Archive: November 12, 2006 - November 18, 2006
Michigan vs Ohio State & eBay vs Charity
Charity, you won't find "it" on eBay Have eBay's strict fundraising policies gone too far? (By Sergio Dionisio -- Associated Press) So, it's OK to scalp tickets on eBay for personal profit but once you announce that the money is going to a "good cause" they'll shut you down? According to reports, Kristie Sigler and her husband, Ken were trying to sell two tickets to this weekend's much anticipated Michigan-Ohio State game in order to raise money to adopt a boy from Guatemala (Madonna must have been busy). The couple says eBay shut down their sale without so much as a call or an e-mail, because it violated the company's prohibition on charitable auctions. Although eBay has these rules "because charitable fundraising is a highly regulated area subject to numerous state and federal laws," were the Siglers actually doing charity fundraising? If they had said the proceeds would be spent...
By Emil Steiner | November 18, 2006; 1:30 AM ET | Comments (6)
This Week in OFF/beat Crime
What do $700,000 worth of avocados and shooting yourself in the groin have in common? They're both a part of "This Week In OFF/beat Crime".
By Emil Steiner | November 17, 2006; 11:24 AM ET | Comments (2)
Gay Marriage, Animals, Evolution, Oh My!
With so much more than DNA in common, could interspecies love become this century's same-sex marriage? Hello, Dolly! (AP) Earlier this week I wrote a piece about zoo keepers in Thailand showing panda-sex videos to a married, but celibate, couple of pandas in order to get them in the mood. Whether it will work is yet to be seen, but the very notion that this "married couple" with sex issues could become aroused through voyeurism indicates a certain level of self-awareness that makes them seem a lot more human than some people might be comfortable with. The Thai zoo experiment comes on the heels of a controversial exhibit at the Museum of Natural History in Oslo displaying photographs of a variety of animals, from penguins to whales, engaged in homosexual activities. The question is how will the discovery of these sexual similarities between humans and animals impact our biological...
By Emil Steiner | November 16, 2006; 6:00 PM ET | Comments (7)
Breakfast Bender
Welcome to Friday Eve! Here's the latest in OFF/beat news: Could global warming open new markets for bear-related sleep aids? (By James Peaco -- Yellowstone National Park via Associated Press) Ozone holes are one thing, but has climate change created insomniac bears? According to reports, this fall has been so unseasonably warm that sleepless Siberian bears are terrorizing locals instead of hibernating. Can you say Ambien, Yogi? How much could one little four-letter word cost you? Try $6,423. That's how much a Singapore court fined Australian Riccardo Paulin, for asking a flight attendant on board SilkAir "where do you keep the bomb?" He must have missed "Meet the Parents". A group of dirty, old men have been stripped of the exotic dancers they enjoy! Wisconsin police busted a gathering of the International Order of Old Bastards, Monday night, because the elderly organizers had no permit for the strippers performing...
By Emil Steiner | November 16, 2006; 8:26 AM ET | Comments (4)
German Court Orders Doctor To Pay Child Support
Don't let deadbeat doctors get away with not paying for your unintended pregnancy. He wasn't the daddy, he didn't even have relations with the kid's mother, but a judge says he needs to pay child support for up to 18 years. On Tuesday, Germany's Karlsruhe-based Federal Appeals Court ruled that a gynecologist owes $768 per month to his patient after the contraceptive patch he inserted failed to prevent pregnancy, (could Trojan Man be next?). The hormone-releasing device was supposed to protect her for three years, but according to the court, half a year after the operation, it could no longer be found in her body. Fearing a flood of similar suits, many in Germany's medical community have spoken out against the controversial decision which not only let the biological father off the hook, but actually compensated him for what he'd paid to date. While it may be reassuring to...
By Emil Steiner | November 15, 2006; 6:57 PM ET | Comments (3)
Breakfast Bender
Here are your hump day headlines: Got Camel's Milk? (TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images) A teenage motorist in Australia allegedly threatened police with a live snake after he was pulled over and blew a 0.131 BAC. When officers ordered him to drop the "weapon," he abandoned his car and disappeared, serpent in hand, into the bush. I've already reported on the sexual benefits of drinking camel's milk, but now the Food and Agriculture Organization is launching a project to market the low-calorie, high-vitamin beverage to tourist hotels across India in an effort to boost the declining fortunes of camel breeders. It used to be that college professors had to pull down the shades if they wanted to get high. Now, two academics in Toronto have not only been granted the right to smoke marijuana on campus, they've actually been given their own specially ventilated rooms. That's one way to get your...
By Emil Steiner | November 15, 2006; 8:34 AM ET | Comments (5)
"Borat" Star Sues Over Embarrassing Performance
Frat boy sues "Borat" creator Sasha Baron Cohen after his drunken display causes him humiliation, mental anguish and distress!
By Emil Steiner | November 14, 2006; 2:36 PM ET | Comments (5)
Breakfast Bender
Welcome to Tuesday! If you haven't voted yet, it might be too late. Here's your morning dose of OFF/beat news: Panda porn, gets bears in the mood. Porn, it's not just for humans anymore. The project manager at Thailand's Chiang Mai Zoo is hoping a little video bestiality will get two celibate panda bears in the mood for love. Forget Cristal, this season it's all about the High Life... Miller High Life. With their customer base shrinking faster than the head in a freshly poured glass, Miller Brewing Company has launched a new ad campaign hyping the "Champagne of Beers" to upwardly mobile aficionados looking to savor lower-priced brew. How long can it be 'till Martha Stewart becomes the spokesperson for Johnsonville Brats? Looking for another reason to get your flu shot this year? According to the FDA, Tamilflu has been associated with more than 100 new cases of...
By Emil Steiner | November 14, 2006; 8:27 AM ET | Comments (3)
Spain Rages Against Sexism With "Gender Bender" Road Signs
Have traffic signs become the latest "visual reminders of a commercial, idealized feminine image?" Spanish feminists rejoice, your traffic signs are going co-ed! In an effort to fight sexism, the town council of Fuenlabrada has decreed that half of all signs in the Madrid suburb must have female silhouettes. What makes silhouettes female, you ask? Why they're the ones with cute pony tails and ribbons, wearing skirts instead of pants (since girls don't have short hair and never wear slacks, silly!). The effort to battle "machismo" by enforcing stereotypical gender imagery is the brainchild of the ruling Socialist and United Left parties who have also added a clause to civil marriage contracts requiring men and women to share the housework and childcare (does this include breastfeeding?) . As far as the street signs go, about the best thing you can say is that perhaps now male motorists will actually...
By Emil Steiner | November 13, 2006; 1:24 PM ET | Comments (2)
Breakfast Bender
Welcome to Monday, yet again... Here are your headlines. Could Seattle overtake Las Vegas as our nation's lap dance capital? (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) Leading off, we have a shooting story that makes Tupac and 50's seem weak. Patricia Goncalves Pereira, of Brazil, was released from the hospital Saturday, a day after being shot in the head six times with a .32, following a fight with her ex-husband. Could this be the end of Vegas lap dances? Nevada's Supreme Court has ruled that local regulations preventing "raunchy physical contact" between exotic dancers and customers do not violate First Amendment rights. The ruling is similar to that of a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals from 2005, which upheld a California regulation requiring at least two feet of separation. Conversely, Seattle voters rejected a measure Tuesday requiring strippers to stay at least four feet from patrons, though it remains unclear if...
By Emil Steiner | November 13, 2006; 8:27 AM ET | Comments (1)
