Saturday, February 28, 2009

United Arab Emirates Blocks Israeli Cartoon From YouTube

United Arab Emirates officials blocked a YouTube cartoon from Israel, featuring two Muslim boys who deflect their father's efforts to make them suicide bombers. Officials said the cartoon is anti-Islam and racist toward Arabs, al-Arabiya reported. In one episode, the two boys, Salim and Ahmed make a detour to get ice cream on their way to place an explosive on an Israeli bus. Then they put the bomb on a UAE bus. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said it had gotten complaints about the cartoons, which are subtitled in Hebrew and English. A spokesman for the TRA said the agency has resisted calls to block YouTube completely. Adult content on the site is automatically blocked, he said.