Breaking News Odds and Ends

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US swimmer Beard bares all in first Olympic athlete protest

BEIJING -- American swimmer Amanda Beard staged the first athlete protest of the Beijing Olympics, unveiling a nude photo of herself Wednesday outside the Athlete's Village to back an anti-animal cruelty cause.

No big deal. Could be the latest in competition swim wear...
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Polish monk likens orgasm to meeting God

He has been dubbed the high priest of Catholic Kama Sutra, but Polish Friar Ksawery Knotz says that by giving married couples tips on how to practice divine sex, he is simply doing God’s work.

"I certainly encourage married couples to pray for a good and happy sex life -- it’s a way for them to become closer to God," the 43-year-old Roman Catholic monk says in an interview with Agence France Presse.

...Couples are so eager to attend [the retreats] that his weekend and six-day workshops are booked solid for the next year.

Looks like the monk's seminars are a huge hit. Nothing heretical here, strictly speaking. Maybe he should have emphasized first that a good and happy sex life entails the responsibility of begetting children foremost, but then I guess the retreats wouldn't be a smash hit with that...
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66% of Filipino households cut back on food: survey

Filipinos have been consuming or spending less on food in response to double-digit inflation, according to a new survey by a polling firm.

Pulse Asia, an independent polling firm, reported Wednesday that two in three Filipino households or 66% said in a July 1 to 14 survey that they are "consuming less or spending less on food.

As if Filipinos have not been cutting down on food so far, intentionally or otherwise. If this inflation thing goes on and on, we can go ahead and cut on food back further and then get to feel what its like to live in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Ageing Japanese men worry about body odor

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese men are worrying about more than mere sweat as summer temperatures rise: talk of body odor caused by ageing is adding to anxiety in a land that prizes being squeaky clean.

Hmm. While we Filipinos worry about food, the Japanese worry about body odor. How come? Perhaps its because we eat less sukiyaki?
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