40,000 Pill Man's Memory Madness An unnamed British man graduated from taking 5 ecstasy pills a weekend to 25 a day, doctors from London University revealed in April, in a case report published in scientific journal Psychosomatics. The now 37 year old Brit took an estimated 40,000 ecstasy pills during his 10 year habit, though despite quitting seven years ago remains plagued by health problems including muscle rigidity round his mouth and severe memory problems, said doctors. "His long- term memory was fine but he could not remember day to day things - the time, the day, what was in his supermarket trolley," said Dr Kouimtsidis. "More worryingly, he did not seem aware himself that he had these memory problems." (The Guardian) "I thought it was a government ploy to just numb everyone's brains, carpet-bomb them with ecstasy, and make them loving when really it's a massive holocaust."And then I met William Orbit, so that's how I started to become a bit intrigued." (The Guardian)Chemical Brothers chanteuse Beth Orton recalls her uncertain entry into rave culture. "Go back to sleep. If you wake up, take sleeping tablets. That's the answer to depression, just keep sleeping." (Mixmag) Primal Scream singer Bobbie Gillespie shares his 'answer to everything'. "People do it indoors, in secret. There's lots of it. If the phenomenon of belly dancing spreads out our people might react against it by killing people. We don't want our people to become like the Taliban." (Guardian) Hamas' new Palestinian culture minister Attallah Abu al-Sibbah explains in April why he's planning to outlaw 'un-Islamic' belly dancing. "We all think we are rational beings, but our research suggests... that people with high testosterone levels are very vulnerable to sexual cues. If there are no cues around, they behave normally, but if they see sexual images they become impulsive." (Guardian) The more testosterone a man has, the worse his decision-making abilities become when he glimpses a sexy woman, a new survey claims. "For a woman, a wax is necessary. It makes everything smoother and more attainable. It makes room for all the advances I make when I'm going to please her." (Guardian) P Diddy insists ladies should remove all pubic hair. Men Act Like Monkeys As Donkeys Out-Do Women A study on infidelity published in April revealed that men become more jealous of 'alpha male' types when their girlfriends are at their most fertile, mirroring mating behaviour amongst chimpanzees, the Telegraph reported. Liverpool University biological science expert Rob Burriss said females favour high testosterone square jawed faces when fertile, and big-eyed feminine types for long term relationships. "Men become more wary of masculine-looking men only when the female's facial preferences begin to shift prior to ovulation," he suggested, "Face shape and structure are good indicators of dominance." Meanwhile in India, feminists launched a protest over textbooks in Rajastan, which compare women to donkeys in the new curriculum. "A donkey is like a housewife," the book aimed at 14 year olds, explains. "In fact, the donkey is a shade better, for while the housewife may sometimes complain and walk off to her parents' home you'll never catch the donkey being disloyal to his master." (Sunday Times) In more animal/ battle-of-the-sexes news, religious police in Iran launched a renewed morality drive against 'Bad Islamic Behaviour' this week, cracking down on men with long hair and those wearing Western style T shirts, and women breaking traditional dress codes. "In our campaign, we will confront women showing their bare legs in short pants", Tehran's police chief, Morteza Tala'I, promised. "We are also going to combat women wearing skimpy headscarves or without socks, short and form-fitting coats, and the ones walking pets in parks and streets", he added (Iran Press Service). Top Iranian cleric Hojatolislam Hassani previously accused dog owners of 'moral depravity', in an angry tirade against canines some three years ago. "I demand the judiciary arrest all dogs with long, medium or short legs - together with their long-legged owners," Mr Hassani reportedly told reformist newspaper Etemad. "Otherwise I'll do it myself," he promised. (BBC) Speed Affects Men Three Times More Than Women A US study on how much dopamine amphetamines produce has revealed that men's brain's produce three times as much as women, prompting scientists to suggest that the link could explain why men use more drugs. "This plays into the alpha male stereotype," Drugscope chief Harry Shapiro told the Guardian. "It's possible this explains that men respond better to something that makes them feel strong and powerful." The scientists' findings emerged just two months after another US study revealed that women are six times more sensitive to loud noises, according to a report in Esquire Magazine. Researchers in the study examined correlations between noisy areas and heart attacks and discovered that men experiencing 'prolonged exposure to noise in the 65-75 decibel range- just louder than conversation- were 50% more like to have an attack. Women spending time in the same circumstances were discovered to be 300% more at risk. In more battle of the sexes news, Scotland's Sunday Herald published an illuminating report on London's latest clubbing craze, naked clubbing at new biweekly club Starkers! In London Bridge. Full nudity (apart from shoes and socks) is compulsory, the Scottish newspaper revealed, though women at the pan-sexual all-sorts-welcome night 'are, inevitably, outnumbered by the men.' The club's FAQ question page on their website also has a number of questions