samhexum

Mexico City bans use of attractive models at city events They’ve long been an unmissable part of public events in Mexico, from soccer matches to trade fairs: attractive women hired to be greeters or simply as eye candy, sometimes scantily clad in short skirts and high heels or crop-tops and hot pants emblazoned with corporate logos. Now Mexico City has prohibited the use of models known in local parlance as “edecanes” at events sponsored by the local government, breaking new ground for a country where deeply entrenched gender stereotypes often continue to relegate women to supporting roles in the workforce. “This job should not exist,” the capital’s mayor, Jose Ramon Amieva, said in announcing the ban last week. “It goes against policies of gender equality.” In 2014, a group of female politicians organized a forum on the topic that concluded the edecan industry sometimes is a cover for prostitution and that the models face precarious employment conditions. It estimated more than 1 million Mexicans work as hostesses or hosts, most of them in the informal sector. Online job postings for hostesses offer salaries ranging anywhere from 5,000 pesos ($260) to 30,000 pesos ($1,560) per month, well above the current minimum wage of about $4.60 per day. While edecanes’ presence at corporate and government events tends to be more demure than elsewhere — think blazers, high heels and slacks or knee-length skirts rather than skin-tight bodysuits — there have been some instances that attracted criticism. In perhaps the most notorious one, the electoral institute hired a Playboy model to hand out envelopes at the first presidential debate ahead of the 2012 election. Julia Orayen emerged onstage in a tight white dress with a plunging neckline that revealed lots of cleavage, in sharp contrast to the button-up dress shirt and black suit donned by the lone female contender for the presidency, Josefina Vazquez. Julia Orayen, second from right, carries a box to presidential candidates containing paper for them to take to assign their speaking order at the start of a presidential candidate debate in Mexico City, Sunday, May 6, 2012. And in 2016, the New Alliance party held a campaign event featuring several women in tight white stretch pants and topless save for body paint in the party’s signature turquoise and white. At Mexico City government events, models have generally been hired to greet guests, pass microphones around for questions or simply smile onstage alongside mostly male speakers. Indra Rubio, who coordinates the gender justice program for Oxfam in Mexico, called the capital’s model ban a “small but very important step” for a country that’s “still macho.” “We need to question as a society: Why is a woman’s body seen as an object?” Rubio said. “This places the woman always at a disadvantage, if her participation in the workforce is subject to her physical appearance.” Rubio said she would like to see the model ban extend to other local governments and also be adopted at the federal level, arguing that taxpayers’ money should be spent to empower women, not objectify them. “Women aren’t seen as having rights, as equals,” she said, “and I think this generates violence against women.”

This city is suggesting residents cool it with the sex. The health secretary of Santa Marta, Julio Salas, advised locals to abstain from sex to stay cool during an intense heat wave, according to Colombia Reports. Santa Marta, a popular tourist destination on the coast of Colombia, has seen temperatures rise higher than 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the Associated Press. Recently, medical facilities in the coastal city have been flooded with patients complaining of heat stroke symptoms, the AP reported. For those who cannot contain their sexual urges, Salas says they should wait until night when the temperature is lower, SkyNews reported. “If you have a good air conditioning, there is no problem,” he added. Salas issued the advice as part of a list of other recommendations for combating the heat wave, include taking cold showers, staying hydrated, and avoiding prolonged exposure to the sun.

Sounds like a potential TLC program... Little Person, Big Penis :rolleyes:

Because their daddies loved their little girls a little too much. Oh... you mean the guys? Who cares?

It must be nice to have a few million $ spare pocket change to invest... An investment made by Kobe Bryant has yielded more than 30 times its money in fewer than four and a half years. On Tuesday, Coca-Cola announced it had purchased a minority stake in sports drink BodyArmor. Bryant made his first investment in the brand, for roughly 10 percent of the company, in March 2014, putting in roughly $6 million over time. Based on the valuation of the Coca-Cola deal, his stake is now worth approximately $200 million, sources told ESPN. Bryant is now the fourth-largest investor in the brand, marketed as a healthier competitor to Gatorade, behind the brand's co-founder Mike Repole, Coca-Cola and Keurig Dr Pepper. When Bryant invested in BodyArmor, the brand had just come off a year of $10 million in sales. BodyArmor is projected to top $400 million in sales in 2018. And the rich get richer...

Good quote

Sometimes posted comic strips stay for a long time, sometimes they disappear fairly quickly. It's the same thing in the 'good pun' thread.

Alligator that survived WWII bombings still alive and snapping BELGRADE — American alligator Muja arrived at Belgrade Zoo on the eve of the Second World War and is believed to be the oldest of his kind in captivity and still in good health with a hearty appetite for his age, his handlers said on Tuesday. Generations of Belgraders and tourists have come to watch Muja and though he rarely moves around much, he is still agile at feeding time — when he munches on rats and quail. This is when his age shows, though, as he sometimes misses the target when he snaps at his food. So far Muja’s only health issue has been gangrene, which led to him having his front right claw amputated in 2012. “He is well … and healthy, eats well and is in good form for his age, so we hope that he’ll remain that way for many years,” zoo director Srboljub Aleksic said. Muja arrived from Germany in August 1937. An old newspaper clipping about his arrival at the zoo said that he was 2 years old at the time, putting him in his early 80s today. He survived two carpet bombings of the Serbian capital — one by Germany in 1941 and the other by the Allies in 1944 — when all the official documentation about his transfer was lost. Muja eats a quail in his home at Belgrade Zoo.

I always wondered why her rendition of Lady Madonna was removed as the theme song from GRACE UNDER FIRE after the 3rd season, & then was scrubbed from those episodes when the show went into syndication. I assume it was something having to do with royalties, but it's a shame that probably the pinnacle of her career isn't regularly seen anymore. Thank God for youtube, right?

I was gonna get you a new kowbell, but I didn't know how many inches you prefer. http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server4700/96049/product_images/uploaded_images/hand-on-bell-banner.png?t=1445281555

It looks like that may have been right after her career-making appearance on GIMME A BREAK. It's a pity her career could never match this initial promise...

Once upon a time I liked Hayes & Curry.

And...?????????? Did you enjoy it? Was there a follow-up dinner date? Did you at least get flowers the next morning?