This & That, Ceci et Cela

"Fur-lined underwear has been banned in Uzbekistan after authorities deemed it too sexy. Sales of the furry slips have rocketed in temperatures that have hit the region of below minus 20C. But the government has now banned the lingerie saying they want to protect citizens from "unbridled fantasies" caused by wearing the soft fabric." Obviously, freakiness in ...

Let it snow; Snowmen across America stage march to protest global warming.

Snowmen from across the nation gather at the Washington Monument to protest global warming. "According to organizers of marches in Washington, Atlanta, Montreal, Berlin, London, Reykjavik, and Moscow, global warming is the primary cause of the steep reduction in the snowman population throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Demonstrators ...

Malaysian police law includes making detainees doing squats naked: "A Malaysian inquiry has called on the police to stop forcing some suspects to strip and perform naked squats. The inquiry, ordered after a video emerged of a naked woman doing squats in a Malaysian police station, said the practice infringed human rights. Complaints by Chinese tourists of similar treatment sparked a diplomatic row with Beijing. The video caused ...

Apparently, Oprah isn't the only one with the golden book club touch: An unexpected endorsement from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has resulted in a huge jump in sales for a book by a critic of U.S. foreign policy. William Blum's "Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower" was ranked 209,000 on Amazon.com's sales list before bin Laden mentioned it in ...

"It may have been laughed at by fashionistas worldwide, but Evo Morales' now infamous striped sweater has become a must-have item for those eager to emulate Bolivia's president-elect and his refusal to pander to Western ...

Say what?  Look who's reaching out to get their freak on: "Wife swapping on Internet is the new buzzword. More and more Delhi couples are logging on to the World Wide Web to hunt for like-minded couples, willing for multi-partner orgies." (Asian Sex Gazette).

"Dutch MP Geert Wilders is the man who first suggested the idea of a ban. "It's a medieval symbol, a symbol against women," he says. "We don't want women to be ashamed to show who they are. Even if you have decided yourself to do that, you should not do it in Holland, because we want you to be integrated, assimilated into Dutch society." That's right, integrate and assimilate goddamnit, ...

Centre-left candidate Michelle Bachelet has become Chile's first woman president, taking 53.5% of the poll with almost all the votes counted. Now when is that going to happen in North America? Good thing we aren't holding our breaths, because my crystal ball just about clouded up at that question!

Judge rules that New Hampshire family coffee company can keep its "Charbucks" name. How in hell I would ever confuse a small, family company with completely different logo and corporate identity with the global chain-freak is beyond me. Shame on them.

I recently came across an interesting article by Jay Epstein exploring the good ol' marketing precept that the value of a diamond never diminishes, until you try to sell it... Why you're forever being told that "diamonds are forever", so don't sell/exchange, just buy more. Good thing I happen to find conventional/white diamonds ...