• A woman hunting rats with a rifle on her property in North Carolina caused the lockdown of a neighboring school today after a bus driver mistook her for an armed student. • Two nuns have been branded as terrorists by the state of Maryland after they were convicted of antiwar activities (including painting crosses on missiles with their own blood) in 2002. • This week the first English public statue of a black woman (named "The Bronze Woman" after the poem by Cecile Nobrega) went up in Stockwell Memorial Gardens in South London. • Ugh: A Californian man clapped as he was sentenced to 126 years in prison on Wednesday for sexually assaulting a female family member for 11 years. • A young Nigerian man has hit success by selling booklets for uncreative but lovesick young Nigerians who are looking for the right romantic text message to send to their sweeties. • A new study has found that many American girls (and boys) who show an aptitude for math are discouraged from pursuing math careers or higher levels of math because American culture does not value math skills. • A study of primary students in Northern Ireland found that girls are more happy with primary school than boys. • A recent study in Australia found that the myth of pregnant women becoming forgetful when they are expecting is false.•

[Picture via Daily Puppy.]

• On September 27, a drunken man stumbled to his suburban Washington D.C. home, ate some food, and settled into bed, only to discover that he had entered the wrong house when police woke him up several hours later. • According to new data, adoptions of foreign children by Americans have been declining due to bureaucratic and political complications to adopt foreign children. • Meanwhile, the South Korean government is trying to promote adoption of South Korean babies within their country by offering $90/mo. allowances to families, health benefits for the adopted children, and extension of adoption qualifications to single and older people. • Could the moving of Cardinal John Henry Newman's body from his grave-site next to his rumored chaste gay lover be an effort by the Vatican to cover up the would-be saint's possible homosexuality? • The creator of Juciycampus.com, an anonymous college gossip forum, condemns the sometimes vicious slander on the site as a "misuse" but maintains his stance against censorship of content on the forum. • A new study suggests that there may be a connection between a man's intelligence and his healthy sperm count. • The Iranian Queer Organization is asking for donations to help a young Iranian lesbian who escaped to Sweden in January and is now in a mental hospital after she began planning to commit suicide. • Australian gynecologist and all-around horrible person, Graeme Reeves, was released on bail today by Sydney's Central Local Court.

• Kory McFarren, the Kansas boyfriend of the woman who made headlines in February when she got stuck on a toilet seat for two years, won the Kansas state Lottery on Monday for the second time this year. • Police are investigating allegations that a female teacher at Trinity Lutheran School in Detroit ordered three seventh-grade girls to strip down to their underwear on October 1 as part of a search for the alleged theft of $42. • A recent survey found that stressed out men are eating more chocolate in tough economic times. • A survey conducted during the summer found that 80% of Americans say the economy is making them stressed and 83% of those stressed by the economy are women. • A new study has found that women who have had a miscarriage have an increased risk of future complications during their next pregnancy including an increased risk of getting pre-eclampsia and/or needing intervention during labor. • A new study has found that boys tend to be savers and girls tend to be spenders, mostly because women are told money (and the things you buy with money) will help them create a reliable lifestyle.• Compare and contrast the illustrations from an English-language version of Alice in Wonderland and the Swahili-language version. • An Australian man was found guilty today of possessing an illegal firearm and threatening a person with a firearm after he shot a woman in the inner thigh (he claims it was accidental) after she refused to perform oral sex on him. • A woman from Rhode Island was charged with two counts of animal cruelty on Tuesday when she taped two of her pit bulls' mouths shut and left them alone for two days without food and water while she gave birth to her son in a hospital. • A new study suggests that St. John's wort extracts are as effective as standard antidepressants for treating major depression, although the results were more favorable in trials conducted in German-speaking countries. • Are Sarah Palin's glasses fake? Does anyone care? • Lifetime Networks announced that it is making a movie based on the disappearance of teenager Natalee Holloway in Aruba in 2005. • On Monday, a Connecticut judge dismissed a lawsuit brought against L'Oreal Inc. by a woman who claimed she accidentally dyed her hair from blonde to brunette and was so traumatized that she had to go on anti-depressants. •