clearly intended only for males including 'What happens if I get an erection?' "No-one will mind and you will not be told off, criticised or asked to leave", Starkers stress. "In fact, nothing will happen at all as nobody will take any notice. It is just one of those things that happen. Getting an erection is perfectly natural." US Authorities Attempt Nazi Style Gold Teeth Grab Prosecutors in Tacoma, Washington were criticised in April for trying to confiscate gold teeth caps known as 'grills', out of the mouths of two men accused of drug charges. Federal cops told prisoners Flenard Neal and Donald Jamar Lewis that they had obtained a warrant to remove their teeth under the Asset Forfeiture Laws and were driving the pair to the dentists to have them drilled off when their lawyers managed to persuade a judge to halt the operations, just in time. "I've been doing this for over 30 years and I have never heard of anything like this," top Washington criminal defence lawyer Richard Troberman told the Charlotte Observer. "It sounds like Nazi Germany when they were removing the gold teeth from the bodies, but at least then they waited until they were dead." America's Asset Forfeiture Laws allow cops to seize, and retain, money, cars and even houses if they can establish even the most tenuous of drug links, prompting civil liberties organisation the ACLU to launch an advertising campaign in 2001 with the poignant strap line 'who can you call when the police are the ones robbing you?' "Thanks to civil asset forfeiture laws, possessions that took you a lifetime to acquire can be taken in the blink of an eye, or, more accurately, the flash of a badge," the advertisement, which appeared in the New York Times, warned. "The forfeiture laws were designed as a new government weapon in the 'war on drugs.' But they've done little more than provide law enforcement with a license to steal." Strap-on Safe Sex Suggestion Mens News Daily columnist Denise Noe called for American teenagers to be legally allowed to buy sex toys, in May, suggesting sex aids could be valuable tools in the fight against teenage pregnancies and sexual diseases. Ms Noe also suggested strap-on dildos could be particularly effective, especially when used by girls on boys. "While it is best for adolescents to avoid any type of partnered sexual activity, the penetration of a male by a female wearing a strap-on dildo is far safer than the more usual sex acts," she pointed out. "A teen girl who possesses a strap-on may suggest to boys that they perform a sex act that is kinkier but far safer than the ones boys usually suggest to girls. Boys can be expected to differ greatly in their reactions to such suggestions. Some are certain to Just Say No. Others will enthusiastically answer, "Yes!" she predicted. Ms Noe also theorized many boys would balk at their girlfriend's requests ('however, none will get pregnant' she pointed out), presumably out of concerns at being stigmatised, though according to online strap-on site 'The Curious Couple's Guide to Strap-On Harnesses and Dildos' the most common myth- that 'a man who enjoys being anally penetrated is gay' is false. "Some gay men enjoy recipient anal intercourse; others don't. Gay men also enjoy holding hands, kissing, massage, genital fondling and oral sex, and heterosexual men don't shrink from these erotic activities," the guide points out. "Sexual orientation -- straight, gay or bisexual -- has nothing to do with the kinds of sex acts you enjoy. Heterosexual men who enjoy recipient strap-on play are not secretly gay; they are heterosexual men who enjoy adventurous sex," it adds. In more 21st century sex news, trendspotter guru Marian Salzman, who first spotted Osama Bin Laden's potential before going on to popularise the term 'metrosexual' predicted that asexuality will be the next big thing, alongside 'manorexia' (male anorexia) and mass vegetarianism. "There's a push away from intimacy, a lot of people are looking for a way to medicate their sexuality," Ms Salzman told the Independent, "Because it's too much trouble." Do Psychic Vampires Really Exist? "Yes they do. The Buddhists talk about the realm of hungry ghosts; lost souls who don't know how to access their own energy and have developed the ability to suck it from others; and they're all around you, wherever you look, no question. You can spot them easily too because you'll feel momentarily if subtly cold and frail as you pass by, look in their eyes or spend time in their company. Generally though, as long as you're sensitive enough to notice what's going on and remember to keep breathing to replenish your own energy, that should be enough to prevent any serious energy leakage. The real problem comes when you're unaware what's happening and have a pattern of attracting psychic vampires into your life (whether as friends, lovers or colleagues) and find yourself weakening as a result, through no actions of your own. The key is to avoid focusing on such people too much, and instead of confronting them, simply direct your attention towards breathing slowly and purposefully to generate more of your own energy within. You should also practise visualising yourself at the centre of a giant egg-shaped 3-D energy field that protects you from their force. This may sound ethereal but it really works. And at the same time, remain loving and warm, keep your chest relaxed and soft and repeat silently over and over, 'I wish you peace'. This is the Taoist technique of neutralising harmful energy with love and if practiced faithfully for a couple of days whenever you're in the vampire's presence, will cause a profound shift of dynamics."