Cuba is probably the last Smokers Paradise, with America and Britain almost making a crime to light up in public, Cuba is going all out to promote Tobacco to the world. The Tobacco industry in Cuba is run by state owned Habanos S.A. This government-run company, has reported a substantial decline in sales for the second year in a row. In 2009, the company's top line fell 8% to $360 million, which came after a 3% drop to $390 million from 2007 to 2008.
In an effort to stoke up trade, Habanos has now launched a cigar aimed at women the "Julieta", short, slim and light in colour, the Julieta is designed, its maker says, to be "enjoyed quickly, following the life rhythms of today's sophisticated active women."
During the last week of February, Cuba became the host for THE 12th HABANO'S FESTIVAL! A week long festival of trying to smoke your self to death. Delegates from around the world meet to enjoy the delights of the Cuban cigar. Americans of course cannot attend, however spies on the ground reported a number of Americans keeping quiet and enjoying the delights of the Hababos.
Far from being a communist event it would seem capitalism was allowed in for the week. The climax of the grand gala dinner tickets @ $500 each was an auction of humidors, The best-sold humidor in the lavish gala dinner auction was that of the new Cohiba Behike cigar - auctioned at £454.000 ($681,000 dollars).
The Cohiba Behike is the world's most expensive cigar - $ 440 each and it only comes in boxes of 40 - but is considered on of the best?
The Sanctity of Marriage
Thank you JT for the link
8th March 2010
If you were "Across the Pond" at the moment you could not fail to notice that a general election is looming. Gordon Brown is expected to name election day any time now. The game of mud slinging has started.
Ahead of the game the conservative party seems to be aiming at the gay vote. It has published a list of its out gay candidates standing for election this year. This "Rainbow" List according to the Mail on Sunday, which says the Tories have 20 out gay candidates, with 11 of these happy to be named and has published a list of its out gay candidates standing for election.
The party has three out gay MPs – Mr Herbert, Alan Dunce and Greg Barker – and five of the 11 who wished to be named are likely to win based on current polls. One of the eleven is a lesbian.
At the last election, of our 193 MPs elected, just 17 were women, only two black or minority ethnic and two were openly gay. If we were truly representative of the country we would have 99 women, 16 black or minority ethnic and ten gay MPs.
Life can be such a gamble at times. Even if you think you are on a winning streak, someone can come along and spoil your fun. As competitors of the European Poker Tour international tournament in Berlin found out this weekend. A gang armed with machine guns, grenades and machetes made off with an estimated £225,000 ($340,000) after storming the poker tournament in Berlin. The final gambling sessions of the tournament were back on yesterday — but this time under armed police guard.
A car crash in Cudjoe Key is being blamed on the fact that the driver was attempting to shave her pubic hair while at the wheel. According to reports, Trooper Gary Dunick says that the two-vehicle smash was caused by the fact that the woman was attempting to shave her bikini area, while her former husband held the wheel.
Her car then crashed into the back of a pickup truck.
'She said she was meeting her boyfriend in Key West and wanted to be ready for the visit,' Dunick told the Key West Citizen.
Ladies please do not shave your bush while you are driving a car, that goes for men too.
6th March 2010
Holy Moses - The Pope has got his hands full yet again, if it is not bad enough that he has Irish Priest playing with young boys it would now seem that the Vatican is turning into a call boy centre. One of the Pope's ceremonial ushers, as well as a member of the elite Vatican choir, have been involved in a homosexual prostitution ring.
The allegations came to light after Italian newspapers published transcripts of phone calls recorded by police, who had been conducting an unrelated corruption investigation.
The tapes appear to record Angelo Balducci, a Gentleman of His Holiness, negotiating with Thomas Chinedu Ehiem, a 29-year-old Nigerian Vatican chorister, about men he wanted brought to him for sexual purposes. Balducci was allegedly paying 2,000 euros ($2,714) for each man he met, according to the Irish Times.
Balducci is recorded describing precise physical details of the men he wanted. The transcripts record that during five months in 2008, Ehiem procured for Balducci at least 10 contacts with, among others, "two black Cuban lads," a former male model from Naples, and a rugby player.
Balducci held a high position within the Vatican and carried the coffin of Pope John Paul at his funeral in 2005.
Well Well and all this happening whilst the Pope is ironing his frock to visit our shores and tell us all how evil we are.
The South African President Jacob Zuma visited Buckingham Palace on Wednesday to meet the Queen at the start of his state visit to Britain, he beamed with pride as he handed over a specially-crafted chess set featuring Zulu and Xhosa warriors made out of glass and pewter.
"The perfect gift,' he must have thought. 'Decorative, symbolic of my culture and heritage and highly unusual. She can't have seen anything like this before.' But she had. Barely 20 minutes later, on a tour of the Palace's Picture Gallery, Her Majesty and President Zuma stopped to admire a present given to the Duke of Edinburgh by the visitor's predecessor, Nelson Mandela, in 1996. Cue embarrassing silence. It was an almost identical chess set which, just like Mr Zuma's, featured pieces carved into the shape of Zulu tribesmen.
