"When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn't the slightest intention of putting it into practice." - Otto von Bismarck

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Allow men to claim alimony, says ex-NMP - "Under the 48-year-old Women's Charter designed to protect women's rights, a woman can claim maintenance from her husband. Men do not have this right. Lawyers explain that a man cannot claim maintenance from his wife for his own benefit, but can do so if their children are living with him. Dr Soin said a man's obligation to support his wife arose because in the past, he took over her property upon marriage, so supporting her was compensation for her loss... Divorce lawyer Tan Siew Kim said only men who can show medical proof of being too ill to work should be maintained by their ex-wives. Like other lawyers interviewed, she said she has seen men quit working or feign joblessness to avoid paying their ex-wives maintenance. The idea may also not sit well with the men themselves. It is a matter of face, said lawyer Amolat Singh, since 'people see living off your wife as shameful'."
I doubt, even 48 years ago, that many women had dowries for men to take over; I wonder how many women who do not have medical proof of being too ill to work are maintained by their ex-husbands.

Lee Kuan Yew Watch - "State of the Lee
Last spotted: June 10, 2009 in Kuala Lumpur
Last analyzed: June 10, 2009 in Kuala Lumpur
Analysis
Mental acuity: No speech in video, but Lee seems upbeat and responds to stimuli.
Physical health: Lee walks unassisted, stands straight and gestures with both hands.
Next expected:
State visit to Malaysia, June 8-15"

Irony and weirdness: a Malaysian story - "These two supposed exorcists clothe their nastiness under a veneer of religion and call themselves "The Professional Islamic Support and Nurture Group" or P.I.S.A.N.G (allow me to roll around the floor laughing here - pisang means banana!! These two guys are laughing at you and your gullibility!!)"

From Russia Without Love: How thousands of lonely British men are being ruthlessly fleeced by a Russian 'email brides' racket - "It's hard to feel sorry for them or to distinguish who is really exploiting whom: the men who say they are looking for 'love' but, no doubt, expect sex as well, or the girls who shamelessly take them for every penny. They probably deserve each other... One agency boss we spoke to - a 50-year-old British ex-pat with greying hair and beer belly - admitted penning dozens of letters to male clients."
I sense an opportunity for arbitrage here, but ang mohs probably can't speak Mandarin.

Taiwan president suggests using simplified Chinese characters - ""We hope the two sides can reach a consensus on (learning to) read standard characters while writing in the simplified ones," Ma told a visiting delegation of US-based Taiwanese community leaders. "It is also our hope that the standard characters can be listed as World Heritage by the United Nations one day," he said in a statement... Taiwan's government labelled its [traditional characters] system -- also used in Hong Kong and Macau -- as "standard" characters and banned books published in simplified Chinese until 2003."
We should recognise Egyptian Hieroglyphics as World heritage too

Gay Guise: When Straight Men Have Sex With Other Men - "A recent New York City survey that appeared in the September 19, 2006, issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine found that nearly 1 in 10 men say they're straight and have occasional sex with men... To best understand these men, therapists and clients need to be able to differentiate four terms that are often confused: sexual identity and orientation; sexual preferences; sexual fantasies; and sexual behavior. Contrary to common usage, they aren't always in alignment... These men typically want to bond with and get affection from other men. Their behavior may reflect a desire to experiment, to engage in something that's taboo, or to express inner psychological conflicts involving their sexual feelings and desires that have nothing to do with having a gay or bisexual identity."

Are downloads really killing the music industry? Or is it something else? - "Ben Goldacre took apart the rather dodgy calculations behind the claims [about lost sales] on Saturday... The reality is that nowadays, one can choose between a game costing £40 that will last weeks, or a £10 CD with two great tracks and eight dud ones. I think a lot of people are choosing the game - and downloading the two tracks."

Author Paulo Coelho's profitable Net obsession - "Forget Radiohead. Brazilian author Paulo Coelho has been an apostle of free Internet distribution for years. He figures they sell more books this way... Coelho explained why he thinks giving books away online leads to selling more copies in print: "It's very difficult to read a book on your computer. People start printing out their own copies. But if they like the book, after reading 30-40 pages they just go out and buy it.""

Viceland - ONE RAPE, PLEASE (to go) - I Paid a Male Whore to Rape Me Because I Wanted To - "I blame my recurring rape fantasy on the fact that I’m a feminist. I’ve never made any bones about getting boned in exactly the fashion that I want. But as a girl, my equipment can be trickier to manage, therefore I need to be a boss in the bedroom to ensure I get worked the right way... I find myself wishing that my typically sugary-sweet sexual encounters were sometimes peppered with assault. I decided that the best way to forfeit that control—while still holding on to a modicum of it for safekeeping—would be to hire someone for the job. Not to put too fine a point on it, I wanted a male whore to rape me... I didn’t want to get raped for free, because I felt that the exchange of money was the only way I’d be able to maintain the small amount of power I needed to feel comfortable. Besides, at this point, a large part of the allure of this whole thing was that I was actually going to fuck a hooker"

Classroom assistant at Muslim girls' school forced out of job by parents who believed she was a man - "Shifa Patel, a 28-year-old secretary, was accused of hiding her masculinity beneath a traditional headscarf and robes. The hate campaign started when photographs of a short-haired Miss Patel wearing a shirt and trousers were spotted on Facebook. They were copied and emailed to dozens of concerned parents as 'proof' that Miss Patel was a man. In a bid to defuse the rumours, she underwent a humiliating medical examination to prove that she was in fact a woman. But parents refused to believe the results and the headteacher resorted to writing to all parents assuring them the secretary wasn't a man. Miss Patel was finally forced to quit after a mob of parents gathered at the Al-Islah Muslim Girls School in Blackburn and demanded governors sack her immediately."

So do men REALLY prefer Miss Average? - "100 men taking part in an Australian study were asked to rate the attractiveness of 200 drawings of female torsos of different sizes... Every magazine cover and every movie sex scene might be bombarding his bemused male brain with images of the perfect Size Zero woman, complete with missile-silo breasts, but, given the choice, it seems a chap will still pick out bouncy Beth from next door... Are we women the victims of some sick conspiracy by Green activists working in conjunction with gay fashion designers to keep the population down? Why else would we be encouraged to aspire to the very body shape that is most likely to leave us childless?... Try typing Women Don't Like Their Bodies into Google and you come up with 14-and-a-half-million stories. Type in Women Like Their Bodies and what would you get - Victoria Beckham?... Men have only ever commented positively about my eyes, smile, skin and breasts... When I have ever lamented my rather generous proportions, they have only ever given my bottom a good squeeze and told me not to be ridiculous... The only people ever to have made unpleasant comments about my size are other women."
So much for socialisation. At least for men - women seem more affected by others' opinions. I've no idea what the guy at the bottom is on about, though; their other article on the same study is also good

Founder of anti-drug program is held in drug sting