For some reason, New Zealand and overseas social conservatives are starting to reach for the censor's scissors. Time to move sharp objects out of their reach... First, it wasa group of Palmerston North conservative Christians who objected to Steve Crowe's Erotica Expo, then didn't bother to show up to protest. They were all aquiver at the prospect of mobile mammary glands. Quite frankly, given Crowe and the Society for Promotion of Community Standards' unholy alliance against gay barebacking DVDs, I didn't go, either. However, I don't believe in censoring adult erotic media, and it was R18. Now, Family First is trying to impersonate their mates in the Australian Christian Lobby across the Tasman, and are selectively demonstrating their ire at advertisers on TV3's new American series Californication. I can think of considerable amounts of gratuitous nudity and sex on the box after 9.30pm, so why are they singling out Californication for umbrage? I'm beginning to wonder if we shouldn't start discouraging people from access to Sky Digital, given the existence of the fundamentalist channel Shine Television as one of the options. More seriously, though, the US Catholic League for Civil Rights has gone on the warpath against The Golden Compass, which is based on the bestselling young adult's fantasy series His Dark Materials' first volume. Why? Well, the series is delightfully critical of religious authority and tradition, which has led to howls that it is somehow "anti-Christian." Amusingly, the UK National Secular Society has said that it hopes that the important underlying messages of critical inquiry and rational analysis aren't comprised in the film version. I can't help but agree with them. If you have young teenage kids, nieces or nephews, go and see it. Incidentally, why aren't secularists using the opportunity to promote the book and movie's underlying themes, as fundamentalists did over the boring and propagandist The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, written by the late evangelical author, C.S.Lewis? I would. Craig Young - 29th November 2007