Dining Alone on Ramen Is a Little Less Depressing With a Smartphone Dock Bowl - "the bowl also doubles as a passive amplifier for your phone's speaker when it's empty, making it possibly one of the most useful smartphone accessories ever devised"
Park Si-hoo Questioned Over Rape Charge - "A female friend of the aspiring actress apparently sent her a text message advising her to either "get a lot of money" from the actor or "bring him down." Park's accuser allegedly responded, "I'm going to show them how well I can act by looking like the victim." But police said they intend to use the Kakao Talk records merely as reference, and other messages actually support the accuser's claims. "Park has yet to present evidence showing that the sex was consensual""
What is "evidence showing that the sex was consensual"? A signed agreement?
Alleging Human Rights Violations, Howard Students Sue to Get Into Sorority - "Howard University seniors and sorority hopefuls Laurin Compton and Lauren Cofield find themselves in a plot with elements of a teen novel: arguments about who can wear pink, accusations of snitching, a cabal of girls called "the Sweets." But instead of devising an elaborate way to get back at the in-crowd, Gossip Girl-style, they're suing the sorority and the university to become sisters—and alleging that their human rights have been violated."
Bureaucratics, Photos of Civil Servants from Around the World
Women in Paris finally allowed to wear trousers - " On January 31, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, France's minister of women's rights, made it officially impossible to arrest a woman for wearing trousers in the French capital. The law required women to ask police for special permission to "dress as men" in Paris, or risk being taken into custody... The law was kept in place until now, despite repeated attempts to repeal it, in part because officials said the unenforced rule was not a priority, and part of French "legal archaeology." In July however, in a public request directed at Ms Vallaud-Belkacem, Alain Houpert, a senator and member of the conservative UMP party, said the "symbolic importance" of the law "could injure our modern sensibilities," and he asked the minister to repeal it... The restriction focused on Paris because French Revolutionary rebels in the capital said they wore trousers, as opposed to the knee-breeches, or the "culottes," of the bourgeoisie, in what was coined the "sans-culottes" movement. Women rebels in the movement demanded the right to wear trousers as well, but were forbidden to do so"
I'm sure French women were terribly discriminated against and were in mortal fear of being arrested before this
Someone: Indeed. you could say the same for those in the LGBT community.
How much people save is partly a function of the language they speak. - Ideas Market - WSJ - "Chen presents compelling evidence that people who speak languages without strictly distinct future or past tenses are a lot more likely to save money. His argument is that, in these languages, people aren’t as distinct from their future selves; linguistically, at least, today and tomorrow are more of a continuum. The future in languages such as Chinese isn’t some far off thing that can be ignored; on the contrary, in these future-less tongues the future sounds (and perhaps feels) like just another version of the present, which it is."
The Pee Deflectors of Amsterdam - "An interesting aspect of grungy, dark cornered areas on Amsterdam, is the city’s methods to keep the city clean and odor-free by teaching those drunken fools who think every little corner is their personal urinal. Most of the buildings near the main squares in Amsterdam are equipped with “pee deflectors” that were installed by the Dutch government... city hall devised the implementation of pee deflectors that would splash the pee back on the pisser to teach them a lesson. Most of these are triangular shaped metal sheets that protrude and are angled to splash pee back on the man conducting the act. Some have sharp barbs to conduct a lesson of pain on the perpetrator. In the 1980′s they had electrical charges running through some of the deflectors so that the law-breaker would be shocked"
'Have Sex With Older Woman,' Feminist Advises Teen Virgin - "Sociologist Ueno Chizuko (64) shocked readers when in an Asahi Shimbun life advice column she replied to a male middle-school student whose problem was finding sexual relief that, “It’s best to ask a mature woman to let you have sex with her’."
Is China Running Out Of Workers? - "China, which has had one of the best demographic profiles of any nation, will soon have one of the worst. The economic effect of population decline will, in all probability, be severe, long-lasting, and evident soon."