• A park ranger in Kenya has "adopted" a 2-year-old rhino named Max whom he protects from poachers in the park and horny older female rhinos looking for a mate. • Many Iraqi women fear openly running as a candidate for elections in Iraq (where there is a 25% quota for women in office) due to violence from the fundamentalist insurgency. • What ever happened to Ilan Mitchell-Smith from Weird Science? He became an English professor at Angelo State University in Texas, where he focuses on medieval literature and gender studies. • New research shows that children who are aggressive at a young age and/or exposed to a harsh parenting style are more likely to become victims of continual abuse from their peers in childhood. • The California Department of Public Health announced that on November 17th it will be restoring an option of designating a marrying couple as "bride" or "groom," which had been previously removed from official forms when gay marriage was legalized. • Last Tuesday, Canadian authorities seized a 22-hour-old baby from her mentally disabled mother, who was painted by the media as being "too stupid to parent." • Meanwhile, in Canada, a man from Tyndall is suing a woman because he alleges that she raped him while he was asleep and became pregnant, causing him "anxiety" about possibly paying child support. • Bud Light reveals a sexist new ad that promotes its "easy-drinking" swill with things that are "easy" and "drinking" (wink, wink). • On Sunday, 35 young women were arrested in southern Sudan for "disturbing the peace" by wearing tight trousers. The women were later released without charge. • Gmail has introduced Goggles, a free software for its users that makes them solve simple math problems to verify their state of mind before sending late-night, drunken emails. •

[Image via Carrie Vs. D.C.]

• Authorities from Australia and New Zealand are investigating Roman Hasil, an uncertified OB/GYN who lives in a homeless shelter in Australia, after patients complained of medical negligence and sexual assault, including one claim that he touched a patient's vagina and said "who is the boss now?" • Rev. Peter Mullen, a chaplain in England, said on his blog that homosexuals should have warning labels such as "FELLATIO KILLS" tattooed on their backs and necks to warn about diseases; he now claims the statements "light-hearted jokes" that were "in the tradition of English satire." • Ultra-Orthodox Jewish "modesty patrols" in Israel have been accused of physically attacking women they view as being immodest and torching stores that sell internet technology. • A study of young children attending an international school in Beijing found that girls have a harder time than boys adjusting in an environment where they don't fully know the language. • A recent study has found that female smokers require less tobacco exposure than men to increase their colon cancer risk. • Sentencing is scheduled this week for a rapist in London who was nabbed by authorities because of distinctive rings he wore (two gold sovereign rings and one rink marked "Dad") when he attacked and raped a woman. • Holly Budge was among the three skydivers who became the first skydivers to freefall over Mount Everest yesterday after 15 years of preparation.• The centuries-old tradition of "sworn virgins" in Albania, where a woman can claim to be a man and have all the rights of a man in exchange for celibacy, is dying out. • Author Marc Silver asks if a wife's cancer will lead to her husband's infidelity and finds out that... it really just depends on the husband! • A cleric in Saudi Arabia has asked Muslim women to wear one-eyed veils because having two eyes visible (and being able to gauge distances) is too seductive. • Recent studies have found that there may be a link between CMV, a common herpes virus, and malignant giloma, a deadly brain cancer. • After a scandal broke out in Para, a state in Brazil where a 15-year-old woman was jailed for weeks with men who sexually abused and tortured her, the Governor of Para has acknowledged that girls were being arrested by police to "expressly to provide sexual gratification for prisoners." • A recent study has found that pregnant women who get flu shots can greatly reduce the risk of their infants getting the flu and/or respiratory illnesses for that year. • Meanwhile, a study has found that babies who slept in rooms with fans were 72% less likely to die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. •

• An animal welfare journalist named Mira Tweti (pronounced "Tweety") advocates "planned parroting," or being aware of the challenges of raising parrots, to keep down the rising numbers of unwanted pet birds. • A new regulation in England, which went into effect today, no longer requires barristers to wear wigs in the courtroom. • A new craze of wacky beauty gadgets in Japan gave birth to the Kogao Meiku Beruto, or "small face make belt," which is a strap worn around the head that claims to shrink the wearer's face over time. • On Monday, New York City Transit, which is part of the MTA, will begin distributing 200,000 pamphlets about sexual harassment on public transportation to accompany the new anti-sexual harassment SubTalk ads in subways. • A female arsonist and police officer from Wisconsin is engaged to one of the firefighters who responded to a blaze she set in an abandoned house in March. • Police in England are investigating a death threat against a female priest following a series of hate crimes against her, including someone throwing a lit candle into her car.• Parent Television Council filed an indecency complaint with the FCC after a portion of a male contestant's penis slipped out of his shorts during the season premiere of Survivor: Gabon. CBS calls the incident "completely unintentional" and "virtually undetectable." • A 20-year-old woman from Atlanta was "livid" and "scared to death" when some men attempted to "rape" her after someone posted a phony "rape fantasy" ad for her on Craigslist. • When a New York woman told a nurse during a routine GYN exam that she had been treated for PMS mood swings in the past she was transfered to the psych ER unit and wasn't allowed to be released until after 5 hours of tests. • An argument this week between two brothers in Boston over a dog that ate the other brother's watermelon eventually led to one of the brothers repeatedly stabbing himself to prove he wasn't afraid of pain. • And just to prove that women can sometimes be prone to violent overreaction: A woman in Florida punched and bit her ex-husband on Monday after he forgot to buy kitty litter. • Many breast cancer advocates from the U.S. are reaching out to Africa to help promote breast cancer awareness and proper treatment , including a delegation of advocates and doctors that will travel to Ghana in October to open a medical center to educate and treat breast cancer. •

