According to the Google Calculator, we are paying $5.85 per gallon in most gas stations, here in Brasília. Considering Brazil's relatively low income compared to US and Sweden's, I declare both Americans and Swedish wimps. ;)

@#96: Takuan, I had the opportunity to talk with more people and changed my mind. Perhaps banning the float was overreacting by the judge. Thinking about it made me realize that nothing changed fundamentally, and if they had the chance to show the float the way it was, with dancers and everything, the ensuing discussion would be more productive and much more worthy than preserving some group's sensibilities. It would be better if Viradouro used the float and dealt with the consequences and protests later, not before the parade. Banning the float stopped us from seeing it and judging it by ourselves.

You see, there's not that much awareness of the Holocaust, at least not as much as in European countries and in the USA, and despite the seemingly sensationalist intentions of Viradouro, at least this could have been a good opportunity to talk about this very important matter. Young people don't know and don't care much about anything related to the WWII - it seems like ancient stuff to them, something they usually only hear about in American blockbuster movies (like Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan and Pearl Harbour). And this is despite having Brazilians fighting the war against the fascists in the Italian front.

I think you're right about the Holocaust becoming taboo. If we don't talk about it, it will be forgotten, even if we don't have a message that will please everyone. A lot of sensitive (or shocking in a non-gratuitous way) stuff was already used as themes by samba schools in the past, and in the end it's good that such things are remembered (although most people forget about them just a few days after the parade). Even shock may have value.

@80: Takuan, I believe his action was irresponsible and insensitive, but not criminal. Therefore, I think it seems appropriate to ban the float while not arresting the responsible for it. Anedoctally, I asked a few people about what happened and they seem to agree with me that although the float itself seemed in bad taste (albeit wonderfully done and a piece of art by itself), the final straw was the Hitler dancers. I don't know what could be done to give the right context to the float and the dancers, but it seems that Viradouro didn't even try and scrapped the float as some kind of a marketing play.

If it was done only for shock's sake, he's at least mistaken and at worst acting in bad faith. But I agree that it may have been a honest mistake, I just don't think it's the case due to his past record.

@#61: Takuan, I am a Brazilian. I don't claim to be the voice of all Brazilians, but I think I can shed some relative light into this subject. There are no written norms about previous discussion/consultation in such matters. But it seems Brazilian society in general isn't very tolerant about the religious variety of hate crime. Religious hate crime *can* be very harshly punished, including with jailtime in addition to banning the float. The Christ float was a big deal at the time, but it seemed to be forgotten not much time after Carnival. However, it probably resurfaced now.

There are some people who think Brazil is a backwards country without free speech. This is untrue. Although there are many problems with basic freedoms here, free speech is a right granted by our Constitution, with the limits you usually see: slandering, for example, isn't protected by free speech. I won't tire you with the details, but there is a lot of freedom to badmouth politicians, for example. =P

For the sake of full disclosure, I must say that, personally, I believe Viradouro just wanted to make something shocking for shock's sake and not much more. It would be pretty much in line with what they did and tried to do in past years' parades.

Mark, the correct name for the artist is "Maurício Ricardo". He is the owner of one of the most popular humorous websites in Brazil, Charges.com.br. Wikipedia has a nice page about his website.

About the movie: Some of these drawings are very clever, some are not. But the background song isn't French. It's actually a song by Maurício Ricardo's band Seminovos, sung in Brazilian Portuguese. It may sound bland, but the lyrics are kinda funny (warning: link in Portuguese). I could try to translate them, but I guess I'm unable to convey the same mood. =]

As far as I know, whether the tracks in Rock Band are "master tracks" or covers is public information. Some video games coverage websites, like GameSpy, released the tracklist with the covers easily distinguishable from the master tracks. Since I don't have the game and I've never seen it personally, I don't know if this information is present in the game itself. But I think it isn't too far-fetched to believe that the target audience for this game would be interested in knowing exactly which are the master tracks, and they'll probably know that the Romantics one is a cover. Moreover, when I read reviews of this game (and the Guitar Heroes), the reviewers always compare the covers and tell how spot-on they are. So I guess it shouldn't be surprising to the Romantics that the cover band would try their best to sound just like the original recording. It's hard to understand why they didn't complain before, especially if they had the opportunity to review the track to approve it (I can't know if they did, though).

I assume Xeni does the "Yeahs". They're awesome. =) But what's up with the censorship? I don't get it, why is the music bleeped while the lyrics are not? Anyway, I'd like to say that although this is my first BB comment ever, I've been a BBtv fan since day one, and I'm also a long time BB fan. Greetings to the entire BB crew! ;)