Dowbrigade

MIAMI -Royal Caribbean International on Monday ordered the world’s
largest and most expensive cruise ship, a $1.24 billion vessel that will
hold up to 6,400 passengers. It’s the latest step in the industry trend
of supersizing ships, which delight many passengers but are too crowded
for other guests.

The ship, dubbed Project Genesis, will be 220,000 gross registered tons
when it is delivered to the world’s second-largest cruise operator in fall
2009 by Oslo, Norway-based shipbuilder Aker Yards. Gross registered tons
is a standard way to measure a ship’s size and is a unit of volume equal
to about 100 cubic feet.

The ship will weigh about 100,000 tons based on displacement – a Nimitz-class
aircraft carrier comes in at about 97,000 tons.

"Project Genesis truly is a remarkable ship. Its bold design, daring innovations
and technological advancements will delight our existing cruisers and help
us draw in new ones," Richard Fain, the parent company’s chairman and CEO,
said in a statement.

from the New York Times

Do we detect a faint whiff of hubris? We have a bad feeling about
this one. Don’t think we’ll be booking a suite for the inagural cruise.
Besides, wasn’t Project Genesis the end of Mr. Spock?

Professional
dominatrix Barbara Asher was acquitted yesterday of involuntary manslaughter
in the death of a New Hampshire man who prosecutors said suffered a fatal
heart attack while strapped to a bondage rack in her Quincy condominium.

Prosecutors had argued that Asher, 56, did nothing to help Michael Lord,
53, of North Hampton as he died during the July 2000 session, out of fear
that calling authorities would have jeopardized her dominatrix business.
The prosecutors said she and a boyfriend chopped up Lord’s 275-pound body
and dumped the parts in a trash bin behind a Chinese restaurant in Augusta,
Maine.

Lord’s corpse was never found, which produced a rare legal situation:
Prosecutors were forced to try Asher for manslaughter without irrefutable
proof that a man had died, his body.

from the Boston
Globe

Many are the lessons to be learned from this hoary yarn. Even a 275-pound
guy named "Lord" can need a little discipline from time to time.
We need some kind of licensing board to give physicals to consenting adults
before they are allowed to participate in S & M activities. Professionals
in the sex trade should keep plenty on heavy-duty trash bags on hand at
all times. It helps to have the number of a good "Cleaner" (think
Harvey Keitel
.as Winston ‘The Wolf’ in Pulp Fiction) in your little black book. It
also helps to have the numbers of certain high ranking politicians in
your little black book (which never came to light). Finally, don’t eat
at Chinese Restaurants in Augusta, Maine, or anywhere else, for that matter.

PARIS (AFP) – France’s Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA) appealed
to Chinese President Hu Jintao to put an end to the cruel slaughter of
dogs, which it blasted as an affront.

"The SPA does not set itself up as a judge of a country and its culture,
but is asking for animals to be killed in a dignified way," the SPA
said.

"Millions of dogs (in China) are hanged, beaten with sticks and butchered
while they are still alive," it said in a press release.

The organisation added that it had tried to get French media to accept
an advertisement as part of its campaign against dog butchering, but
the picture — of an animal being cut to pieces in a pool of blood —
was so
graphic that it had been rejected by every newspaper.

Up to 10 million dogs are slaughtered every year in China, many killed
slowly and cruelly to supposedly enhance the meat’s flavour, according
to animal rights groups.

from AFP

TORONTO (Reuters) – When it comes to romance, women prefer someone
who tickles their funny bone while men opt for those who catch their
eye, according to an international survey released on Wednesday.

The survey, conducted in 16 countries by Canadian romance publisher Harlequin
Enterprises, asked men and women on six continents about traits they liked
or disliked and how they went about trying to meet Mr. or Ms. Right.

When
it came to that first meeting, a majority of men polled said beauty was
more important than brains, while women put a sense of humor
at the top of their list.

The poll revealed differences between countries in the way people tried
to impress the opposite sex.

Australians and British men frequently admitted drinking too much, while
about half of German and Italian men said they had lied about their finances.
Spaniards were the most likely to use sex to catch someone’s eye.

After six or seven boilermakers our glass eye (we lost the original during
a mad orgy on our yacht) tends to pop out unexpectedly, so it’s nice to have
someone catch our eye before it hits the floor…..

from Reuters

GOT some public speaking to do? Here is a tip to keep stress at
bay: have sex beforehand. But make sure it’s penetrative sex – the magic
vanishes if you pursue other forms of sexual gratification.

