"Charm is a way of getting the answer yes without asking a clear question." - Albert Camus

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10 top ugly buildings and monuments - "Travel can open your eyes to some of the world's most beautiful sights and buildings -- and to some of the ugliest... "Some of these picks have all the charm of a bag of nails while others are just jaw-dropping in their complexity. Love them or hate them, the list is certainly entertaining," said General manager Giampiero Ambrosi."

YouTube - Animaniacs - Noel - GAH

Students drop Shinerama fundraiser for illness targeting Caucasians - "Students at an Ottawa university are pulling out of a Canada-wide fundraiser that provides close to $1 million a year for cystic fibrosis research and treatment, arguing that the disease "has been recently revealed to only affect white people, and primarily men" — something experts say is untrue... Nick Bergamini was the only student councillor to vote against the motion. "I think that it's political correctness gone horribly, horribly wrong," he said. "They're playing not just politics with this, but they're playing racial politics, and I think it's entirely inappropriate."... "Who knows what will be affected next? Will it be that sickle cell anemia we shouldn't fight against when it affects mainly African people?""
White men are evil.

John Robson • Life lessons for students - "Would it be OK to object to raising money for diseases that mostly affect women or non-whites? The lesson: It's still bigotry if you hate men, white people or both... Calling something tolerant and inclusive is no guarantee of its being so... And then there's breast cancer. This disease seems to have no difficulty arranging high-profile fund-raising campaigns -- on campuses and involving men -- and I'm not being snide when I point out that the gender impact of breast cancer is far from neutral. (It does occur in men, but as you guessed it is very rare.) Where is the massive prostate cancer effort with its own coloured ribbons and high sociological status?... It is also remarkable that those who passed the original CUSA motion did not realise it would be controversial, let alone that it ought to be. The lesson: Student politics is frequently dominated by childish, hothouse radicalism. It's not confined to campus. The authors of a $2-million report on youth violence for the Ontario government... just concluded that "Racism is worse than it was a generation ago"... After all that has been accomplished, often at great personal risk, against bigotry in the last 40 years such a conclusion is not merely absurd but irresponsible. The lesson: Not all student politicians grow up."

Why Women Feel More Attached after Sex than Men - "There is a little-talked-about hormone, oxytocin—nicknamed the “cuddle hormone”—which is released during sex and could be effecting our relationships and sex lives and relationships in ways we’ve never thought of"... "Estrogen seems to increase the calming and bonding effects of oxytocin, while testosterone seems to mute them. That's why women tend to feel more attached after sex than men do.""

Oktoberfest revellers shun beer for condoms - "Cold and clammy weather at this year’s Oktoberfest might have put some visitors off beer, but it also apparently encouraged people to cuddle up for warmth – and buy more condoms."

Playing the Market - Weird News Story Archive - "A sudden and strange drop in the value of French 10-year bond futures has been traced to a lone English trader at Salomon Brothers in London, who accidentally issued 145 sell orders in a row when he leaned on his keyboard, investigators said. “The disputed trades arose as a result of the prolonged, unintentional and inadvertent operation of the 'Instant Sell' key” on his terminal, they concluded."

Malaysia’s fatwa council explains how ‘tomboys’ become lesbians - "When asked why the council went to such lengths as to rule on what women could wear, Mr Aziz identified seemingly innocuous actions such as dressing in a masculine way as something that could lead on to greater 'crimes' such as lesbianism. "Not only is the act forbidden, but any act that may lead to the actual act is also forbidden," he told the NST. "If we allow this practice (of pengkid) to continue to develop, it will become a tradition, and then a norm. "When it becomes a norm, then people will think no longer think of it as a wrong. This is something we do not want to happen. "Actually, we are trying to save these women (from becoming lesbians).""
Malaysia Boleh!

Goodbye and thank you - "YEARS of strong economic growth have failed to stem Singapore’s skilled youths from leaving for a better life abroad, with the number topping 1,000 a year... Such high-end emigration is usually associated with less better-off countries where living conditions are poor. Here the opposite is the case... The emigration rate, one of the highest in the world on a per capita basis, is a blow to the government... Lee’s grandson, the elder son of Prime Minister Hsien Loong, who is studying in the United States, has indicated that he may not return. Over the years, the children of several Cabinet ministers have also made Britain or the US their home... Singaporeans who have or are planning to emigrate are given a host of 10 questions and asked to tick the three most important ones. They include the following: High costs of living, Singapore is too regulated and stifling Better career and prospects overseas, Prefer a more relaxed lifestyle, Uncertain future of Singapore. Some liberal Singaporeans believe Lee himself, with his authoritarian leadership and unpopular policies, is largely to blame... Some feel the large presence of foreigners, and the perks they enjoy over locals in military exemption as well as in scholarships, are themselves strong push factors."
A followup: While the hot economy has attracted more than a million foreigners to its shores, its own citizens have been leaving in record numbers to settle down abroad. Their exit seemed to have taken on a new life in recent years, ironically when the economic growth and the job market were at their best... The number of Singaporeans who gave up their citizenship, Wong said, averaged 1,000 a year in the last three years... An ACNielsen poll showed 21% of Singaporeans, mainly professionals, were considering emigration, half opting for Australia and New Zealand... It is estimated that half the Singaporeans who annually apply for foreign PRs – 6,000 to 7,000 – eventually settle down overseas... “Many Singaporeans leave because of the stifling atmosphere of the country and the political and intellectual lock-step enforced by the government,” said one analyst. “It would reverse if the government would begin to democratise, and to allow its people to develop their talents – in Singapore, not abroad.”

