The World
Be Careful: A Little Dab'll Do Ya
Like pols everywhere, parliament members in Italy can't pass up a chance to be on TV. So, the satirical show Le Iene ("The Hyenas") found ready suckers for its scam. A faux makeup artist dabbed the sweat off the brow of a lawmaker as he prepared to be interviewed about the budget. In all, 50 lawmakers-and 50 traces of perspiration sent off to be tested for evidence of drug use within the previous 36 hours. Results: 12 positives for cannabis, four for cocaine. Although individual identities were not revealed, Italy's privacy commission blocked broadcast of the show as violating the privacy rights of the parliamentarians. The exposÃÂÃÂÃÂé was meant to highlight legislative hypocrisy after the parliament earlier this year toughened Italy's drug laws.
China Gets Hip but Not Hip Hop
Three years ago, China's Communist authorities repackaged the revered slogans of the late Mao Zedong for today's hip youth culture by putting his words to music in a rap album. Really. But this kind of cultural revolution has its limits. Beijing's Culture Ministry last week put the kibosh on a planned Shanghai concert October 23 headlined by hot American rapper Jay-Z. Authorities found his lyrics too "vulgar" for Chinese sensibilities. Better, presumably, to listen to the rap version of Mao's "Two Musts"-which are (if you need to be told) "to preserve modesty and prudence" and "to preserve the style of plain living and hard struggle." Can't beat the classics.
With Associated Press
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