'Oh, another set,' said Mr Zuma, shuffling his feet. The poor man – so ebullient earlier in the day – looked crestfallen.
Now if you want to feel some dick, then head over to Japan for the penis festival, which is celebrated every year on March 15 . During the festival a huge wooden phallus is carried around. The penis shrine is believed to help women to get pregnant and to bring vitality to children and elderly who touch the sacred phallus.
3rd March 2010
Earlier this week the House of Lords approved an amendment to the Equality Bill allowing faiths to hold ceremonies for same sex couples if they wished. Despite the fact that the Lords made it clear that it would be up to each individual faith to have the option to hold such ceremonies, some Church of England Bishops believe that it will leave the church open to being sued. They claimed that gay couples could use human rights legislation to sue vicars who chose not to officiate for them.
The proposed law would allow civil partnerships to be held in religious buildings and contain religious language. Under current law, they must be completely secular, although some faiths will bless gay couples.
All is not well in some of the West End's theatres. According to a recent survey actors involved in some of the best known plays and musicals in London have disclosed that the majority of theatres are infested with rats, mice and fleas. Three quarters of the 250 actors surveyed in a report said that their theatre had a "problem with vermin and infestations" and two thirds agreed there was "evidence of vermin infestation inside your dressing room".
One solution was to send in cleaners immediately after a show to clear up food scraps left by theatregoers. "We did get a report that one theatre did this, and the problem diminished. If you leave it till the morning then the rats and mice have a party overnight." According to Malcolm Sinclair, who is vice-president of Equity
I am not sure what to make of the outfits worn by some of the competitors at the winter Olympics. Flattering they are not as they turn their "Manly Hood" into " Mangina".
What the dickens was this guy doing ??
1st March 2010
Thank you Mike for pointing this one in our direction.
Spencer Tunick has been at it again In all over 5200. volunteers gamely doffing their clothes early Monday morning to pose nude in front of the Sydney Opera House.
Volunteers began queuing before dawn to participate in the Spencer Tunicks installation, which included a series of images shot outside as well as inside the iconic Australian landmark.
Today's event, dubbed The Base, was commissioned as part of the city's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival. "It was difficult to get the straight participants to embrace the gay participants and vice versa," Tunick said afterward.
One of Britain's most influential chefs, Rose Gray, has died of cancer
She was the co-founder of London's iconic River Cafe restaurant and is widely regarded as being responsible for helping to revolutionise Italian cooking in this country. Ms Gray launched the business with Ruthie Elias (now Ruth Rogers) in 1987 at a time when she said Italian food in the country was 'spaghetti Bolognese and tiramsu'. Jamie Oliver was a protégé of Rose, he paid tribute tonight, describing Gray as a 'pioneer' and a 'really great boss'.
On Sunday we once again battened down the hatches after been given an extreme weather warning here in the south of England. Luckily although we had a lot of wind and rain no damage was reported, however the savage Atlantic storm Xynthia hit the west cost of France and caused 45 deaths and left over a million homes without electricity. Spain and Portugal, where Xynthia first fell, lost 4 people in total. Another loss of life was reported in Germany.
27th February 2010
Imelda Marcos eat your heart out. More than 1,700 pairs of shoes have gone on display in South Korea in the hope that the owners will come forward to claim shoes that are rightly theirs. In South Korea it is the custom to remove your shoes as a mark of respect. While shoeless and paying saying goodbye to a dearly departed friend a sneaky shoe thief has arrived in cheap plastic shoes and quietly slipping his light fingered feet into a nice bear of designer footwear. The fifty - nine year old has now been arrested for being in procession of over 1700 pairs of knocked off shoes. The slip shod thief refuses to admit the crime, stating that he has bought the shoes as he likes second hand designer shoes.
Tomorrow is Sunday once again so it must be time to strip off your clothes and go to church, at least that is what worshippers at a church in Virginia are doing. The church is bringing new meaning to the expression "come as you are." Everyone at this church is nude, including the pastor. Congregants say they don't think God cares what you wear when you worship, just that you worship. These people have no problem getting the word of God from a pastor in his birthday suit.
A 1939 comic book in which Batman makes his debut sold at auction this week for more than $1 million, breaking a record set just three days earlier by a Superman comic A Dallas-based auction house said the rare copy of Detective Comics No. 27 sold for a total of $1,075,500, which includes the buyer's premium, to a buyer who wished to remain anonymous. The consignor wanted to remain anonymous as well. Holy Comic Batman.
My old mate Daniel "Call me Harry Potter" Radcliffe has filmed a public service announcement to help prevent suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.
Daniel made the film for The Trevor Project, a non-profit US organisation that runs a 24-hour helpline. He said "I have always hated anybody who is not tolerant of gay men or lesbians or bisexuals. Now I am in the very fortunate position where I can actually help or do something about it."