• The number of HIV infections in gay and bisexual men in China jumped from 0.4% in 2005 to 3.3% in 2007 and women with HIV in Yunnan increased by 27.9%. • A British nurse at a nursing conference has revealed that she gave a disabled teen boy an artificial vagina to ease his sexual frustration. • Indra Nooyi, the chairman and CEO of Pepsi Co. was ranked the most powerful woman of 2008 by Fortune. • A recent Australian study suggests that women who smoke have a greater chance of developing major depressive disorder over non-smoking women. • A Portuguese woman was arrested in England while still in her wedding dress after police spotted her with a man who wasn't her new husband immediately after the ceremony. • A Happiness Index study suggests that Australian men are the happiest while having sex or using the internet while Australian women enjoy eating a meal with family and playing with pets or children. • The London Zoo will seek $10 million to create a new big cat enclosure after it found that a male and female tiger were fighting rather than mating. • A German choir makes a splash at the Cologne Philharmonie with songs made up of grumblings and moans about everyday things. • A 27-year-old Florida woman punched a 17-year-old boy and threatened him with a baseball bat after he refused to hand over the TV remote. • A Washington state man was sentenced to 26 years in federal prison for forcing or manipulating young women into becoming prostitutes—charges that he denies. • A Michigan woman picked her 92-year-old grandma to be her matron of honor at her wedding because she is her "best friend." • Bankruptcy among senior citizens has increased due to the increased presence of debt, rising prices for ordinary consumer products and a lack of a safety net for fixed-income seniors when a medical emergency hits. • British women spend nearly $53 million a year on corrective surgery as a result of wearing high heels for too long and too often. • A 70-year-old woman from Kentucky who took up fencing less than 20 years ago is preparing to compete at the World Cup in Paris for the senior fencing champion title. •

• A man in Chicago painted a nude portrait of Sarah Palin to be hung in his wife's dive bar because he finds the Republican VP nominee "bizarrely fascinating." • The Chinese government says that they have detained 22 people in a suspected underground network of milk-tainters in connection with the melamine-tainting crisis. • According to a UK study of 1,000 men, boys are impacted and given confidence by male primary school teachers, who account for only 13% of primary teachers in England. • A man jumped into a Florida marina to punch a shark that had bitten his 14-pound rat terrier. The dog is recovering and is not critically injured. • A police officer was surprised to find a mountain lion in a woman's yard in Wyoming after 911 dispatchers interpreted her call about a "big cat" as involving a domesticated feline. •

• According to a recent mall survey in the UK, 4 out of 10 women wear Spanx-like underpants to look slim and 1 out of 10 women admitted to using "chicken filet" breast-enchancers. • A recent study found that the name-dropping of brands in rap videos causes viewers to transfer their feelings of the rappers (both positive and negative) onto the product. • Many Chinese lawyers representing clients who were effected by the milk-contamination scandal are claiming that they have been warned by the Chinese government to drop their cases due to "government sensitivity" about the scandal. • Researchers say that they are developing a urine test for breast cancer risk in women. • A Florida man is charged with beating and stabbing to death his wife, who had experienced a lifetime of physical spousal abuse from her former husband, whom she also killed. • A 99-year-old woman from Corte Madera, California plans to keep her driver's license when she turns 100. • An 18-year-old boy in Colorado hired men to attack and kill his mother (who escaped the attack) so he could use her money to buy breast implants for his girlfriend.•

