December 20, 2007
Itsy-bitsy pink bikini gets serviceman jail
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A Singapore national serviceman who sashayed into a lift early one morning wearing only a pink bikini has been handed a day's jail and a S$11,000 ($7,529) fine by a court in the city-state, a newspaper said on Tuesday.
Tan Wen Zhong, 21, admitted to five charges, including "outraging the modesty" of the woman who shared the lift with him and "fraudulent possession of women's underwear," Singapore's Straits Times reported.
The paper said a subsequent police search of his apartment turned up 46 pieces of women's underwear and bikinis as well as four obscene films.
Tan, who was completing Singapore's mandatory national service when he committed the offence in April, was also accused of grabbing a 23-year-old woman's buttocks a year ago and of shoplifting a pair of sunglasses two years ago.
In mitigation, Tan's lawyer said his client had been badly affected by his parents' divorce during his formative years.
Posted by ronnie at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)
September 07, 2007
No skimpy bathing suits for Sydney summit
SYDNEY, Sept 3, 2007 (AFP) - Could the world stomach a family photo of 21 Asia-pacific leaders in swimsuits and flip-flops?
Thankfully, Australian Prime Minister John Howard thinks not.
"The only Australian garb I'd rule out is Speedos and thongs," Howard told commercial television. "I don't think I'd do that, that wouldn't be very diplomatic.
With the leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group meeting in Sydney this week, wags have had a field day making helpful suggestions about how to clothe the leaders for the traditional summit photo.
In the past, leaders from the US president to the prime minister of Japan, have all had to dress up in the host nation's national dress.
But in Australia, a country lacking a distinctive national outfit, this has provoked debate about what not to wear.
Howard ruled out any affront to the dignity of his honoured guests, saying only that the APEC outfit would be "very Australian".
Ruling out beachwear, he suggested that traditional Australian bush outfits, saying: "Think Australian. Think Australian in a very positive way, one we all identify with."
The Akubra wide-brimmed hat worn by Australian bushmen is considered traditional by some, along with oilskin coats and boots.
And that would certainly a relief for many fashion-watchers, commentators agreed.
Posted by ronnie at 06:15 PM | Comments (0)
July 25, 2007
Bikini-clad women mow lawns in Memphis
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - One lawn care company is showing a little skin to boost business.
The women of Tiger Time Lawn Care offer to mow customers' lawns dressed in bikinis — a service that attracts more attention to the ladies than the lawns.
"Oh yeah, they honk and yell. They can do everything you can imagine," said employee Blair Beckman, 21.
Beckman said the extra attention is expected, but she looks on the bright side.
"You get the attention but you also get a tan, which I need," Beckman said.
Owner Lee Cathey said the bikini service makes mowing the lawn a lot more interesting, although the fee is slightly higher.
"The yards definitely get more attention when there's a bikini on the lawn," Cathey said. Some customers sit in lawn chairs and have a beer while watching, he said.
The three-month-old company is looking for a way to expand the service through the end of summer.
"In the fall we'll go pick up leaves in the bikinis if need be," Cathey said.
Cathey said there hasn't been any interest in a male version of the bikini lawn cut.
Posted by ronnie at 12:14 PM | Comments (0)
May 18, 2007
Media fury over swimsuit photo ban
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A decision by Turkey's largest city to ban some pictures of swimsuit models has revived claims about the rising power of Islam, with newspapers saying the move was more befitting of theocratic
Iran than a secular democracy.
Istanbul municipality asked stores selling swimwear made by Turkish manufacturer Nelson to seek permission to place photographs of models in swimsuits and bikinis on store front windows located on main streets. It then denied them permission.
The controversy follows several large secularist protests in Turkey, a secular republic with an overwhelmingly Muslim population, against the ruling AK Party, which controls the Istanbul city authority and which has Islamist roots.
Secularists say AK wants to undermine Turkey's separation of state and religion and to boost the role of Islam in daily life, claims which the center-right, pro-business party denies.
"Is this becoming a land of mullahs like Iran?" asked the Vatan daily, commenting on the row over the swimwear pictures.
Echoing that comment, the staunchly secular Cumhuriyet daily quoted local consultant Ali Saydam as saying: "(The AK Party) is creating worries that they are turning Turkey into Iran."
This year four firms were denied permission to hang photographs in store windows, according to newspaper reports.
Moris Eskinazi, part owner of Nelson, told Reuters the need to seek municipality permission was new.
"We've never had to get permission before, and they wanted us to bring a copy of the photographs we planned on putting up," he said.
"EU STANDARDS"
"They said that the photographs were not up to EU standards and that they could cause car accidents," said Eskinazi, quoting Istanbul's urban planning department.
The municipality's urban planning department said it denied permission because the application was not in the proper form.
