Jockstrip: The world as we know it

Urine-drinking hot in Chinese village

SHANGHAI, China, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Drinking one's own urine for health benefits is catching on in a Chinese village where one proponent has one-quarter of the 1,600 residents following suit.

In 1993, Du Ximin, 50, was one of five people who formed a health-care research center promoting drinking urine to stay healthy and a China Central Television report says it's grown from five to 400 people.

Du said there are simple principles, such as followers must drink small amounts only of their own urine and drink only the upper portion after a cup has been allowed to settle and cool, the Shanghai Daily reported.

The CCTV report said as many as 10 million people in China sip urine for health benefits, mainly in Shaanxi, Liaoning and Guangdong provinces.

Du said there are exceptions to the practice -- boys younger than 12 years old and girls under 16 should avoid it, as he claimed it can make the youths reach sexual maturity too early, the report said.

Woman mugged 16 times in as many years

BOR, Serbia, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- A masked man broke into an eastern Serbian apartment Tuesday, beat and robbed a 70-year-old woman, the 16th time she was mugged in as many years.

The assault occurred one day after local media in the industrial town of Bor, 100 miles southeast of Belgrade, reported about Ruzica Topic and her ordeals through 15 robberies over the past 15 years, Belgrade's Beta news agency said.

Topic, who lives on a pension she earned while working in Austria, said the masked man broke into her apartment through a window at dawn Tuesday.

After beating her on the head with his fists and cutting her with a knife, the burglar ran away with some $900.

Last week, thieves stole her gold watch, credit cards and a cell phone.

Her German-made car, stolen last summer, has not been recovered, Beta said.

Strip search lands officer in jail

MANCHESTER, N.J., Nov. 22 (UPI) -- A state human services officer has been arrested in Manchester, N.J., after he performed a full strip and body cavity search on a prostitute.

Ocean County, N.J., Assistant Prosecutor Martin Anton said James Michael Jackson arranged to meet the prostitute Wednesday at a Comfort Inn, where he revealed his badge and gun to her and told her she was under arrest, the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press reported Tuesday.

Jackson ordered the prostitute to strip and forced her to consent to an intimate body cavity search, Anton said.

Anton said the officer released the prostitute after the search and she approached law enforcement officials the next day after finding out that Jackson's actions were illegal.

Jackson, who does have the authority to make arrests but does not have the ability to stage his own undercover operations, was arrested and charged with sexual assault and sexual misconduct.

"And a male to strip-search a female is just not done," Anton told the Press.

"According to state regulations, (Jackson) will be suspended with pay while a hearing is conducted," Ed Rogan, a spokesman for the state Department of Human Services, said to the newspaper. "After that, a person is suspended without pay and then the process of termination begins."

Ohio store covers Nazi gingerbread men

OBERLIN, Ohio, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- An Oberlin, Ohio, store owner has covered a window display designed by a local artist that features gingerbread men dressed as Nazis.

Charlie Palmer, owner of Watson Hardware, said the display created by artist Keith McGuckin crossed a line, the Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle-Telegram reported Tuesday.

"He's gone way overboard this time," Palmer said. "A few of his other displays were on the edge, but never that crazy."

McGuckin, who has a history of designing controversial window displays, told the newspaper he chose the subject matter to show what gingerbread men do when no one is watching.

"I can differentiate between real Nazis and that the atrocities they performed compared to these little gingerbread men but I guess some people can't," McGuckin said. "When I look at it, I don't think about the Holocaust."

Another McGuckin display that was left uncovered at the store featured a snowman attempting suicide with a hair dryer after an ex-lover came out with a tell-all book.

"I want people to say 'Oh, my gosh,'" McGuckin said. "And once they look at it, say, 'It is kind of pretty.'"