• During the Clinton Global Initiative, the operator of Yum! Brands (which owns Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC) pledged $80 million to feed schoolchildren through the U.N. World Food Program. • Pénélope Bagieu, who may be well-known to francophile Jezebels as the author of Ma vie est tout à fait fascinante (or "My life is quite fascinating"), wrote a new comic that is being heralded as the French Bridget Jones's Diary. • A man in Kentucky is suing a doctor after he went in for a circumcision and woke up to find his penis had been amputated. • Shada Nasser, the Yemeni lawyer who helped 10-year-old Nujood Ali get a divorce from her 30-year-old husband, says that she is dedicated to fighting young marriage and helping women and children in Yemen. • After authorities in Australia ruled that an 18-week pregnant 12-year-old girl could not get an abortion — even with her parents' consent — until she got a judge's approval, a Supreme Court judge granted the abortion. • Leading bioethicists at Duke, John Hopkins, and Georgetown Universities are debating whether or not pregnant women should be included in clinical trial research. • The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in the Florida Keys has announced that it's reached a settlement with the federal government that will allow them to keep the 50 or so six-toed cats that roam the property. • A new Indian novel, You Are Here, illustrates how some "liberated" Indian women are not true feminists because they define one another by one's relationships to men. • Based on stem cell studies on mice, women who have their first child before the age of 24 may experience the most dramatic reduction in breast cancer risk. • Meanwhile, a new study suggests that low intake of heterocyclic amines (found in cooked meat and fish) combined with a high consumption of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids may increase the risk of postmenopausal women getting breast cancer. • Artist Annamarie Ho has recreated a Betelnut selling-booth (Betelnut being a light stimulant that is sold by scantily-clad girls in Taiwan) in a New York storefront as part of an art installation. • A new study in sex differences in pain severity has found that women are significantly less likely than men to receive high potency opiodes as well as a greater daily dose of pain killers and women are more likely to complain of inadequate pain control. •

• Governors of St. Monica's Roman Catholic High School in England have barred 12 and 13-year-old girls from receiving HPV vaccinations on school grounds. • The Torbay Council in Devon, England has lifted a 28-year-old X-rating on Monty Python's Life Of Brian (which barred it from being shown in movie theaters in the area) after residents voted it the "funniest film of all time" in an online poll. • A farmer in England marked his rams with blue dye so he could tell which ewe had had sex with a ram but a scuffle broke out within the rams and now the rams covered in blue dye. • We must have missed this back in March but Venus made a list of the "Greatest Female Guitarists of All Time" which included Lydia Lunch, Liz Phair, Chrissie Hynde. • After a man complained of a female surgeon's coarse language in Australia, former patients rallied around her in support, saying that she covers much of the surgical load at her hospital. • Dr. Laura is taking to the internet with a YouTube channel that will feature weekly video content. • According to a recent report, women who binge drink during the first three months of pregnancy are more likely than nondrinkers to give birth to a child with a cleft lip and cleft palate. • A probe by international gymnastics officials into the ages of gymnasts on China's 2008 Olympic team has been expanded to include gymnasts on China's 2000 Olympic team. The current minimum age for gymnasts in the Olympics is 16. •

• Thomas Daley, a Pennsylvanian landlord, is accused of wiretapping and secretly recording footage of his female tenants in their apartments for 20 years. • According to a new studyconducted in conjunction with Clairol Nice n' Easy, women who dye their hair feel more confident. • UC Santa Barbara has created a graduate program that will offer a MA and a PhD in feminist studies, beginning in the fall 2009 semester. • A report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has found that self-harm among teen girls has risen by one-third in the past eight years and is more likely to cause hospitalization. • Sally Cluley will become England's youngest pilot this weekend when she receives her Private Pilots License on her 17th birthday on Sunday. • The FDA launched a crackdown today on eye wash and papain-based eye creams that are currently not approved by the FDA. • A lesbian soldier is seeking about $800,000 in compensation after a male officer in the Royal Artillery made sexual advances on her and then told to keep quiet by other unsympathetic officers.• A town in northern Italy joins a Tel Aviv suburb in using a DNA database to fine dog owners who don't scoop their dog's poop. • Ever wanted to tear someone a new asshole but found the job physically impossible? Now you can do it! • A radiation seed implant called ballon brachytherapy can shorten radiation treatment for breast cancer and will hopefully lead more women to seek out radiation therapy. • Morocco's top body of Islamic scholars have condemned a Muslim theologian's decree that girls as young as nine can marry. •

