In the News Update: The UN took Door Number Three ... the cloning issue was punted for a couple years. As to partial birth abortion, a major abortion provider was given a temporary restraining order by a NY federal district judge, which makes two in what is likely to be numerous ones of the kind. Of interest in the ruling is a statement by the government that Congress did not suggest there is no medical debate on the "health" need of the banned procedure. This is important because it read the Stenberg v Carhart ruling that overturned a state law to mean that serious debate in the medical community that the procedure was less risky was all that was necessary for it to be constitutionally required as an option.

Also, there was an article about the use of lingerie in France, which noted: "Lingerie is so important to a French woman's sexual self-esteem, it seems, that only 3 percent of French women believe they are seductive in the nude." Amusing, but actually it is a generally accepted concept -- nudity per se is not as seductive as clothes that hint but don't totally expose sexuality. It is because certain body parts are hidden that makes them so sexual. The seductive nature of breasts in a society in which they are always exposed is likely to be low. Also, the normal person has flaws, and just laying them all out is not really that sexy in many cases. This means even a little bit of fabric can lead to a more sexual result than total nudity.

Thinking about presents for the holidays? I got an advertisement in the mail that suggests tooth whitening would be an excellent Christmas present. I think not ... the guys I know do not care that much about their teeth and the women might should be a tad insulted if I implied that they needed it. Some ideas (since, like it or not, the time is approaching): money boxes or trees (I got one for my nephew last year ... little kids love money), food (early on, my mom just loved English Toffee, as did the rest of us who sampled it; my sisters like coffees and teas), gift cards or certificates (boring, but some people are too hard to buy for or even like them), books (excellent, including those cute bears, some of which have chocolate in their backpacks), cute catalogue thingies (catalog shoppers know of what I speak), and calendars (loads of themes, including the small desktop daily ones ... for instance, each day I have a For Better or For Worse cartoon to read).

btw I'm getting a bit tired at the continuing sense of anomie on West Wing. It's getting boring and truly depressing. Yes, it is honest and accurate in the wake of the kidnapping of the President's daughter and the "lame duck" blues, but it has to be laid on a tad less thick. Please.