Police here say they're about to publish a guide to help those so seeking to find safe sex and drugs, just in time for peak tourist season. It will be written in English and called Police Red Light Guide, written by 12-year vice veteran Wim Schild. It's said to be giving pointers to tourists seeking to avail themselves of Amsterdam's very permissive prostitution and drug policies. Schild warns tourists to avoid street dealers and buy their hash and marijuana at "hash shops" regulated by Amsterdam's government. And, if you're planning to eat lots of space cakes (cookies made with marijuana or hash), drink lots of sweet drinks, the guide says. Regarding the ladies of the evening, "(p)ay particular attention to the places you enter," the guide continues. "Lots of tourists are taken by surprise when the lady... turns out to be a gent."
BUCHAREST - How do you make Playboy blush? Easy: let its Romanian edition hit the stands on April Fool's Day with a joke that backfires in mega-tonnage. An article called "How To Beat Your Wife... Without Leaving Marks On Her Body" meant as a gag ended up gagging Playboy Enterprises CEO Christie Hefner with a spoon. It's one thing for Playboy Romania to be a new international edition, but it's something else again for a "profound lapse in judgment" like this, Hefner fumed, after reprimanding the edition's editor in chief, deputy editor in chief, and the article's author. An apology is coming in the May edition of the magazine. Not that the Romanian edition is exactly virgin territory for controversy - the December 1999 issue paid Romanian gymnast Corina Ungureanu bonus money owed her by the Romanian Gymnastic Federation, while the group called the gymnast's bare behavior in the January edition unethical.
CLEVELAND - Score another one for the Nanny State: All it took was a newspaper calling its Website porn for Shoptalk Lingerie ads on public buses to be covered up where they direct you to the site. The company sells erotic apparel in two suburban Cleveland stores. The ads featured their logo, a pair of red lips, and a slogan "Where Fun & Fantasy Begin." Harmless, no? Well, the Website it advertised has a home page showing partly nude ladies in lingerie with slightly blurred body parts and adult disclaimers. The Regional Transit Authority ordered the coverups after the Cleveland Plain Dealer told it the site was pornographic. Shoptalk said the Website has been revamped to just advertise what they sell: "It's very nonpornographic."
--- Compiled by Humphrey Pennyworth
