Word: moralizers
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...have been dominated by the economy only, and our society has been wholly shaped by the zeal to work and work and make more money. The article about the bubble bursting in 1989 reminds me that we have lost not only our financial vigor, but a larger sense of moral purpose in the country. Yasuhito Sakamoto, Kanagawa, Japan...
...experts on the commission voted to ban the film, Deputy Culture Minister Tymofiy Kokhan, head of the commission, tells TIME. In their reports they noted that the film "contains artistically unjustified pictures of the sexual organs, homosexual acts, homosexual perversions, sadism and anti-social behavior that could damage citizens' moral health." Kokhan says he would have been inclined to allow the film to be released on DVD, but the majority vote took the decision out of his hands. (Beyond Brüno: See TIME's Summer Arts Preview...
...Critics have lambasted the ban, saying it reeks of moral censorship. "It's a very worrying sign if the Ukrainian authorities say they are banning the film because of homosexual scenes," says Evhen Minko, chief editor of media-watchdog magazine Telekritika. Given the way the film lampoons intolerant attitudes toward homosexuality, the joke seems to be on them. "They didn't understand it," says Minko. "The commission's interpretation of the film is a parody in itself...
...Ukraine's parliament has been on a moral crusade of late, banning gambling last month and, in the past few weeks, prohibiting the possession and production of pornography. Observers have expressed concern that such decisions are a sop to retrograde social forces that oppose liberalization and have the support of the generally conservative Ukrainians. With a presidential election scheduled for Jan. 17, politicians seem to be on the lookout for ways to give themselves a boost in the polls. "[They] are trying to make an impression on society by using the most extreme methods," says Taras Karasiychuk, director...
...Pragmatism Should Often Trump Idealism Compared with the relatively Panglossian vision of George W. Bush, who sought to remake whole parts of the world under the banner of American moral authority, Obama brings a more conservative, cynical view to the question of when nations should act on idealistic impulses. At a press conference on Friday, the President was asked how he resolves the theoretical conflict between respecting state sovereignty and intervening in defense of the universal rights of oppressed people. "The threshold at which international intervention is appropriate I think has to be very high," Obama said. "There...