For $10, Women Can Now Pee Standing Up

'Baad' is illegal, but prevalent in lawless regions

(NEWSER) - When she was 8 years old, Shakila was abducted by men with AK-47s, who beat her, starved her, put her to work, and intended to force her to bear children. Why? Because her uncle had run off with the wife of a local strongman, and that strongman had demanded payment. Handing over girls into de facto slavery, a practice known as "baad," is technically illegal in Afghanistan, but it's still widely used as a way to resolve disputes between families, in part because people avoid corrupt official courts, the New York Times reports. More»

Photoshopped models would require disclaimer

(NEWSER) - If you're going to airbrush a woman in an ad, you must include a disclaimer exposing the wrinkle-hiding, curve-thinning lie—at least if an Arizona lawmaker gets her way. The proposed bill seeks to make it illegal in the state for advertisers to enhance a photograph without attaching a note that reads: "Postproduction techniques were made to alter the appearance in this advertisement. When using this product, similar results may not be achieved," reports the Arizona Republic . More»

BelleMode makes conflict hot

(NEWSER) - Get ready for the fireworks. An Israeli fashion magazine is adding steamy scenes to the ongoing clashes between women in Israel and ultra-Orthodox Jews who have been harassing them to dress more modestly and move to the back of buses in Israel. In the BelleMode spread, ultra-hot young male models dressed as Haredim lust after women on a bus dressed in sort-of Orthodox female garb (except that at least one skirt and shirt are transparent). The mag is bound to enrage the ultra-Orthodox male community whose influence in Israel is growing as they pressure mainstream Israelis to conform to their religious views. More»

Experts offer healthy dose of skepticism

(NEWSER) - After Facebook's IPO filing on Wednesday, analysts are abuzz over a suggested $75 billion to $100 billion valuation. If the social network is to live up to the hype, it'll have to be "the next Google—or better," experts tell MSNBC . Opinions from around the web:

• Sure, 845 million active monthly users and $3 billion in yearly revenue is nothing to sniff at. But a $75 billion valuation would make Facebook worth 40% of Google, whose profits are 11 times the social network's—whose growth may already be slowing, MSNBC notes.

... or so says a British survey

(NEWSER) - Women dish out 474 lies a year to themselves and others about their diet, according to a new survey. That works out to about nine per week. The single most popular fib? "It was only a small portion." Next up are, "I'll have a big lunch so I won't eat much after this," and "I only treat myself once in a while," reports the Telegraph . It's not exactly a scientific study: Timex surveyed 3,000 women in Britain to promote a Health Tracker watch, notes the Toronto Star . (Go there for the full top 10 on the list.) The foods most likely to trigger a lie were chocolate, potato chips, cake, wine, and cheese. More»