• Scientists around the world are working on new male contraceptive techniques one of which involves a remote-controlled sperm valve that can turn off sperm flow at the push of a button. • From today until October 10 a carnival will be held in Nigeria where "bachelor catchers" parade a bachelor around a village in a noose in order to encourage young men to marry. • The Guatemalan government has announced a five-month program to provide some 15,000 lay midwives proper training to avoid preventable childbirth deaths. • A new study from England says that women who are undergoing fertility treatments can increase their chances of having children if they undergo acupuncture during the embryo transfer as part of their regular fertility treatment. • The annulling of a French marriage in 2006 based on the fact that the wife lied about her virginity is currently being appealed because the court decided that a woman's virginity was an "essential quality" and therefore grounds for annulment. • Historians and economists believe that "witch-hunts" tend to occur when times get tough as evidenced by Western history and current persecution of "witches" around the world. • The Japanese Defense Ministry decided today to lift gender restrictions aboard destroyers for female members of the Maritime Self-Defense Force. • An English woman kept a baby hare alive by storing the little fluffball in her bra to keep it warm and feeding the hare baby formula with a syringe. • A pair of cloistered nuns in Spain are the country's newest celebrity chefs with a hybrid reality show and cooking show called Taste of Heaven. • A new rapid test for HPV, careHPV, may be able to help stop cervical cancer for some women in rural villages worldwide. • The Indian government's decision to review the Anti-Dowry Act has been criticized by women's organizations who want the Act to be strengthened instead of dissolved or relaxed. • Okay, so we have been entranced for the past hour by this cute video of a kitty playing "red light, green light" with a camera. Whatevs, it's cute! •

[Photo via Getty.]

• A small study suggests that sperm quality may be affected by close proximity to cell phones. • Marilyn Fithian, the founder of the Center for Martial and Sexual Studies, passed away on September 11th due to complications of pneumonia. She was 87. • Uh, why was Mick Jagger invited to an EU panel on simplifying internet shopping rules? • Dozens of Canadian students with facial piercings staged a walkout at St. Mary's Catholic high school in Ontario after the school issued a ban on all facial piercings except "unobtrusive ear piercing." • Children in the UK are wary of "playground myths" about sex (ex: you can reuse a condom if you wash it) and want to talk more openly with their parents about sex but most parents are embarrassed to discuss such matters with their children. • A study of bisexual people in Canada revealed that many are frustrated when interacting with the health care system for mental health issues because therapists and treatments are often sided to either gay or straight problems. • According to official figures there are no men under the age of 25 that are working in state-run nurseries anywhere in England. • Pig diving: Human-inflicted swine-cruelty or adorable pig-related activities? •

• A recent study has found that children who have less than 3 family dinners a week are two and a half times likelier to smoke pot and tobacco than children who have family dinners 5 or more times a week. • A survey of 3,000 people in England has revealed that "phenomenon" is the most mispronounced word. • A UK study has found a small number (35 out of 769) of cerebral palsy cases in children whose mothers were given the antibiotics erthromycin and co-amoxiclav due to premature labor, but researchers maintain that the development of cerebral palsy was not directly related to the antibiotics. • A synagogue in San Francisco has created a prayer for anonymous sex (or "unexpected intimacy") which is meant to be read after the encounter. • Female conservative politicians in Spain were outraged when a male Spanish politician recounted the loss of his virginity in a brothel to a television interviewer, thereby "encouraging" young people to patronize prostitutes. • A female Saudi journalist asks the Saudi government to hire Saudi female nurses and encourage women to go into the nursing profession instead of bringing in nurses from overseas. • British and U.S. scientists report that there are nearly 7 million pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa who are infected with hookworms (a parasitic worm that lives in the intestines) and are thus at risk of maternal anemia. •

• Despite attempts by residents in Austin, Texas to get billboards depicting aborted fetuses taken down, the city government says they can't do anything about them because they aren't breaking any laws. • The manager of Image Hotel on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey claims to have fired all of his male staff after he caught them having affairs with foreign female tourists. • According to collected tax data, women "out-gave" men in gifts by $5 billion in 2005. • A Pakistani newspaper claims that there are 100 rapes occurring in Karachi per day, but, of course, that number may be higher that due to rape victims' fear and silence. • A study of hospital discharge records in California revealed a decreased number of complications as a result of a hysterectomy over the past 15 years. • A study of Lipitor, a drug prescribed to men and women to reduce the risk of a heart attack and lower cholesterol, has revealed that the drug is mismarketed towards women and makes unfounded claims about the effectiveness of the drug for them. •

