"The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments." - William H. Borah

***

NutshellMail - "NutshellMail is a free, web-based service developed to help you better access, manage, and monitor all your email and social networking accounts through your most commonly used inbox. NutshellMail transforms your primary email account into a universal inbox so you can retrieve messages and manage all your accounts in one place. NutshellMail was also designed to enable employees, restricted from third-party messaging accounts, to securely access personal messages at work without violating their employer's IT policies."
Translation: Use Facebook, Twitter, Myspace etc at work via email. Or from behind the Great Firewall of China.

Solo Travel as a Woman in Asia - "When I told friends I was planning an extended trip in Asia, they looked aghast rather than delighted, and immediately began lecturing me. To hear their gloom predictions you’d think that every Sri Lankan citizen was a Tamil terrorist and every Pakistani a Jack the Ripper. My own view is that there is a pernicious mythology surrounding the lone female traveler, whether it be as a hitchhiker around Britain or a traveler in Southeast Asia. Many people instantly exaggerate the perils and dwell on a single woman’s vulnerability. Often this doom-ridden response is just an excuse for their own timidity of spirit. In fact, traveling around most of Asia is far safer, and more pleasant, than traveling on the Lexington Avenue line in New York City."

Asian Poses - The Definitive Guide to Asian Poses - "Simply smiling in a photo is so boring, why not strike a pose? Asians are notorious for their quirky and cute poses and this site focuses on documenting these poses. To help you recognize various poses, visual aids will be provided courtesy of popular Korean, Japanese, and Chinese models. The site’s style was inspired by the website Stuff White People Like, which often includes witty remarks, sarcasm, and stuff that is offensive if you can’t take a joke."
Needless to say, the examples are all female. Unsurprisingly, the first post featured was... the v-sign.
He's also part of a site called Really Cute Asians which is mostly Jap gravure.

Cheeseburger in a Can Reviewed - "The bottom line: The reviewer would eat "this thing again if it weren't so expensive."... He also felt that the overall quality was similar to a McDonalds cheeseburger, which is really saying something."

Baboon mums exploit 'chaperones' - "Having a caring friend around seems to greatly benefit the females and their infants, as both are harassed less by other baboons when in the company of their male pal. But why the males choose to be platonic friends remains a mystery... Male and females of a few species of monkey, including baboons, macaques and others are known to form so-called 'friendships', where particular males and females will spend a lot of time in each other's company. These friendships are often strictly platonic, and don't seem to involve sex. But no-one knows why they occur."
There're baboon Intellectual Whores too!

Christian group sues for right to burn gay teen novel - "The offending book is Francesca Lia Block's Baby Be-Bop, a young adult novel in which a boy, struggling with his homosexuality, is beaten up by a homophobic gang. The complaint, which according to the American Library Association also demands $120,000 (£72,000) in compensatory damages for being exposed to the book in a display at West Bend Community Memorial Library, was lodged by four men from the Christian Civil Liberties Union... "The word 'faggot' is very derogatory and slanderous to all males," the suit continues. "Using the word 'Nigger' is dangerously offensive, disrespectful to all people. These words can permeate violence." The suit also claims that the book "constitutes a hate crime, and that it degrades the community"."
If I hadn't read the headline, I'd have thought this suit was being brought by gay activists.

Helping foreigners fit in: Grassroots leaders start activities for them to bond with S'poreans - "Mr Charles Chong, the ward's MP, said yesterday that he started noticing a growing number of new immigrants in the neighbourhood three years ago... Most of the new immigrants are from India, China, the Philippines and Myanmar. 'They are usually very happy to be here and have settled in well,' Mr Chong said. With his trademark grin, he added: 'When you ask Singaporean residents for feedback, they will complain that they have to wait more than 15 minutes for the bus. But when you ask new immigrants, they are happy that the bus comes in under 30 minutes.'"
If Singaporeans complain but immigrants are happy, the former should migrate and be replaced with the latter. Think win-win! In fact, we should ship in immigrants from Somalia and Darfur. They'll be even more grateful and easy to please than Chinese, Indians, Burmese and Filipinos. @euniqueflair: at the same time, we ship ourselves to other countries. think: upgrade.

City to employees: Wear underwear - "The City Council of Brooksville, Fla., has approved a citywide dress code requiring city employees to wear underwear, deodorant and properly-fitted clothes."