China’s 'Little Emperors' more neurotic, risk averse
Some DNA ancestry services akin to 'genetic astrology' - ""On a long trudge through history - two parents, four great-grandparents, and so on - very soon everyone runs out of ancestors and has to share them. "As a result, almost every Briton is a descendant of Viking hordes, Roman legions, African migrants, Indian Brahmins, or anyone else they fancy.""
Why do people keep lists of enemies? - "For those who self-identify as opponents of a particular group, appearing on such a list can be a valediction. "It's a badge of honour," says award-winning cartoonist Tony Auth, who appears on the NRA document. "If I wasn't on it I'd be appalled." Actor Paul Newman said his inclusion on Nixon's list was his greatest achievement. Journalist Hunter S Thompson wrote of the "gross sense of injury" he felt when he realised his name was omitted."
Different veils worn by Muslim women around the world - Imgur
Groupon Fires Andrew Mason As CEO - " “After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family,” Mason wrote. “Just kidding — I was fired today. If you’re wondering why … you haven’t been paying attention.”"
Designate May 20th as Macho Man Randy Savage Day. | We the People: Your Voice in Our Government
Obama petitioned over baby formula - "“We request for international support and assistance as babies in Hong Kong will face malnutrition very soon”... It was not immediately clear what the anonymous author of the petition wanted Obama to do but Internet users in Hong Kong saw the appeal as an attempt to embarrass the government into action. “The whole world will be laughing at Hong Kong for this,” a mother on one popular baby forum said, the South China Morning Post reported. Hundreds of mainlanders have been stuffing tins of baby milk powder into large bags and boxes near train stations at the border in recent days... Other recent petitions on the White House website to have grabbed the headlines include one requesting the government build a Star Wars-inspired “Death Star” by 2016 to “spur job creation” and strengthen national defence. More than 34 000 people signed the appeal but the government rejected it last month with a tongue-in-cheek response saying “the administration does not support blowing up planets”... Other current petitions call for looser regulation of cigars, the legalisation of marijuana and the minting of a $1 trillion coin"
The Purchase of Intimacy: Viviana A. Zelizer - "In their personal lives, people consider it essential to separate economics and intimacy. We have, for example, a long-standing taboo against workplace romance, while we see marital love as different from prostitution because it is not a fundamentally financial exchange. In The Purchase of Intimacy, Viviana Zelizer mounts a provocative challenge to this view. Getting to the heart of one of life's greatest taboos, she shows how we all use economic activity to create, maintain, and renegotiate important ties--especially intimate ties--to other people. In everyday life, we invest intense effort and worry to strike the right balance. For example, when a wife's income equals or surpasses her husband's, how much more time should the man devote to household chores or child care? Sometimes legal disputes arise. Should the surviving partner in a same-sex relationship have received compensation for a partner's death as a result of 9/11? Through a host of compelling examples, Zelizer shows us why price is central to three key areas of intimacy: sexually tinged relations; health care by family members, friends, and professionals; and household economics"
Judge ordered lazy sinkie wife to go out and work!! - "That guy earn only take home 2k but his ex-wife demand 2.3k i think that guy is not a grad but his ex-wife is a grad who quit her job yrs ago. The judge only get the guy to pay $450 + $100 per mth and order the wife go find a job."
Pourquoi les seins nus disparaissent des plages - "Pour la plupart des femmes que nous avons interrogées, un beau sein n’est pas un sein cramé... « Parce que je me dois de les chouchouter si je veux qu’ils restent ronds et fermes le plus longtemps possible. »... « Je ne veux pas de tous les regards sur moi. Je préfère laisser le reste à la magie de l’instant, aiguiser l’appétit plutôt que de tout livrer. Le topless, c’est comme si tout était gagné. »... « Je fais du 90 C, j’ai l’habitude des regards sur moi, bien souvent trop dirigés au sud de mes yeux. Ça m’amuse mais parfois j’en souffre aussi. Les regards ne sont pas tous doux. Certains sont lubriques, d’autres jaloux (c’est souvent celui des filles d’ailleurs), d’autres graveleux et d’autres agréables. »... « Pas au Maroc parce que je me ferais brûler vive par les islamistes. »"