Man Can't Change Name to "God"
New Zealand censors are given NZ$i,ojo (320 pounds) a year to spend on the likes of piano lessons or aerobics to help rid "psychological pollution" encountered in their work. Twelve staff of New Zealand's Office of Film and Literature Classification, a government body responsible for classifying publications that may need to be restricted or banned, are entitled to the allowance, The Dominion Post newspaper reported. Under New Zealand law, "publications" include films, videos, music, books, magazines and computer games. Chief censor Bill Hastings said objectionable material, containing pornography or violence, had the potential to harm. "We're not machines. We're humans. Given that we have to do this job, we have to take some steps to negate the harm," Hastings told the newspaper. Last year the office viewed 1,224 publications, including 201 it classified as objectionable, according to its official website. "As this (NZ$i,c-5o) is part of their salary, we don't monitor how staff spend it, but some have told me that they spend it on gym memberships, music lessons and the like," Hastings said.
June 3rd, 2010
Posted in Article