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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: controversy

controversy stories: 23 news summaries

1 - 20 of 23 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 'Save the Boob'  Ads 
 Turn Heads, Spark Complaints 

Cutting-edge ads seek to reach younger women

Sep 24, 09 3:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - Just because breast cancer is serious, does that mean PSAs have to be?  "Save the boob" is the tag line on one irreverent video in a campaign for breast cancer awareness that's drawing fans—and furious complaints. Designers of the public service announcements aim to grab the attention younger... More »

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breast cancer • commercials • advertisements • breasts • Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation • Breast Cancer Research Foundation • controversy • breast self examination • man boobs • public service announcement • boob

Top-Selling US Bible Due for Translation Update in 2011

Translators promise to revisit TNIV's gender-neutral revisions

Sep 1, 09 6:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - The New International Version of the Bible will get an update in 2011 as scholars adapt translations to contemporary English usage, USA Today reports. The top-selling Bible translation in North America has not been updated for 25 years, with a proposed 1997 edition scuttled after provoking a contentious debate among... More »

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gender • Christianity • study • religion • gender politics • translation • Bible • controversy • New International Version • T-NIV

 Roseanne 
 Poses as 
 Hitler: Cue 
 Controversy 

Publisher defends magazine's choice

Jul 31, 09 7:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - Roseanne Barr, always good for a controversy, recently dressed up as a “Nazi domestic goddess” for Jewish magazine Heeb, causing quite a flap. “Yes, the story of this infamous satirist/Jewish grandmother pulling a tray of burnt ‘Jew cookies’ out of an oven has been making its... More »

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entertainment • Holocaust • Roseanne Barr • Adolf Hitler • magazine • celebrity • Nazi • Jewish • controversy

 'French Eminem' 
 Ignites Censorship Fight 

Canceled concerts fuel national censorship debate

Jul 29, 09 3:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - A rapper slammed for backing violence against women has sparked a censorship debate that’s reached the upper levels of France’s government, the BBC reports. OrelSan, the “French Eminem,” was dropped from a music festival after former presidential candidate Segolene Royal warned she might pull public funding.... More »

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Segolene Royal • France • censorship • rapper • rap music • controversy • OrelSan

(Newser) - The House of Representatives will not consider a resolution praising Michael Jackson’s humanitarianism, the Boston Globe reports. “A resolution, I think, would open up to contrary views to—that are not necessary at this time to be expressed in association with a resolution whose purpose is quite... More »

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Nancy Pelosi • entertainment • Congress • House of Representatives • death • Michael Jackson • celebrity humanitarianism • controversy • celebrity death • Sheila Jackson-Lee • resolution

 Transformers From 'Da Hood' 
 Spark Racism Charges 

New characters compared to Jar Jar Binks

Jun 25, 09 11:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Critics are comparing Transformers to Star Wars, and not in a good way, E! reports. Twin autobots Skids and Mudflap are causing an uproar over ethnic stereotypes. The new characters are from “da hood,” can’t read, and inspired one critic to describe them as—horrors!—“... More »

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entertainment • Michael Bay • racism • Transformers • Star Wars • racist • controversy • Jar Jar Binks • Skids • Mudflap • Tom Kenny • Reno Wilson

 Pageant Pushed 
 Playboy: Prejean 

But nasty e-mails make Carrie seem like the one at fault

Jun 11, 09 8:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - Accusations are flying between Carrie Prejean and Miss California pageant officials, TMZ reports. The dethroned winner says a pageant exec tried to force her to appear semi-nude in Playboy; Keith Lewis says he was honoring her wish that he pass along offers before declining them. The high-profile gay-marriage opponent also... More »

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entertainment • Miss USA • beauty pageant • Playboy • controversy • Carrie Prejean • Miss California • Keith Lewis

(Newser) - An editorial cartoon depicting Sonia Sotomayor strung up as a piñata has sparked a minor outcry, the Huffington Post reports. Published in the right-leaning Oklahoman yesterday, it shows Obama in a sombrero inviting the GOP to take a whack at the Supreme Court nom. “She’s of... More »

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racism • editorial cartoons • Oklahoma • controversy • Sonia Sotomayor

 Brit Firm Offers 
 Bigger Breasts 
 From Stem Cells 

Controversial cancer therapy to be used for cosmetic procedures

Mar 29, 09 6:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - A new breast enhancement procedure using stem cells from stomach fat to grow larger breasts is being made available for the first time in the UK, reports the Times of London. The procedure has already been used in trials for use on breast cancer survivors. Now a controversial new operation... More »

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stem cell research • medical breakthrough • breast cancer • breast enhancement • controversy • Howard Stern Grid


 Jacko Wants 
 Apology for 
 IRA Joke 

Singer wants apology for 'disgusting slur'

Mar 20, 09 8:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - Michael Jackson was “appalled” after BBC comedians compared him to the IRA, and he wants an apology, the Mirror reports. Just days after three IRA-related murders, the comedians noted that both Jacko and the terrorist organization are “80s celebrities” making a surprise comeback. “To compare him to... More »

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BBC • celebrity • terrorist • IRA • Michael Jackson • comedian • comeback • controversy • Howard Stern Grid

 'Zzz' Spells Discontent 
 for Scrabble Enthusiasts 

Some game fans lobby for rules change

Mar 18, 09 12:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - If you sigh in resignation every time you pull a Z or Q out of the Scrabble letter bag, new additions to the game’s official word list probably have you sighing in relief. But aficionados say the expanding list—now including “za,” “qi,” and “... More »

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game • dictionary • Scrabble • board games • controversy • Alfred Butts

 Disney Under Fire for 
 Black Princess's 
 White Prince 

Why isn't first black princess with black prince?

