding Islam.
Violent protests on the continent, in the Middle East and in Asia followed the publication in a Danish newspaper of cartoons caricaturing the Prophet Mohammed and the Pope faced calls to apologise after a speech on theology and the origins of Islam sparked international controversy.
But Mr Barroso backs the right to offend.
"We have to show respect for all communities but the fundamental right of freedom of expression is for me more important than other collective rights," he says.
Growing up in the Portugal of the 1960s, Mr Barroso remembers being compelled to wear quasi-military uniforms. "I hate uniforms," he says.
His own personal experience of authoritarianism has made him wary both of those who are seeking to ban the wearing of the Islamic veil and Muslims who require girls to cover up. "I think the UK has the right approach. The veil should not be banned just as girls should not be forced to wear it.
"People should be able to choose what clothes they wear - as long as they don't go naked of course."
As the European Union prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding Treaty of Rome, Mr Barroso insists that the rights of the individual, within the law, over moral strictures from either secular or religious communities, are sacred.
"Shall we respect the rights of a community to impose, for instance on a girl, a specific way of doing things or shall we give primacy to the rights of the girl, or it could be a boy, to choose?" he says.
"I have no doubts. In the Europe I want, the right to choose has primacy."
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