• MTV promotes "green" campaigns like Switch, but when it comes to the actual production of their shows, the network is very unfriendly towards the environment. • Researchers have found that 90 minutes sitting on a heated car seat can lead to an increased scrotal temperature in men, which may hurt a man's sperm quality. • A Kentucky Court of Appeals has ruled against lesbian couples adopting children as though they are stepparents. • A new website that provides syphilis information to gay men — as well as a referral letter for syphilis testing and a 1-week wait for the tested men to retrieve their results online — shows promise in promoting testing among gay men. • Rachel Bird and Gideon Codding of California refused to complete marriage forms in their state because they wanted to be referred to as "bride" and "groom" on the forms and not by the new gender-neutral terms. • A new study claims that only 3% of Australians have cheated on their loved ones last year, but researchers claim the results would be "radically different" if they measured cheating over a longer time period. • Betty Constable, Princeton's first women's squash coach and a squash pioneer in the United States, died on September 9 at the age of 83. • A British woman has sworn off having children after she recently gave birth to a baby weighing 13 pounds, 4 ounces (the weight of a 6 month old) and had given birth to three previous children who weighed more than 10 pounds at birth. • A new study has found that estrogen creams do not help reduce wrinkles on areas of skin that experience sun exposure (i.e., the face, hands, and neck). • The federal government is considering making Gardasil vaccination mandatory for female immigrants who are seeking U.S. citizenship. • Meanwhile, the FDA has updated the label for Gardasil, saying the vaccine protects against cancers of the vagina and vulva. • Margaret Hoelzer, a U.S. swimmer who won 3 medals at the Beijing Olympics, opens up about being sexually abused by a friend's father when she was 5 years old. •

[Image via JSoul.]

• A poll of British mothers reveals that 16 percent of respondents have a favorite child and 50 percent love both "equally but in different ways." • A claim that steroids may prevent a third of miscarriages raises questions about how normal early miscarriages are for women who are trying to conceive and if they need to be "cured." • A study of young girls and boys reports that boys with conduct and oppositional defiance disorders had lower heart rates and sweated less than boys without those conditions while playing a money-making computer game but girls showed no physiological differences while playing. • Concita de Gregorio appointment as editor-in-chief of one of Italy's most prestigious newspapers, L'Unita, signals the rise of women in the workplace in Italy. • The soccer players of FC de Rakt, an amateur Dutch women's soccer team, all play in short skirts (over hot-pants) because they feel that the look is both more "elegant" and comfortable. • Residents of San Francisco are split over a new proposition that would make prostitution legal in the city: The city's health department backs the proposal but the Mayor and DA say that it will ruin neighborhoods. • An internet advice site about divorces in the UK says that 10% of divorces happen during the second year of marriage and "online divorces" are contributing to a "throwaway" culture. • The "upscale bums" of Beverly Hills benefit from the neighborhood's rich residents but must "act respectful" and not be turned off by the wealthy in order to not get attention from cops. • A judge in Texas has ordered a woman to stop bearing children as part of her 10-year-probation after the woman admitted to not providing care for her 19-month-old daughter after the child was severely beaten by her father. • Computer models that are commonly used by doctors to determine if a woman would benefit from genetic testing for ovarian and breast cancer have underestimated the probability ofAsian women having a genetic mutation that could lead to cancer. • The various relationships between a Saudi woman and her driver all reveal a deep frustration with the inconvenience of not being able to drive themselves. • Why have Crayola crayons removed their old smell from their products? • A trading website for mothers in Australia called Mum Swap encourages free trading (instead of spending) of goods and services from clothes, babysitting, tips, and vacation homes. • High-class escorts in India are sharing in the country's booming economy but they are also evidence of the rising focus on materialism for women in the globalized economy. •

• An man from Guernsey was disciplined at work after he sent an email to female colleagues saying that he was looking for a pretty female roommate to cook and clean for him. • Anna Rawson, a part-time model, currently shares the lead for the opening round of the inagural Bell Micro LPGA Classic in Mobile, Alabama. • The number of female centenarians in Japan is expected to exceed 30,000 by the end of September. • UNICEF has released new estimates that show that the under-five mortality rate of children is down 27% since 1990. • Cpl. Cesar Laurean, the Marine who is suspected of killing a pregnant Marine in North Carolina, will be returned from Mexico to the U.S., a Mexican judge ruled on Thursday. • Prostitutes in Sweden, where it is legal to sell sex but illegal to pay for sex, are looking to pay taxes on their earned income so they can have access to government benefits. • This just in from obvious studies headquarters: Teens who don't use condoms avoid using them because they think they will reduce pleasure. • A Catholic priest in Illinois was arrested on Wednesday for selling and using cocaine in his office and residence at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. • A new study says that kids aged 10 to 11 from privileged families in which the mothers work score worse on cognitive tests and tend to be more overweight than lower-class families where the mother works... although the study did not analyze the type of day care that the children were getting in place of their mothers. • An angry father from Florida attacked his daughter's boyfriend with a metal pipe after discovering the boy nude in his daughter's room. • Vicki Minor is a founder of The Wildland Firefighter Foundation, which helps wounded and fallen wildfire firefighters and their families nationwide. •

