Weekly Daily Brickbats Archive 2009 July 15-31

The Ukrainian government says it has banned the film Brüno. Government officials called the film immoral because of its language and sexual content.

Officials with the Child Evangelism Fellowship say they have been barred from conducting Bible study in public housing projects in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The housing authority released a statement to Fox News saying decisions on whether to allow religious groups to meet are made by the residents' association at each complex.

You wouldn't expect the Chinese government to admit they have a manual for local officials on how to beat people without leaving marks. But they did. A whistleblower posted parts of the manual online, and when a newspaper called the government to ask about it, an official with Beijing's Bureau of City Administration and Law Enforcement said it was real but seemed perturbed that it had been leaked.

Vito Congine spent $200,000 to buy and renovate a building in Wausau, Wisconsin, and turn it into a supper club. But Congine said those plans fell through after the city refused to grant him a liquor license. So he began flying an American flag upside down, a signal for distress. Just before the city's Independence Day parade, four police officers went to Congine's building and removed the flag.

Caitlin Robinson's mother died from skin cancer, and her family says she's at risk for the disease. But officials at Robinson's Worcester, England, school have banned the girl from using sunblock when she goes outside. They say other students may be allergic to the lotion.