Dowbrigade

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

It used to be that breakfast cereal Wheaties featured famous ballplayers
on its boxes.  Now, the Boston Red Sox are featuring breakfast cereals
on the field. They can Trot out quite a variety of crunchy treats, even after
losing Fruit Loops to the Yankees.

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