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  Toonami Infolink :: View topic - Funny/Weird/Interesting Real World News
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Spookmonkey

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Joined: Nov 07, 2002
Post subject: Funny/Weird/Interesting Real World News
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Ever read a news article and think "man this is great, I need to show this to somebody." No? Well, screw you. I do. I'm willing to bet a few of you do too. So I'll kick this pig.

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) - For most people carnival conjures up ideas of grand street parties, feasting and fun all round.

But in Venice, the pre-Lenten festival has become a pain.

"If I have to fight past another group of glitter-painted Japanese tourists giggling at each other and taking pictures in masks, I think I'll kill somebody," scowled 27-year-old Franco Panin, a born and bred Venetian.

Tourists are no novelty in the narrow streets Panin wheels carts of vegetables through -- the only way to get daily provisions around the lagoon city -- but carnival is something different.

English replaces the Venetian dialect as the city's main language as thousands of foreigners flood in, hijacking a centuries-old tradition and jarring local nerves.

As costumed parades kicked off carnival this weekend, disgruntled Venetians sat grumbling in bars, sought refuge in their homes or headed for the hills to ski in the nearby Dolomites.

"It's a nightmare," said Tomaso Tagliapietra, a gondolier who relies on the main April-to-October tourist trade to keep him going for the rest of the year.

"Carnival used to be Venetian, but the masked balls are well out of the reach of our pockets and we just get masked discos or open-air concerts."

Every year carnival-goers invade the scores of tiny islands that make up Venice, paying up to $450 ) for a masked ball complete with commedia dell'arte plays or a steep $70 to sip hot chocolate in 17th-century costume in cafes overlooking St. Mark's Square.

Isabelle and Jean de la Forge from Lyon reckoned their week-long trip would cost about $5,000 including ball tickets, masks and costumes.

"But it's such a great experience it's worth it. With all the gloom in the world outside, why not wrap yourself in fairytale luxury for a week?" smiled Isabelle as she bustled toward the Rialto bridge in a red balloon skirt in search for the perfect mask.

STEEPED IN TRADITION

Masks used to be such an integral part of Venetian life that at one stage they were worn well beyond the carnival period and streets were full of anonymous faces -- and the licentious behavior they allowed -- for eight months of the year.

When the "Serenissima" Republic of Venice fell under Austrian rule in the late 18th century, hiding behind a papier mache face was considered a threat and masquerading was banned until the carnival was re-instated in 1979.

"It's a wonderful tradition to have been given back," said Valentina Pala, a self-taught mask-maker who is one of the few Venetians to go to masked balls.

For Anna Durazzano, who runs a bar behind the ornate Doge's Palace, carnival isn't so much about tradition as the atmosphere excited tourists whip up.

"Carnival is a festival for others, but we have our own little party every time we count up the day's takings," she laughed, calling herself a modern-day merchant of Venice.

"You have the patience to fight past fake duchesses to get on the vaporetto (water bus) when you know you are making double your money."
_________________
"Veni. Vedi. Spooki." - Julius Caesar
I came. I saw. I spooked.

He's better than Pop-Rocks!
PostMon Feb 24, 2003 3:41 am
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Spookmonkey

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Joined: Nov 07, 2002
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ROME (Reuters) - A couple of thousand cat lovers turned out for Rome's first "Cat Pride" march on Saturday to demand protection and funding for the city's thousands of strays.

Donning whiskers, bearing signs and in some cases cradling cats in their arms, protesters streamed by the Colisseum and ancient Fori Imperiali ruins, home to many "sacred strays" which Rome declared a part of its historical heritage last year.

The stray cats have been slinking through the ruins since they were first excavated and their protectors believe they are descendants of felines who stalked Roman temples in the time of Julius Caesar more than 2,000 years ago.

But cat rights groups say the city's 150,000 abandoned moggies get far from imperial treatment from residents.

Last year, a string of stray cat killings sparked fears of a feline serial killer and highlighted the city's love-hate relationship with domestic animals who are often abandoned on the streets.

On Saturday, the city's "gattare," or "cat ladies," marched to demand government aid for cat shelters and neutering programs and more help from the general public in protecting and feeding the animals.

"The cat ladies and men of Rome are finally coming out of the closet!" organizers declared in posters.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
British school children are to be controversially asked to consider oral sex instead of intercourse as part of a drive to cut the country's high teenage pregnancy rate.

Sex education teachers are being trained to discuss with youngsters various "stopping points" on the road to full sex in a bid to reduce the number of teen pregnancies, the government said on Friday.

The idea is to encourage pupils to discover "levels of intimacy," including oral sex, which stop short of full sexual intercourse.

But the plan has been criticized as unworkable by family groups.

"The courses for teachers are to enable them to discuss various sex and relationship issues with pupils. One of those issues is oral sex," said a Department of Health spokeswoman.

"Oral sex is one of the 'stopping points' on the road to intercourse," she said, denying the advice was encouraging sexual activity.

"Another 'stopping point' is to hold hands," she added.

Family groups argue that oral sex is likely to lead to penetrative sex.

