Some more findings from the Hatim file:

Did you know that Forbes tracks the top earning dead-celebrities?

There are so many things wrong with this… a) the fact that a list of dead peoples’ earnings even exists, b) James Dean lived for a shorter time than I (he was 24 when he died), has been dead for almost a lifetime (59 years) and *still* earns more than I ever will, c) the author of one of the dumbest comics of all time is a regular on this list (come on, have you *ever* laughed at a Peanuts cartoon??)

2 articles from the July 21st issue of the China Daily:

1. A special training course requiring its male participants to wear only underpants and females underpants and bras as they walk in public is sparking controversy among locals in the city of Huizhou, Guangdong Province. The trainers said the goal is to get participants, especially young people, to be gutsier and improve their teamwork. But many local residents argued that the special training insulted the participants.
2. True love: A motorist threatened to kill himself in front of his girlfriend by lying on a road. Fortunately, the first vehicle passing the spot was an ambulance. The 27 year old man, surnamed Chan, was driving his girlfriend home at about 2:40am on Sunday. A quarrel led to the girlfriend’s declaring she wanted to break up with him. Agitated, Chan stopped the car on a road in Mid-Level, Hong Kong. He lay on the road, ignoring his girlfriend’s pleas. The driver of a passing ambulance thought there had been an accident and got out to help. Police arrived at the scene and made Chan leave.
   • It is not known whether Chan and his girlfriend went home alone or separately…

Here is a news report seen by Hatim while in Australia (of all places):

The punch lines that people from across the net have come up with are hilarious…

• If Fjuckby gets its way it is conceivable that Anusviken, Arslet and Dicken may be next in line for a swift reversal of misfortune. Source.
• Suddenly the fashion house FCUK doesn’t seem so clever. Source.
• The journalist wonders what will happen if they succeed: what about the inhabitants of “Bögholmen” (Bugger’s Island), “Brittas Hål” (Britta’s Hole) and “Snålkuk” (Stingy Cock). Can’t they, too, complain that their names provoke “mirth, derision, and ridicule” among strangers, as the eleven upright men of Fjuckby have done? Source.
• The government office responsible for handling the matter suggests their chances, however, are not so good: town names are rarely changed in Sweden. They did change the name of Krakanger in the 1950s: fair enough, too, as the name translates to mean “vomit regret.” A real “morning after” town. Source.
• Should “What the Juck?” be the catch phrase for 2007? Source.
• We don’t think this news will be well received in the Austrian village of Fucking. In 2004, the residents voted defiantly to keep their name, despite carloads of sniggering Brits nicking their roadsigns. Source.