The Duchess bares all

The Duchess of Cambridge is said to be "saddened" by claims from a French magazine that it is set to publish topless photographs of her, Royal officials said. The magazine, Closer, said the pictures were taken when Prince William and Catherine were on a romantic break last week. It claims it is ready to publish the images, which show the Duchess "topless on the terrace of a guest house in Luberon". I'm sure the Duchess has a lovely rack, but the pics in question had better not have been taken without their permission by paparazzi. And speaking of paparazzi, Justin Bieber assaulted a photographer in London today. With Justin, one thing's for sure - wherever he shows up, he's mobbed by fans and paparazzi. The fans, he can deal with. The paparazzi can be a major pain, however. Justin, who is in London, was so annoyed by the prying photographers, he started to push and shove them out of his way. Eyewitnesses claim that Justin was "actually grabbing paparazzi by their collars and literally throwing them out of the way. One photog was being pushed away by Bieber into the second paparazzi..." I think that not just for their targets' privacy but for their own safety, paparazzi should definitely have some limits. And speaking of limits, New York City's Board of Health voted yesterday to ban the sale of sugary drinks in containers larger than 16 ounces in restaurants and other venues, in a move meant to combat obesity and encourage residents to live healthier lifestyles. I'm sure there's going to be a lot of angry people and maybe a legal battle to hold up enforcement of such a stupid law, but the move is also expected to draw further protest from the soda industry and those concerned about government involvement in their personal choices. And while the ban will make it illegal to sell large-sized sugary drinks, it would remain perfectly legal to sell plenty of other beverages (like milkshakes) and foods (like ice cream) that pack far more calories per amount served as well as very high levels of fat, sodium, or other laboratory-engineered chemicals. And if Bloomberg's ban does go into effect, affected establishments such as fast food restaurants and cinemas can easily game such a totalitarian policy by offering a regularly portioned sugary drink that will likely come with free refills. And speaking of free stuff, University Health Services (UHS) will again offer free seasonal influenza immunisations (flu shots) for all registered students, faculty, and staff of the University of Wisconsin. Just like last year, student flu shot clinics will be held at separate locations and dates from UW-employee clinics.