• An online divorce company has been stopped from offering its services in Washington after the state attorney general found that it was offering paralegal services without the oversight of a state-licensed lawyer. • Interstitial cystitis or "painful bladder syndrome," a condition that mostly affects women, may be caused when a person's colon is irritated by spicy food. • Male-to-male sexual contact transmissions represent 72% of new infections of HIV in males while 61% of new female infections occurred in black women. • Former Playboy centerfold Candace Collins Jordan has jumped on the blogging train. • Gina Gershon as Sarah Palin: "I think global warming is P.S.: polar bear shit. Everyday I open my door in Anchorage and it is freezing. End of experiment." • A dog named Scooby was the first dog to testify in French court after a veterinarian suggested he take the stand to see how he reacted to the suspect of Scooby's owner's death. • Uh, hey Cambridge University researchers? We don't need you guys to conduct a survey to tell us that Americans' personalities vary from region-to-region. We already know that. • A Massachusetts firefighter revived a kitty that he saved from a burning apartment on Tuesday via mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. • New research shows that parents can pass on a form of herpes that is responsible for roseola (and possibly neurological disorders) to their children via their DNA. • A new report found that approximately 18% of women between the ages of 18 to 24 have experienced forced sexual intercourse (which the study defines as intercourse via verbal or physical pressure, or being physically held down) at least once in their lives. • The highest paid woman in corporate America? Margaret C. Whitman, a Special Advisor to eBay who makes (deep breath) $120,427,360 a year. • A father and daughter were ordained together as Presbyterian ministers in western Pennsylvania. The father was inspired to enter seminary after his daughter joined up. • Germany's national advertising council has admonished a butcher for using "degrading and highly misogynistic" ads that had naked women with "Meat Products, Fresh Service" stamped on their bodies. Me thinks the butcher needs to read some Carol J. Adams. • An Italian mugger got more than he bargained for when he attempted to rob a woman who turned out to be a female Italian karate champion. • A professor of psychology and "skilled illusionist" in England has conducted a study that says that children's self-esteem and confidence increases when they are taught magic tricks. • Amira Sa'id, a professional belly dancer, has gained some sci-fi nerd success by performing in a Princess Leia gold bikini at Star Wars conventions. • A new biography of Hugh Hefner titled Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream asserts that Hefner and Playboy became a symbol of "women's freedom to make choices." •

• Men become less fertile after the age of 24 and a risk of bipolar disorder is increased in children who are fathered by a man age 55 or older. • A North Korean woman is on trial for allegedly sleeping with South Korean military officials in exchange for classified military information. • A sociologist from Canada says that single fathers should not be prevented from seeing their children, even in cases of incest or abuse, because normal contact will help the fathers cope. • A circuit court judge in Florida has ruled that the state's 31-year-old ban on openly gay men and women adopting children is unconstitutional. • Should we encourage senior citizens that are regulated to nursery homes to have sex with each other? Oh, why not. • Hurt in the line of duty! A Florida sheriff's deputy suffered a serious injury after a storm drain grate fell on his arm after he was done rescuing a kitten who was caught in the drain. • Round things that appear next to each other will be chronicled in a these-things-look-like-boobs book (aptly) called One-Track Mind. • A 16-year-old girl in India killed herself after she became consumed with fear that small-scale "Big Bang" experiments in Europe would cause the end of the world. • A man from Santa Clara, California has been authorized to drive around with a vanity plate reading "HIV POZ," showing other motorists that he shouldn't feel ashamed (or keep secret) his HIV status. • An Australian woman was fined yesterday after she sent letters to a convicted sex offender's neighbors telling them that he is a child molester. • The Royal College of Midwives in England is claiming that "freebirths," or births without any medical assistance, are on the rise in America. • Graeme Reeves, the Australian OB-GYN who assaulted and inflicted genital mutilation on his patients, has been arrested and charged with 17 offenses against 10 women, with more coming in. •