Oh to be in Sydney for Mardi Gras. Thousands of people in lavish costumes and various states of undress danced and partied their way through Sydney's streets today in Australia's annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. The parade — one of the world's largest and most flamboyant gay pride events — had 9,400 participants and 135 floats and featured the theme, "History of the World" — a look at gay history.
25th February 2010
New laws which will require state schools to discuss contraception and gay relationships are set to be passed by the House of Commons next week. However, Ed Balls the education minister is in favour of including an amendment which would let religious schools teach the subject in a way that is in keeping with their own prudish, gay-bashing beliefs.
Ministers were accused of making a U-turn on sex education in faith schools after a Commons amendment effectively allowed them to skew teaching towards their particular religion.Under the Government's new proposals, which are unlikely to come into force until 2010, five to seven-year-old children will learn to talk about their friendships, peer pressure, their feelings and relationships. They will learn the names of different body parts and the concept of animals having offspring will be introduced.At some time between the ages of 8 and 11 they will be taught about the biological aspects of sex. Once they start secondary school, the idea of contraception will be introduced.
Britain has the highest number of teenage pregnancies in Europe, Around 40,000 under 18 year old girls fall pregnant each year in the UK. Ministers say that government strategy will be overhauled - a considerable embarrassment after the £280 million spent on initiatives they promised would transform thousands of young people's lives. Among plans to be announced today will be more access to long-acting contraception, such as implants and injections, and phone texts to remind girls to use contraceptives.
Will this mean that classic fairy story will take on a new meaning.Who's been sleeping in my bed.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Other stories that may need to be adapted include: Pinocchio: The Dangers of Getting Wood, Cinderella: The Biggest Floosy in Town and Beauty and the Beastiality.
22nd February 2010
Sussex Beacon Half Marathon Start
Yesterday we woke to terrible weather, wind and blinding rain, but despite all of this over 6000 runners braved the weather to run the Sussex Beacon half marathon in Brighton. Now in it's 20th year the half marathon raises funds for the Sussex Beacon, providing care for people living with HIV/AIDS. St Duncans, who provide invaluable physical and emotional support to blind and visually impaired ex-Service men and women. And WaterAid, providing water, sanitation and hygiene education to some of the world's poorest people
This morning the Met Office issued a severe weather warning across the South East. Heavy rain is expected to spread north east across the region with up to 30mm of rain falling in three hours in some places.
Well we have just got back in doors and can confirm that the countryside is flooded and already bad road surfaces damaged by the frost and snow and now in an even worst state of repair, with more potholes and the whole of the road surface being lifted in parts. Driving is a nightmare. Last week a pothole cost me a new car tyre. And according to the garage mechanic l was lucky a lot of people have had to have their whole wheel replaced.
A Ugandan clergyman's decision to show gay pornography to his congregation has been labelled as "twisted, homophobic propaganda" by a gay rights groups. Pastor Martin Ssempa, equates homosexuality to paedophilia. The pastor showed the pornography in an attempt to gain support for a proposed law which would see some gay people facing the death penalty.
The bill, under consideration by MPs, has been condemned across the world.
I am not really into watching The Winter Olympics, but this sport lucks like a little fun.
Luge, in fact l had never heard of this sport until today. A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds face up and feet-first. Steering is done by flexing the sled's runners with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. It looks more fun with a man laying on top of you.
20th February 2010
Amy Williams became Britain's first gold medallist in an individual discipline at the Winter Olympics since ice skater Robin Cousins, who triumphed at Lake Placid in 1980.
Amy Williams slid her way to glory in the skeleton bob cheered on by her fans
A left-wing party in Holland has suggested that winners of a cycle race should swap the traditional celebration of kisses from attractive girls for kisses from gay men.
Usually, the winner of the Amsterdam leg of the famous cycle race Giro d'Italia stands on a podium surrounded by women in miniskirts who kiss him. A left-wing party in Holland has suggested that winners of a cycle race should swap the traditional celebration of kisses from attractive girls for kisses from gay men.
Associated Press reports that Fjodor Molenaar, an alderman from the Green Left party, which is part of the city's governing coalition, said: "It should be possible for gay men to celebrate with the winner. One rider in ten is gay."
The latest news from Holland this afternoon is that the coalition government has collapsed.
IF it is not bad enough having to endure an arranged marriage, can you imagine what your reaction would be when the veil was removed to reveal a beard and cross eyes. Well this is exactly what happened to an Arab ambassador is Dubai.
He called for an instant divorce when he discovered that he had been tricked into marrying the ugly sister. He claimed the woman's parents sent his own mother and father pictures of her far more attractive sister.
The would-be bride had hidden her face behind a Muslim niqab throughout their short courtship, meaning the diplomat had no idea what she looked like. But as soon as the marriage contract was signed in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, he tried to kiss her, before coming face-to-face with her hairy face and strange squint.
