Be careful what you wear in south Sudan ladies, it might get you arrested. I wonder whether the women in that story were wearing pants like these. Probably not.

Anyway, it seems like I run across articles like this once a week. From "modesty patrols" in Israel ... to what the Taliban was doing during its reign in Afghanistan ... to why women in Saudi Arabia love Oprah.

Crazy that women in the world still have to deal with this sort of stuff. And by crazy, I mean really troubling. ... And ironic, after all, Tzipi Livni is about to be Israel's prime minister. 

Have you been paying attention to politics? Because I sure have. We've got a month to go. Here's some of what's out there:

*Been busy this week over at the mothership. You've got to see this in print. Your boy Gooch made the Sunday paper look better than most monthly magazines. I see you, big fella.

*Like politics? I bust on both sides every week here.

Everybody has different motivation for losing some weight, as my incredibly hot personal trainer of a wife can tell you, but this was extreme by any measure.

*A guy says his rectum was stapled shut by a doctor. No shit.

*If you go to show a police officer some love, you had better be sure it's OK to do so, otherwise you could end up catching an assault case. Especially if you're drunk. Better yet, here's a good rule: Don't hug a cop you don't have a pre-existing relationship with. Matter of fact, don't hug anybody you don't have a pre-existing relationship with. Especially if you're drunk.

This dude owes $2 million in traffic fines. The funny part is they impounded the car like that $6,000 is going to put a dent in that fine.

*Paul Newman has died. He was 83. My favorites were "Cool Hand Luke" and "The Hustler." I'm sure Gooch will give you a full obit. Till then, here's what Newman's peers had to say.

*A Chinese three-man crew has completed a space walk, the nation's first.

Peta wants Ben and Jerry's to make breast milk ice cream. Stupid. Peta must not want any mainstream support. Like a friend of mine said: "Where are they going to get the women?"

*This guy caught a case for farting then fanning it at a cop. OK how bad must that have smelled that he was charged with a crime ... well, according to the top of page 3 of the criminal complaint, "very odorous" and "insulting." 

*Say what you want about our campaign, at least nobody has died.

Lindsay decides it's time to come on out. Clay, too.

*These folks lost their jobs, and rather than brush off the setback and go get new ones, they killed their boss.

I'll tell you what: I plan to be a big-shot exec one day soon -- partly because I want to be so rich that I can blow my nose on people's shirts while they're still wearing them (and if you take a joke like that seriously, "Hi, Hater." Now, please go read something else). And I see this incident for what it is: an indication of the stress that goes along with such a job. Much responsibility, much required and all that.

A comic in Italy almost caught a case for insulting the pope.

But just think about that for a second, though. She said the pope was going to Hell. And she said it in Italy. She is hard to the core raw like "Reservoir Dogs." She's almost as tough as my wife's baked chicken. Almost.

(And somebody remind Pam and Gooch that nobody likes tattle-tales.)

I don't know whether a desk like this would have helped or harmed my ability to concentrate in class.

*As if trying to survive Hurricane Ike wasn't bad enough, how about trying to survive Hurricane Ike with a lion.

*In a relationship? Just dating? Thinking about it? Here's how your brain keeps you from cheating. THR_AT ... LO_AL ... CR_ZY.

Yep, your little sister's favorite video show is entering its final countdown. This might surprise none of you, but I never watched TRL.

Not a whole episode, anyway. I saw enough of it to know that the show was more about itself than the music -- just like its network. And the videos that made the countdown were more pop than a bowl of Rice Krispies. (By the way, word on the street is that a certain Ink blogger makes bomb Rice Krispie treats.) 

But I never liked that type of music. NSync, Backstreet, Britney ... you'd never find me listening to any of their stuff by choice -- more like I'd be at the mall or the gym and it would come on. I mean, I understand what people like about it, and some of it wasn't completely terrible.

An MMA fighter has died.

Also, I mention this fight in my Sports Guy column tomorrow.

Sumo vs. Tae Kwon Do: