Free Republic

The head of Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS), Ambassador Salah Abdel Sadek, has attributed the rise of violence and extremism across the Arab world to children’s cartoon Tom and Jerry, video games and ‘violent’ movies. During a speech at a conference titled ‘The Media and the Culture of Violence’ at Cairo University, the Ambassador said that Tom and Jerry sets an idea in the viewer’s mind that violence is natural. “[Tom and Jerry] portrays the violence in a funny manner and sends the message that, yes, I can hit him…and I can blow him up with explosives. It becomes...

Fans of the zany Tom and Jerry cartoons from the golden age of animation might be in for a shock, as the classic shorts now carry a politically-correct warning on Amazon's streaming video service. On Tuesday, BBC correspondent Sean Coughlan reported that on Amazon Prime, the "Tom and Jerry: The Complete Second Volume is accompanied by the caution: 'Tom and Jerry shorts may depict some ethnic and racial prejudices that were once commonplace in American society. Such depictions were wrong then and are wrong today.'" Coughlan spotlighted the criticism of University of Kent professor of sociology Frank Furendi, who blasted...

Tom and Jerry fans accuse Warner Brothers of censorship after episodes which show the cat and mouse 'blacked-up' are pulled from new collection • The Golden Collection Volume Two was supposed to be uncut • Two episodes have been taken out because they are deemed 'inappropriate' • Fans have accused Warner Brothers of omitting history Box-set was meant to go on sale two months ago but yet to reach shelves Fans of the classic cartoon Tom and Jerry are furious two episodes deemed 'inappropriate' because they feature the cat and mouse 'blacked-up' have been removed from a new collection. Warner...

LONDON (UPI) -- The Boomerang cartoon TV network is editing some scenes from classic "Tom and Jerry" cartoons where the cat and mouse are smoking cigarettes. The decision was announced after British media watchdog, Ofcom, investigated a viewer's complaint that the cartoons from the 1940s and 1050s were not appropriate for young viewers, the BBC reported Monday. Boomerang will only edit the cartoons where smoking appears to be "condoned, acceptable or glamorized," the BBC said. "We note that in Tom and Jerry smoking usually appears in a stylized manner," Ofcom said in a statement. However, it said, "the level of...

They chase each other at high speed wielding axes and hammers. But the famous cartoon duo of Tom and Jerry are in trouble for smoking on screen. Media regulator Ofcom received a complaint from a viewer who took offence at two episodes involving smoking. In one, "Texas Tom", the hapless cat Tom tries to impress a feline female by rolling a cigarette, lighting it and smoking it with one hand. In the other, "Tennis Chumps", Tom's opponent in a match smokes a large cigar. In a bulletin posted online, Ofcom noted "concerns that smoking on television may normalise smoking", and...

Tom and JewryThe jihad against cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was only the start. The Middle East Media Research Institute transcribes a lecture by Hasan Bolkhari, "a cultural advisor to the Iranian Education Ministry," that appeared on Iranian television: There is a cartoon that children like. They like it very much, and so do adults--"Tom and Jerry." . . . Some say that this creation by Walt Disney [sic] will be remembered forever. The Jewish Walt Disney Co. gained international fame with this cartoon. It is still shown throughout the world. This cartoon maintains its status...

Tom and Jerry, the lovable cat and mouse locked in cartoon combat, is a Jewish conspiracy, according to an Iranian official. Prof. Hasan Bolkhari, a cultural advisor to the Iranian Education Ministry, delivered the news last week on Iran's Channel 4 during a broadcast of film seminar where he was lecturing. An excerpt of the video was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute. "The Jewish Walt Disney Company gained international fame with this cartoon," said Bolkhari. "It is still shown throughout the world. This cartoon maintains its status because of the cute antics of the cat and mouse...