February 11, 2006

Government Censor: “The film will upset the people of this culture and tradition.”

But it’s not a cartoon:

The United Arab Emirates has banned Ang Lee’s acclaimed film Brokeback Mountain because of Islamic laws against homosexuality, reports the Khaleej Times.

“Brokeback Mountain is a film which has nothing positive about it. The portrayal of the sexual behavior of its main character is offensive to Eastern societies, particularly Muslims and the Arabs, since Islam forbids abnormal behaviors like homosexuality,” said Abdullah Al Amiri, chairman of the Committee of Financial, Economical, and Industrial Affairs of Sharjah Consultative Council. “The film will upset the people of this culture and tradition.”

Members of the Sharjah Consultative Council thanked the ministry of information for what the Times called “its efforts in protecting the society from unethical and immoral practices.” A member of the ministry told the Times that its censorship department was making a great effort to protect the country from movies that will destroy the values and morals of society.

How now, Mr. Prosecutor:

“We showed each person the declaration on their behalf and they all said they didn’t say that,” — Spokesman for state Attorney General.

Lawyers for a death row inmate, including former Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth Starr, sent fake letters from jurors asking California’s governor to spare the man’s life, prosecutors said Friday.

The jurors denied they thought Michael Morales deserved clemency because some of the testimony at his trial may have been fabricated, said Nathan Barankin, spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer.

“We showed each person the declaration on their behalf and they all said they didn’t say that,” Barankin said.

San Joaquin County prosecutor Charles Schultz also said the letters sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week were “untrue” and “pure fiction.”

…On Friday, the San Joaquin District Attorney’s office sent Schwarzenegger a new batch of sworn statements from five of those jurors saying they not only still supported capital punishment for Morales, but had never spoken with the defense investigator who claimed to have secured their signatures…

Morales is scheduled to be executed Feb. 21 for the rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl in San Joaquin County 25 years ago.

Day: February 11, 2006

UAE Bans ‘Brokeback Mountain’

Government Censor: “The film will upset the people of this culture and tradition.”

Ken Starr Implicated in Forgery of Sworn Statements in Death Penalty Case

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“One woman at a rally in New Jersey told me last week that she was ‘nauseously optimistic.’ That may capture a lot of people’s last-minute jitters.”

— Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), quoted by Axios, on what Democrats feel ahead of the midterm elections.

“I think Congress made a mistake not protesting turning the Rose Garden into what looks like the entrance to Liberace’s bathroom.”

— Former President Bill Clinton, quoted by The Wrap.

“Boy, they are scraping the bottom of the barrel. It feels like a real desperation play to me, because it has got zero basis in the law.”

— Republican election law expert Ben Ginsberg, quoted by Politico, on the Trump administration’s effort to invalidate Alaska’s election results.

Numerati

3,824

$1.4 billion

-35 points

31%

63% to 38%

KFF Poll: “With the 2026 midterm campaigns in full swing and early voting about to begin, there is a wide enthusiasm gap between partisan voters, with Democratic voters 25 percentage points more likely than Republican voters to say they are ‘more motivated’ than usual to vote (63% vs. 38%).”