Eideard

Natalia Avseenko, 36, was persuaded to strip naked as marine experts believe belugas do not like to be touched by artificial materials such as diving suits.

The skilled Russian diver took the plunge as the water temperature hit a freezing minus 1.5C…

Belugas have a small hump on their heads used for echo-location and it was thought that there would be more chance of striking up a rapport with them without clothes as a barrier.

The average human could die if left in sub-zero temperature sea water for just five minutes.

But Natalia is a yoga expert and used meditation techniques to hold her breath and stay under water for an incredible 10 minutes and 40 seconds.

The article mentions that Natalia stripped naked. It also mentions that she remains under subfreezing water for over ten minutes. So.. of course.. the part we remember is that she is naked.

Daylife/Getty Images used by permission

PJ Crowley, the official spokesman at the state department, has fallen on his sword after calling the treatment of Bradley Manning, the alleged source of the WikiLeaks files, “counterproductive and stupid”.

The resignation followed Crowley’s remarks to an MIT seminar last week about Manning’s treatment in military prison.

Crowley had said: “What is being done to Bradley Manning is ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid on the part of the department of defence.”

The remarks forced President Obama to address for the first time the issue of Manning’s handling at Quantico marine base in Virginia. Obama defended the way Manning is being treated, saying he had been reassured by the Pentagon that his confinement was appropriate.

In a resignation letter, Crowley said he took full responsibility for his remarks. Though he attacked the leaking of classified information, which he called “a serious crime under US law”, he stood by his earlier criticism of the Pentagon.

In words that could cause further difficulty for Obama, Crowley said his comments “were intended to highlight the broader, even strategic impact of discreet actions undertaken by national security agencies every day and their impact on our global standing and leadership. The exercise of power in today’s challenging times and relentless media environment must be prudent and consistent with our laws and values.”

Obama promised transparency, adherence to the standards of the Geneva Code, bring our government up to the standards of our own constitutional and libertarian history. That has not happened.

Crowley simply stuck to the principles our elected officials said they stood for – and obviously don’t.

Ooh! That has to leave a mark

Zak Anthony King, 18, refused to stop when ordered to do so by police who spotted him on his liberal morning run.

When he began to outpace the sweating officers in West Melbourne, Florida, one threatened him with the Taser, which delivers an electric shock powerful enough to temporarily paralyse.

Within a fraction of a second of the barbs hitting his bottom, Mr King collapsed and was arrested, while cameras in a police car and on the immobiliser captured the moment.

The cameras also recorded sound and one officer can be heard reliving the incident only moments before, saying: “I’m like, ‘Don’t run, I’m gonna Tase you!’ So what does he do? He just keeps running.”

Mr King is suspected to have been drunk. He told the officers he had “super powers”.

Maybe his “super powers” don’t work when he isn’t wearing his cape? Or much else?

Police have been criticised for refusing to arrest a man who harasses motorists in a lay-by wearing nothing but a yellow hard hat.

The man, labelled “naked Bob the Builder”, is a familiar sight at the Hog’s Back lay-by in Puttenham, near Guildford, Surrey – a popular location for “doggers”, people who take part in outdoor sexual encounters.

Earlier this year it was disclosed that police spent £124.93 on tea, coffee and biscuits for sexual adventurers at the site in an attempt to “build up trust” and encourage them to report “hate crimes”.

Yesterday it was reported that the unnamed hard hat wearer was questioned by police at the scene, but was not arrested and was soon back at the lay-by.

He had been reported for indecent exposure by a motorist, who was approached when he pulled over to get a bite to eat at the Hog’s Back Cafe. The man said he called police after the hard hat man started rubbing himself on his car window. The man, who did not want to be named, said: “I got out of the car, phoned the police and waited for them. I told them, I’m definitely giving a statement, I want this man done…

A spokesman for Surrey police said: “A statement will be taken from the victim as part of the ongoing investigation.” Insp Tim Shaw added: It is vitally important that any offences of anti-social behaviour in the area of the Hog’s Back lay-by are reported to police as soon as possible.

“This will allow an appropriate response to be provided to capture and secure evidence.”

Har! Seems to me if you capture and secure the flasher you don’t need much more.

Here in New Mexico, we have several cultural specialties. One is driving while drunk. We have folks here who will consume enough booze to be incapable of walking. Which is why they drive instead.

But, the number of incredible decisions arrived at by New Mexico boozers must set the standard for world-class drunks. For example -

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — A 47-year-old man’s friends set his prosthetic leg on fire after he lost a drinking bet, causing him to suffer severe burns to his buttocks and lower back.

