Paypal or Ignorance Online

Talk about ignorance.

Famous Internet payment website Paypal dropped the account of Canada's official naturist group the FCN because it considered the organization's magazine as 'pornography.'

That action is blatantly stupid for two main reasons.

First of all, anyone who looks through the average naturist magazine or book can tell this is not pornography. Yes, there are pictures of naked people. But those are people in normal, everyday-life poses. Walking along the beach, relaxing in a pool, doing sports, sunbathing. Things every one does, with or without clothing. A naturist magazine is the last place you will be looking for to find pictures of sexually enticing behavior.

But apparently, Paypal is too dumb to do that or too dumb to actually look at the magazines. They probably just saw a naked person on the cover - as you can see on the covers here of the official International Naturist Federation yearbooks - and reasoned that there must be pornography inside.

It's also ignorant for a second reason. Paypal is one in the long list of companies that grew up after and thanks to the Internet revolution. Think Yahoo!, E-Bay, Google, Amazon. All top global companies with a huge presence on the Web. Companies which represent new thinking and breakthroughs in the way we live. That a company like that - and we're talking about Paypal - can be so stupid in 2008 as to confuse naturism with pornography is beyond belief. Are those the people who are at the forefront of high-tech living and modern lifestyles?

Nude Art At Last

In 1981, Taiwanese sculptor Pu Tien-sheng made two works of art representing naked women. Pu said 'Sunshine' and 'Rays of Spring' were inspired by French models and by works from French sculptor Rodin.
Yet those explanations found no understanding in the eyes of the organizers of an exhibition at Taipei's Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall more than 26 years ago. The showing of the sculptures would imply disrespect to the man the exhibition hall was named after, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, still revered by the government then as the founder of modern China and precursor of modern Taiwan.
After 26 years, times have finally changed, as today's United Daily News points out, and both sculptures are going on show at the same Memorial Hall which rejected them the first time around. A reporter who once defended the right to exhibit nude art later married one of Pu's sons, the paper said.
In Western eyes, both sculptures can only be described as beautiful and romantic, with nothing obscene and vulgar about them. The show can only be welcomed as another belated breakthrough for non-sexual nudity in the arts in Taiwan, which has already witnessed some nude theater performances, though not without the close attention from the authorities.
If only Taiwan would now also allow the inspiration for those works of art to happen, i.e. the non-sexual, non-exhibitionist experiencing of naturism at suitable hostels, resorts and beaches around this beautiful island.

Naturist Expo in the Netherlands

The country where you can find that brilliant naturist beach is now also the place you have to go to if you want to visit a naturist travel expo in the nude.

Naturist associations have been setting up stands at travel shows all over Europe. There is nothing new about that, I remember Belgium's naturist federation being in attendance every year with folders, guidebooks and videos at the Brussels Travel Fair.

But this travel show in the Netherlands is something different: the visitors can go nude as well, and the fair only has stands for naturist resorts and clubs.

The news report from the German news agency DPA mentioned that the fair will also host seminars and presentations on naturism-related topics.

The organizers are camping associations and publishers, who have no direct relations to naturism but decided the fair would be a good idea. We agree.

You can find the full DPA story in English at http://www.expatica.com/nl/articles/news/Dutch-nudists-get-their-own-fair.html