Few people know the depth of our work, as it is mostly our stunts that make the news. While cruelty to animals is a serious matter that should elicit widespread public outrage, efforts to reach the public through more serious means often fall on deaf ears in a world in which sex sells and there are both a war and an economic downturn. Those of us who have worked in the field as social service staff members or humane law enforcement officers know that child abuse and animal abuse as well as battered women and battered companion animals are often found under the same roof. Forgive us our bikinis and our shock tactics, but our message that all beings — both human and nonhuman — deserve compassion and respect is one that we must work hard to make heard.

"One of my best friends since childhood suddenly started packing on the pounds, and I thought there was no way I was going to bring it up, that it was far too sensitive," says 25-year-old Jacky. When the weight gain hit 50 pounds, she broke her silence. "I thought, if I'm not going to tell her, who will? I'd want her to tell me, so I sat her down and told her I've noticed her weight gain. It was a tough conversation, but ultimately for the best."

"People come into my office and want to know how to talk to a friend about a weight problem, but are worried it will hurt their feelings or ruin the friendship," she says, adding, "But it should be addressed, and there is a way to do it right."

It wasn't until Seidman's brother, who was once also overweight, suggested he have Lap-Band surgery, after which an adjustable gastric band accelerates weight loss, that Seidman made a healthy move.

Last year in the United States a semi-nude woman painted to look like a snake protested outside an exotic leather goods store in Florida, while in Washington, bikini-clad protesters sat in cages, holding egg-shaped signs that read, "Chicks Suffer for Eggs". Then there was their internet video campaign, which featured a young women addressing Congress about animal rights - while stripping. Closer to home, the Australian pop star and actress Sophie Monk appeared naked, lying on a bed of chillies, encouraging people to "spice up your life - go vegetarian". ... [I]t is hard to understand why PETA still uses the oldest, laziest and, many would argue, most sexist trick in the book. A feminist commentator, Ann Friedman, summarises the message behind these ads: "It's OK to buck the stereotype of real men eat red meat, because here are some naked ladies to reassure you that you're still a superhetero manly man!" Indeed, the not-so-subtle message behind these ads is that animal rights are not just for those with hairy armpits and dreadlocks, but are sexy, fun and mainstream. Or it could just be, "Hey look over here! Boobies! And by the way, battery farming is bad!" But it's the last part of that message that usually gets lost, as most people tend to focus on the first half. If it did work, every 14-year-old boy in Australia would be demanding tofu for dinner.

√Are the more demanding, powerful modern women out of the "Sex and the City" playbook so intimidating and threatening that a growing number of younger men are using Viagra and similar medications to help them cope? Many therapists say it's happening -- more and more men aged 18-30 using "the little blue pill" and other drugs of its ilk to deal with performance anxiety stemming from the nature of the women they're dating. The men say today's empowered women are very vocal about what they want in terms of intimacy, creating pressure that's leading to problems in the boudoir.

Dr. Romanzi likes to call the vaginal workouts she prescribes “personal training.” Clients could also use an in-office electrostimulation machine to improve pelvic muscle tone or buy a device for home use. Dr. Romanzi said that such treatments are intended to improve bladder control; she said pelvic training may also lead to more intense orgasms. Welcome to the era of the gyno spa.

There are no medical standards for determining what constitutes normal “fitness” or how to evaluate it, said Dr. Abbey B. Berenson, a gynecologist who directs the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women’s Health at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. “If this is being recommended to women who have no symptoms, then there are no medical organizations or literature that support that that is necessary,” Dr. Berenson said.

