Do it now and apologise later

Apology: It is seldom that a politician apologises for his misdemeanours. Particularly if it is to do with philandering- and to his wife at that.

But this is what former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berluscorny did, making a clean breast of it all after charges that he was 'chatting up' voluptuous TV presenter Aida Yespica. Presidents and politicians for that matter are not above board in fidelity matters.

Former President Francois Mitterand allegedly had a mistress while serving as Head of State. But this did not preclude voters from returning him to office for a second term.

There was also the famous case of Conservative British MP Cecil Parkinson's armours escapades but was treated indulgently by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

This is of course in the permissive West where a great deal of leeway is accorded to promiscuous living. If not, former President Bill Clinton would have been out on his ear following impeachment proceedings into his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

But rarely have culprits been forthcoming and apologies made and perhaps the Ex-Italian Premier may have set a trend particularly if politicians are sure the public would overlook their extra marital affairs.

This of course is strictly in the West. However the Sri Lankan political landscape too is not immune to secret liaisons. There was the famous case of a well known woman politico in the late fifties whose shenanigans was even linked to the assassination of the country's Prime Minister at the time.

The matter was the cause of a huge public scandal at the time in a milieu of a cultural renaissance unlike the Western examples.

The Berluscorny affaire may have likely set a trend which on the long run could lead to a cut down in the divorce rate. Courts in the West are bound to cite the domestic reconciliation of the former first family of Italy and request lesser minions to follow suit.

Originating from a Roman Catholic country the Burloscorny apology would also receive the blessings of the Vatican which is on a relentless battle against divorce among its flock.

By extension The Burloscorny doctrine could also spread the message of brotherhood, domestic harmony and peaceful resolution of conflict which world is mired in at present since it is said that "from small acorns do big oaks grow".

On the flip side there will be the Women's Lib campaigners who would blame the former first lady of Italy for taking it all lying down. They would enjoin spouses to politicians to rein in their men rather than display their weakness by apologising.

On the other hand the Burloscorny method could also give politicians carte blanche to give vent to their robust libidos acting on the premise of "Do it now and apologise later".

The Ex-Italian PM may well turn out to be the darling of many a philanderer strutting the world political stage.

- Rambler

Two pigs 'tie the knot' in Taiwan

MARRIAGE: Two pigs wearing tailor-made wedding outfits "tied the knot" Monday in a ceremony attracting hundreds of well-wishers at a small town in northeastern Taiwan.

The "bridegroom," an 18-kilogramme (40 pound) boar, and his "bride," an 11-kilogramme pig, were wed in a lavish ceremony presided over by local magistrate Lu Kuo-hwa.

Farm in Ilan

"They will live happily ever after," said Hsu Wen-chuan, owner of the farm in Ilan where the boar has been raised since its birth in December 2005. The "couple" received blessings from the father of a nearby Catholic Church and around 400 well-wishers.

Handicapped children

Each well-wisher gave a gift of 100 Taiwan dollars (3 US) in cash, and all the money raised will be used to help purchase a new van for a church-affiliated house for handicapped children, Hsu said.

The charity event attracted attention here as people in Taiwan are ready to welcome the Year of Pig which begins on February 18.

The new lunar year comes after the Year of Dog in the 12-animal cycle adopted in East Asian astrology.

AFP

Gravity-resisting Wonder Spot disappears

LAKE DELTON: After more than half a century of impressing tourists, the Wonder Spot, a mysterious cabin where people cannot stand up straight, water runs uphill and chairs balance on two legs, is no more.

Owner Bill Carney has sold the iconic attraction to the village of Lake Delton for $300,000 (euro232,000). The village wants to build a road through the place where the Wonder Spot has stood since the 1950s.

"We're kind of wondering how the town is going to deal with the gravitational forces under the road," joked Doug Kirby, publisher of RoadsideAmerica.com, which catalogs odd tourist attractions.

Kirby's site lists the Wonder Spot as one of 21 so-called "mystery spots," also called "gravity vortexes." The story behind each one is similar - gravity doesn't work in them. People seem to grow smaller, can't stand up straight and can barely walk.

Promotions boast that strange forces in the spots trump the laws of physics. Others say they're just elaborate hoaxes.

"It seems like to spend a lot of scientific effort to debunk these places you're just sucking the fun out of a tourist attraction a lot of people enjoy," Kirby said.

The Wonder Spot lies just off U.S. Highway 12, a corridor packed with water parks, giant resorts, museums, hotels and restaurants. In many ways, the Wonder Spot is the antithesis of those giant parks.

Louis Dauterman took out the first permit for the spot in 1952, making it the longest-permitted attraction in the area, said Romy Snyder, executive director of the Wisconsin Dells Visitors and Convention Bureau. The spot itself is a plain, worn gift shop at the top of a ravine and a crooked cabin built into the slope.

According to a sign proudly placed at the base of the ravine, the

Wonder Spot was discovered June 16, 1948. People who enter the spot, the sign warns, won't see correctly, stand erect "or feel quite normal ... in fact, on the cabin site the laws of natural gravity seem to be repealed."

Generations of people have stopped to see it. Children who visited would return grown up, their own children in tow. During the mid-1990s, Carney saw up to 50,000 people per summer.

When people asked what caused the Wonder Spot, Carney's guides blamed it on igneous rock or simply replied they didn't know. He's seen people at the spot studying it with instruments who declared a force was at work. When pressed, though, Carney said it's all an optical illusion.

"We said don't try to figure it out," Carney said. "Just have fun."

AP