Dona Ana County sheriff’s deputies found the man naked on the side of U.S. Route 70 with his prosthetic leg in flames. Deputies learned that the man and his friends were drinking…and bet that whoever drank the least would be set on fire.

The man told investigators that at six beers, he drank the least, and agreed to let his friends set him on fire.

He said his friends ignited his prosthetic leg, and the flames spread to his body.

The sheriff’s office said the man took his clothes off because of the pain and his friends decided to take him to the hospital. But they got nervous and instead dropped him off on the side of the highway.

UPDATE: Police are now looking for the “victim”. Turns out he set himself on fire – with his crack pipe!

Or you can spend the weekend staring at a 42-foot long Roadrunner

A naked man found wedged in the chimney of a Lancashire supermarket has been arrested for burglary.

Police officers discovered him trapped in a chimney breast of a Tesco Express store in Pemberton, Wigan, reports the BBC…

Police said that because the man was naked he was taken to hospital as a precaution but was treated and discharged before being arrested.

A GMP spokeswoman said: “It is believed some his clothes came off as a result of him struggling to get out of the chimney.”

A 22-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of burglary and remains in police custody.

Sounds about right to me. He’d qualify for dumb crook of the day – except his plight is pretty common.

No one ever said crooks were especially bright.

Police officer covers Pitmon after arresting him

An angry, naked man hijacked a school bus of teenage students in Atlanta, driving it for less than a mile before it struck a wall off the road, police said.

Police said the man, 23-year-old Arris Pitmon, hoisted himself through an open window while the bus was stopped to let students disembark.

Police said students reported Pitmon seized control of the bus as the frightened driver ran to the back of the vehicle. While the bus was moving, the man abandoned the steering wheel and walked toward the back of the bus as well.

A student then moved toward the steering while, leading Pitmon to fight the student, CNN said. The driverless bus moved along the street until it left the roadway and crashed.

Students escaped, many using the emergency exit at the back of the bus, police said. Onlookers subdued the man until police arrived.

Are there more than a couple choices for motivation here?

Either the guy is a loonybird or he was chemically-stoned out of his mind.

BTW – witnesses said he wasn’t entirely naked. He was wearing a condom.

Obviously – it worked

Farmers in an eastern Indian state have asked their unmarried daughters to plow parched fields naked in a bid to embarrass the weather gods to bring some badly needed monsoon rain, officials said on Thursday.

Witnesses said the naked girls in Bihar state plowed the fields and chanted ancient hymns after sunset to invoke the gods. They said elderly village women helped the girls drag the plows.

“They (villagers) believe their acts would get the weather gods badly embarrassed, who in turn would ensure bumper crops by sending rains,” Upendra Kumar, a village council official, said from Bihar’s remote Banke Bazaar town.

“This is the most trusted social custom in the area and the villagers have vowed to continue this practice until it rains very heavily.”

India this year suffered its worst start to the vital monsoon rains in eight decades, causing drought in some states.

Something interesting had to come from climate change. South of Greenland.

Canadian police are on the search for a brazen thief who snatched a take-away meal while making a naked run past a fast food restaurant’s drive-though window.

An employee of a Langley, British Columbia, Wendy’s restaurant was handing food to a customer waiting in her car when a naked man ran between them, taking off with her fries, and leaving little evidence behind, according to police.

“Other than an age range, neither woman could provide further description,” police said in a press release.

The man, believed to be in his 20s, jumped into a waiting van, which sped away from the scene during the weekend incident, police said.

Har! Neither woman got a look at his face.

Daylife/Getty Images used by permission

Maybe it was the giant revolving model of a woman’s legs and lower torso, clad only in an unflattering crimson thong, or perhaps it was the oversized replica of a set of genitals. Either way, many residents in the south-west city of Chongqing are not happy about the development of China’s first sex theme park, which has been described as “vulgar” and inappropriate.

The park manager, Lu Xiaoqing, who was inspired by South Korea’s popular sex theme park in Jeju, says that Love Land, due to open in October, will improve sex education and help adults enjoy a harmonious sex life. Inside, visitors will be able to view naked human sculptures, giant replicas of genitals and an exhibition about the history of sex and sexual practices in other countries.

The park will also offer sex technique workshops and advise on anti-Aids measures and using condoms properly…

“We are building the park for the good of the public. I have found that the majority of people support my idea, but I have to pay attention and not make the park look vulgar and nasty…”

Li said that while disapproval of sex stemmed from religion in the west, in China it was largely rooted in a traditional focus on the family instead of individual enjoyment – leading people to deplore premarital and extramarital sex.

I can see the “family values” crowd sending a delegation from Colorado Springs to picket ASAP.

UPDATED: Oops! Local authorities shut it down.