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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

A sex strike halted a feud, but don’t try this at home

Women halted a war between two clans by withholding sex, it was reported last week. A group of wives realized that a violent feud was blocking the road to the village of Dadi in Magindanao, the Philippines.

So they made an ultimatum: no cuddles or related activities would be allowed until the feud stopped. The women, mainly seamstresses, were worried about getting their goods to the market.

The men, aghast, got no sympathy, even from religious leaders. Alim Basher, chairman of the Imam Council of the Philippines, said that despite the ‘duty’ that Islamic spouses had to each other, he saw nothing wrong with the women’s withdrawal of services in that particular area.

A week after the strike began, peace reigned in the district, GMA News TV reported. I’m amazed the guys even lasted seven days.

Having said that, I have to admit that the guys at my local coffee shop were far less impressed with the story than I was. One long-married gentleman, formerly from the disciplined services, said: "If my wife went on a sex strike, it would be months before I even noticed."

It takes all sorts to make a world. The exchange reminded me of a sympathy visit I made to a friend whose wife and children had left him two weeks earlier. "You must miss them terribly," I said. "No," he replied, as we tried in vain to get the washing machine working. "I miss the maid."
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A MAN ROBBED the same bank three days in a row, police in New York reported last week. I wonder how the tellers greeted him? "Hello again. The usual?" Usually, I’m anti rather than pro-crime, but I must admit, this admirable guy deserves some sort of chutzpah award.
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EVERY DOG has his day. Qianxi township in China’s Zhejiang province just canceled a dog-eating festival which had been celebrated every October for 600 years. In related news, thousands of cats carrying suitcases jammed the platform of the last train out of town.
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SCOTSWOMAN Debbie McCann had a stroke and woke up with a Chinese accent, the press reported last week. Now she’s developed an Italian twang. She needs to change her name to something Sino-Italian. Best suggestion so far: Chu Sum Pizza.
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GREETING CARD company Hallmark last week launched a line of "sorry you lost your job" cards for people sacked in the financial downturn. I think folk worrying about how to buy food for their kids are going to be SO thrilled that their family members are sending them US$3.49 cards instead of cash.
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EAGLE-EYED readers inform me that Mainland China has a brand of toilet paper named "Uranus". I don’t make this stuff up, you know.
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Courtesy: www.mrjam.org