Author: Kamila Hinkson

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World in brief

Post author By Kamila Hinkson
Post date January 17, 2012

Gold star for good behaviour
The U.S. Marines have begun a criminal investigation and an internal inquiry into a video that shows four Marines urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban troops.The video, released Thursday, surfaced amidst talks between the Obama administration, the Afghan president and the Taliban. A U.S. Forces general issued an order Friday in response to the video, reminding troops to treat bodies with “appropriate dignity and respect.” Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee decided to throw in his two cents, defending the Marines’ actions via Twitter using the hastags “#WhoCares” and “#ThoseDudesTriedToKillOurDudes.”

Apple and omelettes
Chinese customers and phone scalpers egged an Apple store in Beijing on Friday when the company cancelled the sale of the iPhone 4S due to the size of the crowd.The AP reported that at one point, the crowd numbered about 2,000 people. Many left after they heard the store would not open at 7 a.m. as scheduled. An Apple spokesperson later issued a statement saying the iPhone 4S won’t be sold in Chinese mainland retail stores for the foreseeable future.

There isn’t enough Midol in the world…
Like many women, Hazel Jones, 27, suffered from heavy periods and bad cramps when she was going though puberty. Unlike most however, she was never sure “which hole” to put her tampon in. She decided to see a doctor after her long-term boyfriend told her she was “different” down there and different, she is – Jones has two vaginas.The condition, uterus didelphys, occurs to one in 3,000 female babies in the womb. Jones, who lives in High Wycombe, England, revealed on a British morning show that she lost her virginity twice and has “a great sex life.”

Privacy please?
Last week, a high school in North Texas removed all the doors leading from the hallways into the bathrooms. A school district spokesperson explained to a CNN affiliate they did it in order to better supervise the students. But some students are saying they did it to prevent other students from having sex in the bathroom. Though the school denies any reports of sex on campus, the school’s principal recently held an assembly to discourage public displays of affection, which were deemed to be getting out of hand.

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News

Nation in brief

Post author By Kamila Hinkson
Post date January 17, 2012

‘Til death do us part?
The Globe and Mail reported Friday that Justice Minister Rob Nicholson blames the Liberal government for not filling a “legislative gap” that prevents same-sex couples from divorcing in Canada. The comment came after a federal lawyer told a lesbian couple, who were married here in 2005 but neither of whom is a Canadian citizen, that they couldn’t get divorced because their marriage wasn’t legally recognized in Canada. According to the lawyer, the couple’s marriage could not be dissolved because same-sex marriage is not legal in their countries of origin, therefore making their marriage invalid in Canada as well.The feds are assuring everyone same-sex marriages are legal in Canada, and that same-sex couples will soon be able to divorce here, too.

Targeting headshots
Atlantic University Sport, the governing body for university sports in the Maritimes, has introduced tougher penalties for headshots in hockey. Players who rack up three minor penalties for contact to the head will now receive a one-game suspension. Before this season, automatic suspensions were only given for hits from behind. AUS spokesman Phil Currie told the CBC he hopes the new penalties will cut down the number of serious injuries and the amount of class time missed by students recovering from the hits.

Freedom, but not that much freedom
According to a decision rendered by an Ontario court last Thursday, freedom of expression does not mean you can be naked in public. Brian Coldin, a resident of Bracebridge, Ont., launched a constitutional challenge after being charged in various incidents involving public nudity, such as going to drive-thru windows naked. Coldin said his nudity is a form of protest. The trial judge, however, saw his acts as nothing more than an affinity for being nude. Coldin may face a fine and/or probation.

Too titillating
A Vancouver woman is upset with Facebook for removing photos that show her breastfeeding her child. About 30 of Emma Kwasnica’s photos have been removed from the site because they violate its policies on obscenity, nudity and sexually explicit content. She told the Canadian Press that “There’s nothing sexually explicit in breastfeeding photos, nothing at all.” A representative for Facebook in Canada couldn’t comment on the case, but said a fully exposed breast violates the policy. Whether it’s in the mouth of a child or not apparently doesn’t matter.

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World in brief

Almost a balloon, but not quiteA Nebraska girl was treated for sexually transmitted diseases on Wednesday after she put a condom in her mouth, Omaha news channel KETV reported. Danayjha King, 6, found the condom on her school playground and, thinking it was a balloon, tried to blow it up. It is unclear if the condom was used or not, but the incident prompted a thorough wash of her hands and mouth by the school nurse, as well as a trip to the doctor, who gave her a precautionary vaccine. At least some good did come of the incident: her father did sit her down for the “don’t you put it in your mouth” talk.Facebook or salary: your callA Washington man may soon lose his job because he won’t lose certain Facebook habits. Jason Cook works for a national restaurant chain. The company obliges employees to sign an agreement that requires them to refrain from posting anything negative about the company on their Facebook accounts, and Cook refuses to sign it. Cook told Q13 Fox, a CNN affiliate, that his manager has informed him it was going to come down to choosing between signing the agreement or losing his job.

Tax that ass up

The city of Bonn, Germany is now collecting taxes from prostitutes using automated pay stations similar to parking meters. According to The New York Times, Bonn isn’t the first city in Germany, where prostitution is legal, to charge this tax. It sets a sex worker back six euros, or $8.39 CND, to be able to walk the streets for a night. The meters, built by German engineering company Siemens, were implemented Aug. 28, and collected $376 over its first three nights in operation. In addition to the pay stations, wooden garages have also been built in the city for customers to park so they can have sex in their cars. Franz-Reinhard Habbel, a spokesperson for the German Association of Cities and Municipalities, said he expected other cities to copy the idea in order to tackle their combined $11 billion U.S. in debt. He called the tax a “relatively simple” source of income.

Los mayor’s Spanish alter ego

While New Yorkers were holed up in their apartments waiting for Hurricane Irene to hit, Rachel Figueroa-Levin had an idea. Feeding off of a news conference prior to the storm during which Mayor Michael Bloomberg made many pronunciation mistakes in Spanish, she created @ElBloombito, a Twitter account for the mayor’s Spanish alter-ego, Miguel Bloombito. Figueroa-Levin started tweeting things like “Muchos trees esta falling downo. No stando under los trees. Que splat!” The account soon went viral, and now has almost 21,000 followers. Bloomberg took it all in stride, using the “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” excuse when asked about his rusty Spanish.