Sarkozy voodoo doll wins 'right to humor' in court - "Twice, the French president asked the courts to ban the sale of a figurine made in his image. On Friday, an appeals court dealt him the latest rebuff: not only can the doll remain on sale, but the judges ordered that it be sold with a bright-red banner on the packaging entitled "Judicial Injunction" and a warning that sticking needles into the doll affronts Sarkozy's dignity. So far, Sarkozy's actions in court have had the apparently unintended consequence of turning the voodoo doll into something of a cult item. The actions Friday may give another boost to its popularity... The court also awarded the president a symbolic euro in damages and ordered K&B Editions to pay the equivalent of about $2,000 in legal costs."
Nice touch. I love civilised countries.

Worker dies at Long Island Wal-Mart after being trampled in Black Friday stampede - "A Wal-Mart worker died early Friday after an "out-of-control" mob of frenzied shoppers smashed through the Long Island store's front doors and trampled him, police said... "He was such a young man with a good heart, full of life. He didn't deserve that." Damour's sister said doctors told the family he died of a heart attack... "When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling, 'I've been on line since Friday morning!'" Cribbs said. "They kept shopping.""
... women; FAIL

Singapore Strikes Again - WSJ.com - "We'll note that court proceedings are privileged under Singapore law, which means they can be reported -- though Singapore's media rarely do the job... In the second editorial, we reported on the International Bar Association's critical study of the rule of law in Singapore. This is the same outfit that held its annual conference in Singapore last year, a meeting that Mr. Lee himself touted as a sign of confidence in Singapore's courts. The Law Society of Singapore is a member of the IBA. If reporting on what such a body says is contemptuous of the judiciary, then Singapore is saying that its courts are above any public scrutiny... The IBA then weighed in, in a posting on its Web site, saying it wished "to correct some inaccurate comments" in Singapore's letter. It invites readers to read the report and "see for themselves" that its views are "based on comprehensive examples and evidence."... As for this week's contempt ruling, the first line of Justice Tay's decision is revealing as a standard for Singapore justice. "Words sometimes mean more than what they appear to say on the surface," he writes, going on to interpret the words as contemptuous because they had an "inherent tendency" to "scandalise the court.""
More scurrilous attacks! Looks like they haven't learnt their lesson! S$25,000 is too small a sum! Sue them till they go bankrupt! Jail the editors! Execute Rupert Murdoch!

The art of the toilet in Japan - "A poem recently published by a stressed-out salary man captured their comforting appeal with haiku-like brevity. "The only warmth in my life is the toilet seat," he mourned... A visitor to Tokyo recently told me that he was surprised to find Japanese women rather than foreigners cleaning the toilets in his hotel... the low immigration level is only part of the explanation. Japanese people do not see cleaning as a demeaning or shameful job... Recently, I visited a small technology company in Osaka.... [his presentation] included photographs of his staff on their knees scrubbing the urinals... there is also a dark underground trade in DVDs filmed in ladies' toilets by hidden cameras, and only last week a man was arrested for placing "spycams" in the lavatories of a girls' school... A young girl slowly walked towards a loo, which automatically raised its lid to greet her. The toilet then appeared to give a welcoming robotic smile and its seat began to glow an inviting orange colour as it heated up, ready for action. Fortunately, the advertisement ended there. But not before a broad and appreciative smile broke out across the face of the girl."
Presumably toilet cleaning doesn't make you Hisabetsu-buraku (Burakumin); Aren't the toiletcam DVDs fake? Then again, this is Japan...

Pe-La-TuS...? Pi – lates...? Pi - late-tees...? Pi-lah-tees...? You are never going to believe what we found out at the 2nd Annual Pilates Convention in Miami this year... - "A surprise guest was the niece of Joseph Pilates, Mary Pilates. Ms. Pilates, 84 yrs (Mid West Pilates), sat atop the stage, poised and answering all kinds of questions from eager attendees from around the world. It was amazing to hear her accounts of the early days in Joe's studio in NYC . Then some one asked the quintessential question of the hour...How do you pronounce your last name? In her very laid back, mid-western way she said, "Pi-lates or Pe-la-tus." The crowd of students roared with laughter for about 5 minutes. While Mary Pilates sat not knowing what to say. Then she began to laugh herself and she said..."I don’t care how you say it really...""