• NYU has received a $490k grant from the National Science Foundation to promote women and minorities in the sciences. • The Iranian government is looking to decrease elective Cesareans (which make up 40% of births) by educating women and doctors about the benefits and risks of natural births. • In 2005, nearly 4,000 women were treated in a NYC emergency room for injuries inflicted by their partners. • Diet tricks: eat food naked, take pictures of what you're eating, brush your teeth when you are hungry, or wear tight clothes! Basically, try everything but eating healthier, whole foods. • As more women join the field of urology, the culture of the medical field is undergoing a gender makeover that is friendlier and more welcoming to women. • Female condom-makers in India aim market their condoms to female sex-workers through NGOs at a lower cost. • A study in South Africa reveals that over 1 in 4 South African men who have been married or have lived with their partner reported using violence against their current or former female partner. • Cosmopolitan is teaming up with YouTube for StarLaunch, a contest encouraging YouTube female singers to post videos of themselves and win a chance to share the stage with Solange Knowles. Squee! • A luxury boutique hotel in Singapore has set aside a whole floor (5 suites) that are strictly for women only, giving female travelers not traveling with men feel "a sense of peace." • An Australian woman has set up a website to track down a man who viciously beat her outside of a casino. • A new test for a protein called P16INK4A is more effective at catching pre-cancerous cells in women who might have cervical cancer than a normal pap smear. • Women earn roughly two-thirds of the average male income in Brazil in 2006 while blacks earn about half of what whites make.

• Meanwhile, women in India are being trained as security guards to fulfill an increasing demand for female guards in retail shops, malls, and on the subway. • A new study has linked music taste to particular personality traits and found that metal fans are gentle, indie rock listeners lack self-esteem, and pop lovers are uncreative. • Yuriko Koike, the former defense minister of Japan and current contender for the prime minister (which would make her the first female PM in Japan) says that Japan doesn't have a "glass ceiling" but an "iron plate" against female advancement. • Policy Exchange, a think tank favored by Tory party leaders, recommends that the government give tax benefits to the tune of about $1,000 a month to women who chose to stay home with their newborn children instead of working. • Meanwhile, Steve Biddulph, an "expert on parenting" in Australia says that the government should adopt a paid 1-year maternity leave for new mothers to encourage new mothers to avoid child care. • With so many male Asian American designers being shown this week at New York Fashion Week (Phillip Lim, Peter Som, Derek Lam, Alexander Wang, to name a few) it is hard to remember that the first Asian designers to take over the Western market were mostly women, including Vera Wang, Vivienne Tam, and Anna Sui. • This season Broadway will focus more on the psyche of dudes with revivals and musicals like A Man For All Seasons, Equus, and All My Sons. • The Australian-born feminist, Germaine Greer laments the lack of "proper" statues of famous women in England. • A new study has found that women over 70 who sleep no more than 5 hours a night have a 50% increased risk of falling down two or more times during the year. • Sad! Bella, a labrador from England who was believed to be the world's oldest dog died on Saturday at the age of 29. •

• The creator of 'For Better or Worse,' the long-running comic strip, has announced that the comic strip will travel back 30 years in the past to the time when the strip first began. • Cambridge University is soliciting the producers of popular British soap operas, asking that the school be included in story-lines to help shed the University's snobby image. • Female police officers in the English county of Cumbria now have the option of wearing specially-designed maternity uniforms if they become pregnant. • Last Thursday, the British Columbia Court of Appeal ruled against the assertion that "bubble zones" around abortion clinics — where anti-choice activists harass women entering the clinics — are an infringement on free speech. • Australia has just sworn in its first female governor general (the Queen's representative to Australia), Quentin Bryce. • More firsts for women in Europe: Two women have become the first women to pass Vienna's Spanish Riding School's entrance exam to ride the famous Vienna dancing horses. • The LPGA Tour decided today to banish rules that suspend players who cannot speak English well enough to be understood at pro-ams, in interviews or in making acceptance speeches. • Male Maasai warriors in Kenya who travel to the tourist town of Mombasa to marry white women or find jobs to provide for their community sometimes work as hairdressers, a large cultural taboo. • Disgraced Olympic track star Marion Jones was released from prison today after serving a six-month sentence for lying to federal prosecutors about performance-enhancement drug use. • A new book titled Why Men Die First says that men die earlier than women because they are "more fragile and inherently vulnerable than females" which means they have to visit the doctor often if they want to live long lives. •