Getting house-arrest for four years for butt slapping

Can you believe that someone would get a 4-year house-arrest sentence for slapping a woman's butt? I'm not convinced the punishment fits the crime. But, I do have to say that I was between the ages of 11 and 13 when some random dude slapped my butt when passing me by somewhere. I remember I was wearing while overalls, in the shorts style. Might have been wearing black tights. Hey, it was the '80s. Anyways, I was very much offended. But, by the time I turned around to see who it was, the person was gone.

The following article is from Reuters:

Man sentenced for ride-by bottom slap

Sun Feb 26, 8:28 AM ET

A Colombian man has been sentenced to four years' house arrest for slapping a woman's bottom as he rode by her on his bicycle, sparking debate on whether the punishment fit the crime.

Showing re-enactments of the incident, television news shows were filled on Friday with legal experts offering opinions about the judgment handed down earlier in the week by Bogota's district court.

Some said that to confine bicycle messenger Victor Garcia to his home for four years for smacking Diana Marcela Diaz's buttocks was excessive. Others said it would deter other men.

One program showed three models having their denim clad bottoms smacked so hard by a phantom hand it could be clearly heard by television viewers.

The women said that while the punishment seemed extreme, they hoped the case would mean they would be safer while on foot.

"It happened to me once," one of the models said. "I was walking very relaxed and a guy rode by on his bicycle and, 'ta!' He smacked me. I took off my shoe to hit him with it but he was already too far away."

Mattel Gets Desperate and Gives Ken a New Life Lift

The new buzz in the Mattel industry is that sales are down by 18%. So, they looked for a way to boost sales back. Their solution was to give Ken a new look. Ofcourse, they made it sound more interesting than that. . . Ken and Barbie have been apart for so many years, and now Ken is out to win Barbie's heart. He's more buff, he has a new hair cut, and he looks for fashionably conscious. Is he a metrosexual now?

Here's the article from Reuters:

Ken gets a makeover, hopes to win back Barbie

Fri Feb 10, 7:43 AM ET

He's been to the gym, looks buff and stylish, and now Barbie's boy toy Ken wants to win back the doll he split from two years ago.

After a two-year separation, Mattel Inc. said on Thursday that Barbie's long-time suitor wants to rekindle his decades-long romance with his plastic paramour.

Mattel is hoping Ken's return to retail stores can also revitalize the company's overall fortunes. In January, the company blamed sagging Barbie sales for sagging profits.

"Ken has revamped his life -- mind, body and soul," Hollywood stylist and Mattel consultant Phillip Bloch said in a statement. "Everyone knows how difficult it is to change, especially when you've lived your life a certain way for more than four decades."

Mattel said in February 2004 that Barbie and Ken had split after 43 years because they wanted to spend some time apart.

Ken, who appears to have spent time in the gym and at the stylist, returns wearing a beach-wear ensemble complete with board shorts and white T-shirt.

For her part, Barbie publicist Lauren Dougherty said Barbie "appreciates the new look Ken is sporting. He really looks great. But we'll have to stay tuned to see whether these two will get back together."

At a press conference unveiling Ken, Bloch said the company was going for a "worldly, European thing," and "definitely wanted to be looking hot."

Mattel's fourth-quarter results January showed an 18 percent decline in Barbie's U.S. sales. The company said that in addition to "tweaking" the Barbie line this year, more dramatic changes would be made in 2007.