In an industrial-chic cafe surrounded by Japanese pop art, an American woman dressed as an English maid recently served French tea in a style that was straight out of Tokyo. “If there is anything I can do to make your meal more enjoyable or delicious, please let me know immediately,” said Kat Steele, in frilly white knee-high stockings and taut pigtails, as she set down a glass pot of lemon verbena tea. Then she curtsied and pranced away. The first Japanese-style “meido kafue,” or maid cafe, to open in the United States is an odd hybrid of cultural influences, but its roots are specific. The idea came from Japanese video games where the main characters worked as maids in a restaurant. That spun off in 2002 as a Tokyo cafe where hardcore gamers and anime fans, known as “otaku,” or nerds, were doted upon by maids who called customers “master” and would even blow on food to cool it off. Soon, the Akihabara shopping district in Tokyo, where computer and comic-book stores proliferate, was awash in maid cafes, maid hair salons, even maid ear-cleaning parlors.

were so loaded with language painting [Clinton] as a 50-foot woman with a suffocating embrace, a conniving film noir dame and a victim dependent on her husband that they could easily have been listed in that Times article on sexism, right along with the comments of Chris Matthews, Mike Barnicle, Tucker Carlson or, for that matter, [William] Kristol, who made the Hall of Shame for a comment on Fox News, not for his Times work.

“I’ve been twisting gender stereotypes around for 24 years,” Dowd responded. She said nobody had objected to her use of similar images [uh, not true] about men over seven presidential campaigns. She often refers to Barack Obama as “Obambi” and has said he has a “feminine” management style. But the relentless nature of her gender-laden assault on Clinton — in 28 of 44 columns since Jan. 1— left many readers with the strong feeling that an impermissible line had been crossed, even though, as Dowd noted, she is a columnist who is paid not to be objective.

God paints the portrait of the ideal woman and he takes time to mention that she is a mother. If the secular humanist of the 21st century took his brush to paint the portrait of the thoroughly modern Millie, it would be with a cigarette dangling out of her mouth, smoke twirling out of her nostrils, language that would make a sailor blush – even Rosie O’Donnell. Her breath would smell like a brewery, a condom in one hand and the feminist manual in the other, listing the local abortion clinics to snuff out the life that was within her body. Her allegiance is always to her career. Her children are latchkey children who come home and who live alone until mother and daddy finally arrive after dark. Women can render service in many secular fields, but God says her highest and best field—in God’s opinion!—is that of being a mother. [... ] When mothers instill into their children honesty, responsibility, integrity, truth, industry, and a sense of honor, America’s future is secure. But when mothers abandon those principles, America is finished it’s over.

For a gal who's best known for her less-than-stellar brains (Chicken of the Sea, anyone?) and her ability to proportionately fill out daisy dukes, I'm gonna go on record saying that if anyone had to wear a ridiculous shirt like this, I'm glad it was Jessica—as people are more likely to follow the opposite of her lead ... ya know, since she's so well respected and all (yes, that was difficult to type without tossing in a hefty LOL). Maybe the meat-eaters of the world will be embarrassed to be categorized in the same field as Jessica Simpson.

Meat will make you fat. All the saturated fat and cholesterol in chicken wings, pork chops, and steak eventually leads to flabby thighs and love handles. I hope the upcoming "Jessica Simpson's Intimates" line comes in plus sizes! Going vegetarian is the best way to get slim and stay that way.

Alex Kozinski, chief judge of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, acknowledged in an interview with The Times that he had posted the materials, which included a photo of naked women on all fours painted to look like cows and a video of a half-dressed man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal. Some of the material was inappropriate, he conceded, although he defended other sexually explicit content as "funny."

* images of masturbation, public sex and contortionist sex; * a slide show striptease featuring a transsexual; * a folder that contained a series of photos of women's crotches as seen through snug fitting clothing or underwear; * themes of defecation and urination.

Even the perception that the judge might think women are cows -- that potentially undermines the integrity of the whole system, doesn't it? Which brings us to the broader point. Judge Kozinski's actions affect the reputation of the judiciary, on which rest foundations of the state, like public respect for the rule of law. To the extent that this public disclosure undermines public confidence in the judiciary or the rule of law, it's a very bad thing.

When officers inquired about the well-being of intern Shawn Herbold (bottom) and volunteer Thomas Olsen, a sweat-soaked Herbold replied that she was in pain and feeling nauseated from the heat after being wrapped in cellophane for 30 minutes, and also asked how much longer she needed to stay there. Byrne let her know it wouldn't be much longer and left her under the hot afternoon sun for 30 minutes more while debating with the officers.