Odds & Ends

Private protest

A librarian in India has vowed not to come to work fully clothed until his position is made permanent. For the last two weeks, Achal Singh has tended to his duties dressed only in his underpants and a single slipper. Singh, who works at a government library in Morena, Madhya Pradesh is still a temporary employee after working there for 12 years. Singh said that because he belongs to an underprivileged caste his job has not been regularized and that he will not wear clothes until he gets justice.

Hot monk-y sex

A video tape of two monks having sex with a woman have sparked protests in India. The incident has followers of the Vadtal faction of the Swaminarayan sect gathered outside the sect’s temples demanding to know why the pair broke their vow of celibacy. Police had to provide security after angry crowds gathered outside the sect’s main temple in Dabhoi and the temples of the Anand and Nadiad groups also witnessed angry crowds demanding explanations. Nautum Swami, temple board chief, said the two men in the film were being blackmailed and the two-year-old tape was part of a conspiracy by a rival faction.

No showing Bush

A painting of a nude President Bush has been taken down in Washington, D.C.’s City Museum. Artist Kayti Didriksen painted “Man of Leisure, King George” in the style of Edouard Manet’s “Olympia.” Didriksen’s version shows a nude Bush on a chaise lounge while Dick Cheney stands nearby, holding a crown in the shape of a miniature oil rig seated upon a cushion. The painting was part of a show called Funky Furniture that was abruptly shut down after some of the artists’ themes were deemed unsuitable. Myra Gibson, a public relations consultant for the museum, said the museum wasn’t an art museum and that the clientele consists mostly of children with teachers trying to tell them something about history.

Fair to name sexpert

Organizers of an erotic fair in Poland plan to go ahead with a contest that will pit three women from Brazil, the United States and Poland against each other for the title of Sex Champion. Organizers of the Eroticon sex fair are also hoping one of the women will break the world sex record, which currently stands at 759 partners. Krzysztof Garwatowski, spokesman for the fair, said each of the three participants hope to pass the 1,000-men mark and the men who take part will get the chance to vie for the title of Polish Stallion. However, Warsaw authorities have threatened to file charges for promoting prostitution, a violation that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.

Two near death experiences

Marin Cogev was hunting in Bulgaria when a 700-pound bear attacked from behind. The bear attempted to crush Cogev, but he managed to hit the animal on the head with the butt of his shotgun and then fired a shot in the air. The bear released his grip and ran away, but when Cogev turned to follow he slipped, tripped and fell causing his gun to go off. The bullet grazed his head and he passed out. A team of hunters killed the bear and Cogev is recovering in a hospital after an operation on a punctured lung and broken ribs sustained after the bear attack.

All you need is love

German President Horst Koehler said the world would be a better place if people wrote more love letters. Koehler said it is a sad comment on our times when people text message each other more often than they speak face-to-face and that it would be better for people to sit down and write a letter to a friend of a loved one because it would make the world a better place to live.

Silver lining

A woman in India fainted during the process of becoming a police officer only to be discovered by a director. The woman wanted to be a police officer because her grandfather was on the force, but collapsed as she waited with 25,000 other would-be officers. An Indian director saw her picture in the paper a few days later and approached her father about the woman being in his next project.