News Briefs

“The Simpsons” is bad for kids

Venezuela has pulled the U.S. cartoon “The Simpsons” from television. They said that the show was “…a potentially bad influence on children…” The time slot is now filled with reruns of “Baywatch.” The show was originally dubbed into Spanish and aired on the Televen network at 11 a.m. The country’s broadcast regulator, Conatel, said that the show broke the radio and television social responsibility law. Conatel began to receive a lot of complaints from viewers, triggering them to start proceedings against the show. The owner of “The Simpsons,” 20th Century Fox Television, was unable to comment on Venezuela’s decision regarding the show. Numerous Venezuelan television stations currently show reruns of series from the U.S.

Stephen King hates video game haters

Stephen King, in a column he writes for Entertainment Weekly, strongly criticized the plans by a U.S. state to ban violent video games. He called it undemocratic and said it was up to parents to decide how to monitor their children’s activities. He also wrote, “What makes me crazy is when politicians take it upon themselves to play surrogate parents. The results of that are usually disastrous. Not to mention undemocratic.” This comes after debates that are ongoing in the United States, Britain, and Australia. British authorities recently banned Manhunt 2 due to its extremely graphic nature. King is best known for writing horror stories such as “The Shining” and “Carrie.”

Duck gets protection

A pet duck is the first animal in New York state’s Suffolk County to receive an order of protection. The duck, named Circles, was shot through the neck by a neighbor while in its owner’s backyard. Circles was treated for the injury and survived. The neighbor was charged with animal cruelty, and Circle’s owner got an order of protection. According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, this is the first time that an animal has received an order of protection without being involved in a domestic violence incident. Circles was covered under a provision that was signed into law by former New York Governor George Pataki in 2006.