Mar 18, 09 11:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - Disney has unveiled its first black princess—but her prince appears to be white, and the criticism is pouring in, the Mail reports. In the upcoming The Princess and the Frog, New Orleans’ Princess Tiana is voiced by Dreamgirls actress Anika Noni Rose—and while her prince hails from “... More »

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race • film • Disney • Walt Disney • movies • animated movie • controversy

Comic Fritzl 
Play Sparks 
Death Threats 

Director insists he's mocking media, not rape and incest

Feb 23, 09 4:52 PM CST
(Newser) - A comic play about accused rapist Josef Fritzl is set to open in Vienna, drawing the ire—and death threats—of Austrians who are not amused, the BBC reports. Director Hubsi Kramar stressed that the largely improvised piece, co-starring victims of abuse, is a commentary on media coverage of Fritzl’... More »

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theater • satire • comedy • play • murder trial • incest • media coverage • Josef Fritzl • Amstetten, Austria • controversy

OPINION

Phelps Gets Off Easy Thanks to Image, Not Race

Goody-goodies, black
or white, see minimal
hit for taking hits

Feb 5, 09 2:01 PM CST
(Newser) - Those who think Michael Phelps would be facing harsher treatment if he were black are “stuck in the 1960s,” Jason Whitlock writes for Fox Sports. “Image is everything whether you're black or white.” Only bad boys get hung out to dry when controversy calls—Phelps was... More »

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sports • Michael Phelps • marijuana • marijuana legalization • image • racial inequality • controversy • Jason Whitlock

Pope Names Bishop Who Lauded 'Punishing' Katrina

Hurricane destroyed nightclubs, abortion clinic, notes pleased Austrian

Feb 2, 09 5:32 AM CST
(Newser) - Days after welcoming back to the church a bishop who denies the Holocaust existed, Pope Benedict has sparked controversy again for promoting a controversial Austrian ultra-conservative cleric. Gerhard Maria Wagner claims the Harry Potter series spreads satanism and that Hurricane Katrina was punishment for New Orleans' lax morals. More »

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Harry Potter • Hurricane Katrina • Pope Benedict XVI • Vatican • Catholicism • Tsunami • clergy • bishop • controversy

 Slumdog Makers Say 
 Kids Weren't Exploited 

Filmmakers deny they underpaid children

Jan 30, 09 10:08 AM CST
(Newser) - The creators of Slumdog Millionaire are taking the offensive to rebut accusations that the young Indian actors in their film were exploited, People reports. Claims surfaced earlier this week that two of the child actors, still living in the slums of Mumbai, got a raw deal. But director Danny Boyle... More »

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child actors • India • salary • poverty • Mumbai • child star • controversy • Slumdog Millionaire

ANALYSIS

Ad's Choice
of Song Sparks Debate on Artists' Lives

HP yanks tune by pedophile Gary Glitter

Oct 31, 08 3:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - HP's decision to change an ad because it featured a song by convicted child molester Gary Glitter has Charlie Moran in Advertising Age wondering about how far we should go in drawing the line between the artist and his art. The ad for the TouchSmart PC drew complaints because it... More »

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United Kingdom • child molestation • musician • advertisements • child pornography • Joan Jett • controversy • Gary Glitter • Hewlett-Packard

ANALYSIS

This Ain't Your Granddaddy's Lipstick on a Pig

Contrary to Obama aide, phrase is new twist on prettying porky

Sep 11, 08 2:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - Whether Barack Obama was taking a rouge-colored swipe at Sarah Palin is debatable, but a staffer’s claim that "lipstick on a pig" is a phrase “older than my grandfather’s grandfather” should raise eyebrows, Ben Zimmer explains on Slate. The phrase has probably only been around since... More »

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Barack Obama • lipstick • speech • Election 2008 • Sarah Palin • controversy • lipstick on a pig

opinion

 Defining Olympic Moment?
 Phelps By a Hair


Aug 16, 08 12:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Sure, if Michael Phelps wins his eighth Olympic gold, as he’s expected to do in the men’s relay, all eyes will be on him. And we’ll wonder (even more) if he’s all human or part-fish. But the Olympics' "defining fabulous moment" has already passed, writes... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Michael Phelps • 2008 Beijing Olympics • gold medal • USA Swimming • controversy • Olympics • Milorad Cavic

 French Writer Sparks Uproar With 'Anti-Semitic' Satire

Divides Paris liberals over 'right to provoke'

Aug 3, 08 8:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - Controversial French columnist Maurice Siné is drawing cries of anti-Semitism for statements about President Sarkozy's son, reports the Guardian. In a column for Charlie Hebdo, Siné alleged Jean Sarkozy planned to convert to Judaism to wed a Jewish heiress and "go a long way in life."... More »

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France • Paris • columnists • anti-Semitism • Jean Sarkozy • controversy • Maurice Siné

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