Stuart Brody, a psychologist at the University of Paisley, UK, compared
the impact of different sexual activities on blood pressure when a person
later experiences acute stress. For a fortnight, 24 women and 22 men kept
diaries of how often they engaged in penile-vaginal intercourse (PVI),
masturbation or partnered sexual activity excluding intercourse. After,
the volunteers underwent a stress test involving public speaking and mental
arithmetic out loud.

Volunteers who’d had PVI but none of the other kinds of sex were least
stressed, and their blood pressure returned to normal faster than those
who’d only masturbated or had non-coital sex. Those who abstained had the
highest blood-pressure response to stress (Biological
Psychology, vol 71, p 214).

Brody also made psychological measurements of neuroticism and anxiety in
the volunteers, as well as work stress and partnership satisfaction. Even
taking these factors into account, differences in sexual behaviour provided
the best explanation for the range of stress responses. "The effects
are not attributable simply to the short-term relief afforded by orgasm,
but rather, endure for at least a week," says Brody. He speculates
that release of the "pair-bonding" hormone oxytocin between partners
might account for the calming effect.

We find that a couple of oxytocins before a speech usually calms
us down nicely, especially when combined with sex. Of course, it has
to be PVI,
since oral sex makes us more stressed, and 45 minutes later we’re hungry
again. As to masturbation, bloggers as a rule should stay away from that
to avoid hand-hair accumulation on their keyboards…

from New
Scientist

TUCSON, ARIZ. — The world’s first face-transplant
recipient is using her new lips to take up smoking again, which doctors
fear could interfere with healing and raise the risk of tissue rejection.

"It is a problem," acknowledged Dr. Jean-Michel Dubernard, who
led the team that performed the pioneering transplant in France on Nov.
27.

from AP

Creepy Question of the Day: Did the donor smoke?

DAMADOLA, Pakistan — An air strike in
a remote Pakistani tribal area yesterday killed at least 18 people, and
a senior Pakistani official said the target was a suspected Al Qaeda
hideout that may have been frequented by high-level operatives, possibly
the number two leader Ayman al-Zawahri.

Citing unnamed US intelligence officials, US networks reported that it
was a CIA strike and that Zawahri, Osama bin Laden’s top lieutenant, could
have been at the compound in the Bajur area or about to arrive.

There was no confirmation from either the Pakistani or US government, but
a senior Pakistani government official told the Associated Press that ”there
is a 50-50 chance that some Al Qaeda personality was at the home" that
was hit.

In related news, doctors at Bethesda Naval Hospital
announced that they have decided to perform emergency brain surgery on
Vice President Dick Cheney because "there is a 50-50 chance that his
dementia has a physiological source." The National Parks Service announced
that 4,714 separate sites have applied for Historical Site Designation
because "there is a 50-50 chance that George Washington slept here."

In the business section, 16 million mortgage applicants
were simultaneously denied loans today, after banking industry computers
predicted that "There is a 50-50 chance they will miss a loan payment
at some point during the coming three years." And California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger announced plans to peremptorily confine all minority
youths between the ages of 15 and 25 in special camps since statistics
show "there is a 50-50 chance that they will commit a felony during
the coming decade."

How much easier everything would be if we could
simply decide everything by the "50-50" rule. No more pesky 2/3 votes
to amend
the constitution. No more "beyond a reasonable doubt". Democracy Unleashed! What
could be more appropriate in a country where there is a 50-50 chance
that a registered voter will actually vote in a Presidential election?

from the
Boston Globe

TORONTO (Reuters) – The Canadian province
of Ontario plans to review a court decision that acquitted a man of sexual
assault charges because he suffers from "sexsomnia" and was
asleep at the time of the incident.

Jan Luedecke, 33, was acquitted of sexual assault charges on Tuesday because
he said he was asleep during the attack.

A sleep expert testified that Luedecke suffers from a disorder that causes
sexsomnia — involuntary sexual behavior during sleep — which he had experienced
before.

The court heard that Luedecke and the female victim met at a party. She
testified she fell asleep and woke up to find Luedecke having sex with
her. She pushed him away and called the police.

Luedecke confessed to police after he discovered was still wearing a condom
and realized he had had sex.

Canadian media reported that the victim left the courtroom in tears when
the verdict was read, and said she would take the case to the highest court
possible.

If they were BOTH asleep, whose idea was it to use a condom?
And were one or both of them dreaming of flying?

from Reuters

Temperatures never rise above freezing
and there is a fresh sprinkling of snow every day, but step outside and
you will find a sunbaked desert.

Complete with Alpine-style chalets, fir trees, chairlifts and ski runs
graded from green to black, the world’s largest indoor snow resort has
opened its doors in the Gulf emirate of Dubai.