"We have no law that forbids (the photographs) of these companies," Ahmet Faruk Yanardag, municipality spokesperson, told Reuters.
Cumhuriyet newspaper said the controversy showed the AK Party was "secular only in name."
"Headscarf advertisements can easily find space in Istanbul advertising space," the paper added.
Other newspapers said some promotional swimwear photographs were denied permission due to their proximity to mosques.
Yanardag denied the accusation, citing an existing billboard near a mosque. "We are concerned with the aesthetics of the city, Istanbul after all is a historical city ... we have to make sure these photos are placed in appropriate places for advertising purposes," he said.
Posted by ronnie at 07:50 AM | Comments (0)
January 29, 2007
Kuwait paper appeals over swimsuit photo
KUWAIT (Reuters) - A Kuwaiti newspaper plans to appeal against a three-day ban imposed by a court for publishing an "indecent" photo of one of Saddam Hussein's granddaughters in a swimsuit, a sister publication reported on Monday.
Kuwait's edition of the Lebanese Daily Star said al-Watan, one of the country's largest Arabic dailies, will challenge the ban and 3,000 dinar ($10,000) fine imposed on its publisher for the July 3, 2006 photo.
Saturday's court ruling came after a Kuwaiti citizen filed a suit accusing the newspaper of publishing indecent photos of the young woman who is the daughter of Raghad Hussein.
The picture showed the young woman in a swimsuit with a Lebanese male celebrity in the Qatari capital Doha.
Al-Watan had argued it had concealed parts of the body that may be deemed as violating modesty laws in the conservative Gulf Arab state.
The former Iraqi president, who was executed in Iraq last month for crimes against humanity, is a hate figure in Kuwait, which he invaded in 1990. Iraqi forces were later driven out of the Gulf Arab state by a U.S.-led coalition in February 1991.
Posted by ronnie at 09:16 AM | Comments (0)
July 27, 2006
Swimsuits banned in Miss Cambodia contest
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - The winner of a planned Miss Cambodia beauty pageant may have to take a crash course in swimsuit posing if she competes abroad.
The government has ruled out skimpy attire in contests at home, organizers said Friday.
The country will hold its first Miss Cambodia competition in more than a decade starting in September, with the final to be held three months later, said Kem Tola, marketing manager for Planet Communication Ltd., a Cambodian events management company.
As a condition of holding the event, the government said contestants cannot take to the stage in swimsuits.
Contestants must be properly attired at all times "to preserve Cambodian culture," said Sim Sarak, a director-general of Cambodia's Culture Ministry.
The winner will receive a $969 prize and likely be nominated to take part in next year's Miss Universe contest, Kem Tola said. Because of the swimsuit ban at home, Miss Cambodia may need to learn how to pose in a swimsuit before going abroad, he said.
Miss Cambodia competitions were held in 1993 and 1995, but not in the intervening period, because the government thought it was a waste of money, Sim Sarak said. Swimsuits were also banned from the earlier contests, he added.
Cambodia is predominantly Buddhist and socially conservative.
Posted by ronnie at 11:08 AM | Comments (0)
June 12, 2006
'Streaker' selling bikini to pay for court costs
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A woman who invaded the field in the final seconds of Saturday's test between New Zealand and Ireland in Hamilton wearing just a bikini has put the two-piece suit up for sale on an online auction website to help pay for her court costs.
Lisa Lewis, 25, ran onto the field at Waikato Stadium about 30 seconds before referee Stuart Dickinson blew the whistle to signal the end of the game, won by the All Blacks 34-23.
Lewis was grabbed by security guards and arrested by police and later charged with disorderly behavior.
"As a result my bikini is up for sale to assist in paying for my court fines and costs. Come on people help me out," Lewis wrote on the Trade Me website (www.trademe.co.nz).
Lewis's decision to sell the bikini follows that of Christchurch woman Nichole Davis, who auctioned her handbag after it was used by former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga to subdue team mate Chris Masoe in a bar after the Super 14 final last month.
Masoe had struck another patron in the face and Umaga stepped in to break up the scuffle, resulting in him using the handbag to hit the fellow All Black in the head to calm him down. The handbag sold for just under NZ$23,000 ($14,650).
Lewis wrote on the website she had decided to run on to the field because it was on a list she of tasks she had made to achieve before she died.
However, she did not recommend it to anyone else.
"Even though this was a lifetime goal of mine to streak on a rugby field, and obviously fulfilled that dream, I do not recommend running on a rugby field in the middle of a game again - as the consequences are severe," she wrote.
Messages on the website have been mixed with some critics claiming Lewis was not technically a streaker given she had been wearing the bikini.
By 0600 GMT Monday, the auction had attracted 10 bids with a top price of NZ$615.
Posted by ronnie at 01:42 PM | Comments (0)