Olympic Meddling 4.6

One Kuwaiti politician has a unique critique of the Sydney Olympics: They're too exciting to broadcast--and should be banned. According to parliamentarian Waleed al-Tabtabaie, an Islamic fundamentalist, the events contain "more sex than sports."

He's especially troubled by women's events, which, he says, "have flagrant scenes which are unacceptable." Al-Tabtabaie says the worst offenders include "women's beach volleyball games, diving and synchronized swimming contests," which "reflect Western norms that do not give a woman's body any of the respect, honor or protection which Islam and [Islamic law] have granted her."

The politician also has loudly opposed risque BBC radio shows, music concerts and public celebrations of Valentine's Day.

Mighty White of You 6.9

In an attempt to portray their school as a haven of cultural diversity, admissions officials at the University of Wisconsin used digital trickery to graft a more diverse face into an otherwise monocultural photo being used on the cover of the school's application packet. "Everyone who was identifiable [in the photograph] was white," an apologetic Al Friedman, director of university publications, explained to the Chronicle of Higher Education. "The conversation just very naturally evolved in a way to say, this photo is good, but it's all white people."

So the admissions office simply pasted the head of a black student, Diallo Shabazz, into the shot--a bit of trickery discovered by a campus journalist who noticed that the shadows on Shabazz's face didn't even come close to matching those of the other students in the shot. Searching the university's Web site, journalists discovered both the original whites-only shot--and the original photo of Shabazz. The school plans to recall as many copies of the packet as possible.

Child Abuse 101 7.2

Eau Claire, Wisconsin parents worried they may not have mastered the proper

TERRY LABAN

technique for beating their children got a refresher course at a recent spanking seminar held at the Eau Claire Gospel Center. About 50 people showed up for the event, which featured a demonstration of spanking skills by Marvin Munyon and a teen-age assistant, according to a report in the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. "You spank them right here on the gluteus maximus, which God made for that purpose," the Bible-quoting Munyon told the crowd.

According to Munyon, good parents will use paddles or switches instead of their hands--lest the children come to associate their parents' hands with pain. And they should start spanking early--preferably at the age of two or so. "If you wait too long to begin physical discipline," he explained, "it may be too late."