Ski Dubai is the country’s latest extraordinary no-expense-spared project.
The emirate already has manmade islands shaped like a map of the world
and is building the world’s tallest tower. Beneath the Gulf it is building
the world’s first underwater hotel, with underwater opera.Article continues

Ski Dubai has more than 6,000 tonnes of snow. It boasts ski runs up to
400 metres long with a fall of more than 60 metres. A day pass costs 220
dirhams ($60).

Skiing in traditional Arab robes is not allowed. The snow – created by
spraying water under high pressure – is just the latest demand on scarce
water resources. Swimming pools, gardens and golf courses are others.

Whatever happened to the plan to tow icebergs from Antarctica to the Middle
East? 80% of the fresh water on the WORLD is frozen in the icecaps. They
could ski right on the iceberg en route, fly in on helicopters and start making
money before the berg even gets there! Now all we need to do is to interest
some venture capitalists…..

from the
Guardian

SEATTLE
– A
man has pleaded guilty to trespassing in connection with a fatal horse-sex
case.

James Michael Tait, 54, of Enumclaw, was accused of entering a barn without
the owner’s permission. Tait admitted to officers that he entered a neighboring
barn last July with friend Kenneth Pinyan to have sex with a horse, charging
papers said. Tait was videotaping the episode when Pinyan suffered internal
injuries that led to his death.

Tait pleaded guilty Tuesday and was given a one-year suspended sentence,
a $300 fine, and ordered to perform eight hours of community service and
have no contact with the neighbors.

The prosecutor’s office said no animal cruelty charges were filed because
there was no evidence of injury to the horses.

Wait a minute! Isn’t that like claiming that having
sex with a retarded deaf mute wasn’t rape because she liked it?

from Breitbart.com

KATHMANDU (Reuters) – Authorities in
Nepal urged religious groups and scientists on Sunday to help solve the
mystery of a meditating teenaged boy who some believe is an incarnation
of Buddha.

At least 100,000 devotees from Nepal and neighbouring India have flocked
in recent weeks to a dense forest in southeastern Nepal to see 15-year-old
Ram Bahadur Bamjon, who, his associates say, has been meditating without
food or water for six months.

Shanta Raj Subedi, district administrator of Bara, 150 km (95 miles) southeast
of Kathmandu and where the boy is meditating, said he had requested the
Lumbini Development Trust, a Buddhist panel, and the Royal Nepal Academy
of Science and Technology to get to the bottom of the mystery.

"We want to investigate claims that the boy has survived for so long
without food or drink," Subedi said.

Bamjon sits cross-legged beneath a "pipal" tree, which is sacred
to Hindus, with his eyes closed in meditation. He does not speak and followers
are only allowed to see him from a distance of 50 metres (165 feet).

The young mystic is hidden from public view at night behind a curtain drawn
by his followers. Doctors observing from a distance have said the boy is
breathing normally but is weak.

Local journalist Govinda Devkota, who has visited the site, said the boy
sits with a shawl across his chest from armpit to shoulder, in the same
posture as Buddha is shown in pictures.

The number of visitors had reached up to 10,000 a day but fewer people
are going to the retreat now, he said.

"He sits motionless from dawn to dusk when visitors are allowed to
see him. This demands something," said Devkota. "But whether
he is an incarnation of Buddha, I have doubts because we don’t know what
he does
at night. This must be investigated."

His mother, Maya Devi — the same name as that of Buddha’s mother — said
Bamjon, the third of her seven children, is a quiet boy who kept aloof
from friends.

Seems rather rude of his Ma to keep hanging the family wash from the old Pipal tree….

from Reuters

Martial arts grandmaster Tu Jin-Sheng attached himself to the truck and
pulled it several yards across a car park in Fremont.

The Tri-Valley Herald reports that he first tied a strip of blue fabric
around his penis and testicles and tugged to make sure it was on tight.

An assistant then kicked him hard between the legs before he lashed himself
to the vehicle.

About 20 people, most of whom study Qigong, the ancient Chinese art of
movement and breathing to increase energy, gathered for the truck pull.

Jin-Sheng, originally from Taiwan, is the grandmaster of Iron
Crotch,
a branch of Qigong said to have 60,000 followers worldwide.

Its practitioners are known to lift hundreds of pounds with their genitals
to increase energy and sexual performance.

A film crew from London were on hand to shoot the truck-pulling feat
for a three-part series called Penis Envy, due to be broadcast next year
on Channel 4.

Its the kick in the crotch that makes the trick…

from Ananova

article on Iron Crotch from Kung
fu Magazine (including Master Tu Jin-Sheng’s
Penis Qigong Tips)