Quirky World ... Next Dalai Lama could be a ‘very attractive’ woman
The spiritual leader said a woman could replace him, and that she would be more biologically suited to showing affection and compassion. Speaking to the BBC, the Dalai Lama recalled a comment he made to a French journalist 15 years ago. He said: “I think females should take a more important role. I told the reporter, ‘if a female Dalai Lama comes her face must be — should be — very attractive’.” When asked for clarification, he said: “When female Dalai Lama comes, then that female must be attractive, otherwise not much use.”
The Pentagon’s inspector general is investigating whether US military personnel tried to get the US government to pay them back for bills they racked up at casinos and strip clubs, by using official travel charge cards.
In May, the Pentagon watchdog reported that defence department employees had spent $952,258 at casinos and $96,576 at “adult entertainment establishments” in a year-long period.
The inspector general’s office said the Senate Armed Services Committee requested a follow-on investigation.
When supermodel, Bar Refaeli, ties the knot in a lavish, star-studded ceremony in northern Israel, the main drama could play out in the skies overhead.
Hoping to avoid the peeping gaze of paparazzi, Refaeli and her fiance, Adi Ezra, asked Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority to shut down the airspace above the wedding. Citing safety concerns over potentially congested airspace, the authority agreed.
That sparked an angry retort from Israeli transportation minister, Yisrael Katz, who said “the skies belong to the entire public and exclusivity cannot be granted for commercial reasons for high-profile people”.
After reports that flights would still be restricted, Mr Katz delivered a scathing note to the authority’s director, saying “if the skies above Bar Refaeli’s wedding won’t be open, you will be removed from your post”.
Twitter is giving Strictly Come Dancing fans the chance to further embrace their inner judge, by launching a range of Strictly emojis. The new emojis are scoring paddles, modelled on those used during the shows. Fans can score their favourite act on Twitter by using #strictly with the number they want to score (eg #strictly7) and the emoji will appear.
Strictly judge, Craig Revel Horwood, said: “I love the idea that people at home will be tweeting their own scores with these very funky, mini scoring paddles.”
Batman will not have to worry about Batmobile knock-offs, after a US federal appeals court ruled that the caped crusader’s vehicle is entitled to copyright protection.
The Batmobile’s bat-like, distinctive appearance and attributes, including its hi-tech weaponry, make it a character that cannot be replicated without permission from the copyright holder, DC Comics, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals said.
“As Batman so sagely told Robin, ‘In our well-ordered society, protection of private property is essential’,” Judge Sandra Ikuta wrote for the three-judge panel.
The ruling came in DC Comics’s lawsuit against Mark Towle, who produced replicas of the Batmobile, as it appeared in the 1966 television show and the 1989 film.
Towle sold the cars at his southern California business for $90,000 each.