"One thing leads to another," said Robert Whelan, director of the Family Education Trust. "It is hard enough for adults to hold back and is even more difficult for teenagers with their raging hormones."

One teacher, who recently attended one of the courses, told the Times newspaper the advice could be construed as a green light to teens.

"By following this course, I feel that teachers are implicitly supporting underage sexual activity," said Lynda Brine.

Whelan also said oral sex was no protection against most sexually transmitted diseases.

"Delaying the onset of teenage sexual activity is the only way to cut teenage pregnancy," he told Reuters.

With nearly 39,000 girls under 18 conceiving each year, Britain has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Western Europe. The government wants to halve it by 2010.

In line with that aim, students have already been offered condoms, oral contraceptives and easier access to counselors in schools.

The Department of Education said on Friday sex education was determined by individual schools.

"We give guidelines but we don't dictate what material is used," a spokeswoman said. "We trust head teachers and teachers to make sensible decisions about sex education."
_________________
"Veni. Vedi. Spooki." - Julius Caesar
I came. I saw. I spooked.

He's better than Pop-Rocks!
PostMon Feb 24, 2003 3:43 am
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Spookmonkey

Obsessor
 

Joined: Nov 07, 2002
Post subject: FEAR THE GIANT SNOW PENIS!!!!111!!1 FEAR IT!
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When a few members of the Harvard crew team decided to build a snowy representation of the male anatomy on Feb. 11, they never imagined it would be so hard to keep it up.
The 9-foot snow phallus, constructed in Tercentenary Theater, was torn down just hours after its erection.

But its impression still sparked an intense debate, from dining halls to dorm rooms, over the appropriateness of public displays of genitalia.

Even The Economist magazine weighed in on the discussion, offering the destruction of the sculpture as evidence of American prudishness on its usually staid pages.

But women’s groups on campus have led a chorus of complaints against the snow penis, arguing that such a display is demeaning to women.

“It was offensive because it was pornographic,” said Amy E. Keel ’04, who said she and her roommate “dismantled” the giant snow penis.

“As a feminist, pornography is degrading to women and creates a violent atmosphere,” she said.

Keel said that her personal experience as a rape survivor makes this statue even more uncomfortable to observe.

“Men think they have the right to force that on you,” she said. “It’s a logical extension.”

Furthermore, Keel claims that she and her roommate were verbally and physically harassed by a group of roughly 25 men when they attempted to tear down the statue with a cardboard tube at 1:30 a.m. the morning after it was built.

“A few people came out and crowded me with their bodies and one person shoved me away from the penis,” she said. “It was gendered violence, because [their comments] were said in the context of our gender and accompanied by aggressive actions toward us.”

Though Keel assumed some of her harassers were among the creators of the statue, she said she could not identify any of the men.

And crew team captain Michael J. Skey ’04 denies that he or any of the other makers of the statue had been involved in the incident. According to Spey, the group left the Yard over three hours before Keel and her roommate tried to take down the snow phallus.

“We cleared out by 10:15 p.m.,” Spey said. “We had morning practice, and if guys are out there that late I’d be pissed. That’s why we did it so early.”

But regardless of the alleged circumstances surrounding the snow penis’ downfall, a controversy over the meaning of the statue lingers.

Women’s Studies Lecturer Diane L. Rosenfeld, who teaches Women, Violence and the Law this semester, said that the implications of the snow phallus go beyond the legitimacy of the statue’s presence.

“The ice sculpture was erected in a public space, one that should be free from menacing reminders of women’s sexual vulnerability,” Rosenfeld wrote in an e-mail yesterday.

She said the snow penis follows a long line of public phallic symbols, including the Washington Monument and missiles.

“Women do not need to be reminded of the power of the symbol of the male genitalia,” Rosenfeld said. “My guess is that they are constantly reminded of it in daily messages.”

A discussion about feminist perspectives on the statue, sponsored by the Radcliffe Union of Students, will take place Tuesday night in the Adams House small dining room.

But the makers of the statue said they intended to build the snow penis as a simple joke.

Skey said he came up with the idea to allow a few members of the team to “hang out together” outside of practice.

“We built it for fun, instead of building a snowman,” he said. “We built it specifically as a junior high prank.”

Skey said he never expected such national attention—or such heated opposition.

“Once it turned around into a huge sexism debate, it was like a giant keg of gunpowder waiting for a spark,” Skey said.

In spite of Skey’s intentions, Keel said she was offended by the joke.

“I have a right to speak out against the joke,” Keel said. “I criticize the motives of putting it up, but since they did, it is within my rights to put it down. It goes both ways.”

Skey said he agreed Keel did not do anything wrong by knocking down the statue.

“If people found it obscene, they had a right to rip it down,” he said. “That’s perfectly true.”

But Skey said he thinks that at a school like Harvard, jokes can be blown out of proportion.

“Smart kids overanalyze things,” he said.
_________________
"Veni. Vedi. Spooki." - Julius Caesar
I came. I saw. I spooked.

He's better than Pop-Rocks!
PostWed Feb 26, 2003 5:08 pm
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