TresSugar

Berlusconi's Mistress Tells Us More Than We Need to Know

TresSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:30:23 -0800

Italians really take their sex scandals to the next level. Today, Patrizia D'Addario, former call girl mistress to Italy's "I'm no saint" prime minister, adds a "lesbian dimension" to her tale of sex, power, and retaliation.

Patrizia has a book coming out and excerpts reveal that she has been the target of threats, robbery, and violence after going public about her affair with Silvio Berlusconi. But that's not stopping her. Describing a party held at Berlusconi's home, Patrizia shares the prime minister's preference for white silk pajamas and women who like other women. To see an excerpt, read more.

Patrizia writes:

"Other girls arrived, including a pair of lesbians, and a few other escorts. . . My first thought was that I'd found myself in a harem. He was on the couch and all of us, 20 girls in all, were at his disposition."

While the presence of lesbians probably seems relatively inconsequential, it might upset Italian citizens who were otherwise willing to dismiss heterosexual escapades. And as the Guardian reports, Berlusconi can say good-bye to a recent break from bad press: "The publication of D'Addario's book will divert public attention back to the affair after a period in which the focus had been on another sex scandal involving the former center-left governor of the region around Rome. Piero Marrazzo resigned after being filmed taking drugs and having sex with a transsexual." Mama mia.

Grab Bag! Kristen Stewart is Queen of the Alt Teens

TresSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:30:22 -0800

Kristen Stewart and the history of misfit teen idols. - DoubleX
Pine-Sol hopes that men doing housework turns women on. - Em & Lo
The coolest new vibrator. - Glamour
Four breakup warning signs. - Your Tango
An openly gay Republican has been picked as a GOP gubernatorial candidate's running mate. - Huffington Post
A curious little boy sees a lobster for the first time. Cuteness ensues. - LilSugar

Speed Read! American Music Awards Go Gaga

TresSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:30:11 -0800

Didn't catch the AMAs? Here are the top 10 moments from last night's show. - BuzzSugar
Couple arrested for not paying 18 percent gratuity ($16 bucks) added to dinner bill.- Lemondrop
London thinks New York City has lost its edge. - The Frisky
The US Postal Service is canceling its letters to Santa program because one of the "Santas" was a registered sex offender. - Videogum
New Moon brought in $140.7 million this weekend. - PopSugar
Katie Couric is not immune to embarrassing Facebook photos. - Gawker
Michael Jackson's rhinestone-encrusted glove goes for $350,000 at auction. - The Daily Beast
Public support for marijuana legalization is on the rise. - Washington Post

Oh Snap! Her Life's Like a Soap Opera

TresSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Afghan actress Trena Amiri films a scene for the soap opera Love and Old Age in Kabul. Trena, who is divorced and rarely sees her three children according to Afghanistan's custody laws, tries to be discreet about her career because many people are critical of her lifestyle.

View 5 Photos ›

Real or Fake? Headlines of the Week

TresSugar — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:00:07 -0800

News can get pretty weird. Our Stranger Than Fiction feature covers a lot of it, but there's much more useless information to know. I've gathered some of this week's most bizarre headlines and mixed in some made-up ones. See if you can spot the real from the fake.

Take the quiz

Très Trivia! Are You in the Know?

TresSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00:38 -0800

This week China welcomed Barack Obama to town by selling random things with the president's face on it. Do you know what other stories lit up the headlines?

Take the quiz

Grab Bag! Problems in Your Relationship? Just Do Lunch!

TresSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:00:18 -0800

Lunch dates might be the key to a happy relationship. - Glamour
How long do men think sex should last? - Em & Lo
Today is the 11th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. - Feministing
Police ticket underage kid for holding a beer in a Facebook picture. - The Awl
Pride and Prejudice would be much better with a 20-page sex scene. - Jezebel
Should posting an inappropriate comment on the Internet get you fired? - GeekSugar
And here are some cats sitting like humans. - Urlesque

Doctors Tell Women to Ditch Annual Pap Test

TresSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:00:42 -0800

There may be no need to feel guilty about putting off your annual trip to the gynecologist anymore! New guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists assert that healthy women should not get cervical cancer screening pap tests every year. Instead they encourage women to get the screening every two to three years. The medical group also recommends against getting a pap test until after the age of 21, even if an adolescent is sexually active.

The new recommendations against annual cervical cancer screenings are not intended to save you embarrassment or discomfort - they're meant to prevent unnecessary and possibly harmful treatments. For example, treatment of precancerous HPV symptoms that would otherwise go away on their own puts women at a higher risk of giving birth to a premature or underweight baby. Still, cervical cancer rates have dropped 50 percent since the 1970s mostly thanks to the pap test, so I hope the doctors aren't trying to fix something that isn't broken. But the authors of the guidelines explain that the same results can be accomplished with less-regular screenings.

I'll admit the idea that less screening can be better for your sexual health seems counterintuitive. Will you stick to your annual pap test or do you welcome a chance to get one less frequently?

Abortion Coverage: Missing What Many Never Knew They Had

TresSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:00:03 -0800

One of the most convincing arguments for passing the public health plan without abortion coverage is that very few women use insurance to cover abortions to begin with. But if you've heard the statistic that only 13 percent of abortions are billed to insurers, that's not exactly the whole truth.

The Guttmacher Institute, the pro-choice organization responsible for the study the stats were pulled from, contests the 13 percent statistic has been taken out of context and widely used through the media - like, say, in the Wall Street Journal article we linked to yesterday.

While the study does say only 13 percent of first-term abortions are billed to private insurers, that figure is skewed because it looked at all women who had abortions and not just those who had insurance. You can't bill an insurer if you don't have one! The study also did not include women who paid for abortions up front and were later reimbursed.

So what's a realistic number? Nobody really knows because of the private nature of abortions. Another Guttmacher study found that 87 percent of employer-based insurance plans covered abortions, but a Kaiser Family Foundation study found that only 46 percent of covered workers reported coverage. Why such a big a difference? Many women just don't know their insurance covers abortion.

As Congress continues to debate the public health plan, do you care if it includes abortion coverage? Can we miss something so many women never knew they had?

Source: Flickr User amypritchizzle

Speed Read! Jon Stewart Takes on Rogue Warrior Sarah Palin

TresSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:30:58 -0800

Jon Stewart explains that his problem with Sarah Palin has nothing to do with her looks or her family. - Daily Show
Texas may have accidentally banned all marriage when it banned gay marriage in 2005. - The Frisky
Sexist man alive Jon Hamm is missing from People's Sexiest Men Alive list. - Best Week Ever
Conservatives are over Carrie Prejean thanks to her sex tapes. - The Daily Beast
Old law still bans women from wearing pants in Paris. Ouf! - Telegraph
John Kerry's daughter Alexandra was arrested on suspicion of DUI. - TMZ
Brush up on New Moon before you see the movie. - BuzzSugar
Literary Review's bad sex in fiction award. - Guardian
Computer nerds strip for charity. - Huffington Post