MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images

Here are some things you can no longer do in certain parts of Italy:

• No building sand castles in Eraclea
• No wearing noisy wooden clogs in Capri
• No gatherings of three or more people in parks at night in Novara
• No mowing your lawn on the weekends in Forti dei Marmi

As part of a countrywide effort to fight crime, Italian mayors have been given more law-and-order powers, but some mayors appear to have gone way overboard. One man in Vicenza was fined for lying down at the park to read a book, though after the man vented on national radio, the mayor said he would remove the ban.

Sounds like some Italian mayors need to lighten up and have some summertime fun.

World Toilet Expo 2007; Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

This spring, Beijing Olympic organizers went to extraordinary lengths to ensure athletes had the most comfortable sanitation facilities. When foreign athletes at test events complained about the squat-style toilets at key venues, such as the Bird's Nest and Water Cube, officials initiated "toilet alteration projects" (as an organizer described it to Reuters) to replace as many as possible with sit-down commodes.

If only others around the world were so lucky -- to have hygienic toilet facilities of any type.

In this International Year of Sanitation, some 2.5 billion people don't have access to improved sanitation, according to a recent progress report (big pdf). So, in this week's FP List, "The Hardest Places in the World to Find a Bathroom," we highlight five countries, by geographic region, where safe sanitation is in short supply. Yes, there's a "yuck" factor, but sanitation is crucial for public health and is likely one of the most important health advances ever.

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Bela Karolyi, the NBC sports analyst who was coach of some of the world's greatest gymnasts, including Mary Lou Retton and Nadia Comaneci, is incensed. He is convinced that China has included underage girls -- the age requirement is 16 -- on its women's gymnastics team by forging the girls' birth dates on official documents.

Yesterday, in reference to the Chinese gymnasts' childish body sizes (the team average is 4 feet, 9 inches, and 77 pounds), he unleased some verbal venom to the Associated Press:

They are using half-people. One of the biggest frustrations is, what arrogance. These people think we are stupid.

Gymnastics is famous for its small women -- or rather, girls -- but the Chinese gymnasts look awfully tiny and juvenile. In comparison, Japan's team average is 4 feet, 10 inches, and 83 pounds, while the Americans are an average of 5 feet and 107 pounds. Granted, size isn't always an indicator of age, but the New York Times recently pointed to other evidence of age falsification -- inconsistent reporting of some gymnasts' ages in official documents, media reports, and government Web sites.

The Chinese gymnasts certainly aren't half-people, but it sounds like the Chinese government might be telling some half-truths.

JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images

During the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, many social scientists have decried the U.S. Defense Department's lack of cultural sensitivity. Now, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a former president of Texas A&M University, is doing something about it. He has announced Project Minerva, which will fund research by social scientists on topics such as the influence of religion and economics on terrorism.

Rather than welcoming Project Minerva, however, many academics, particularly anthropologists, oppose it. In the recent FP Web exclusive "When Professors Go to War," anthropologist Hugh Gusterson wrote that many anthropologists -- who are in a largely left-leaning discipline -- simply won't stomach being funded by the Pentagon. Thus, those social scientists who do apply for funding will be a thin slice who have no qualms about accepting the Defense Department's money. This will lead to "selection bias," in which only a narrow range of perspectives end up being funded.

In response, Duke University professor Peter Feaver argues this week in "Pentagon Funding? Bring It On." that the challenge of selection bias can be overcome and that Gates is committed to openness and academic freedom. Proposals will be selected on the importance of the topic being investigated and the quality of the methodology -- and not on whether the results will end up being a self-fulfilling prophecy for the military.

What do you all think? Should social scientists be funded by the Defense Department in an effort to bring more cultural sensitivity to the military's methods? Who's right? Gusterson or Feaver?

Japan's heaviest sumo wrestler has pledged to his fans that he will gain even more weight. Yamamotoyama currently weighs in at 511 pounds, but the 24-year-old's goal is to tip the scales at 531, surpassing the previous Japanese record holder, retired wrestler Susanoumi, who reached 529 pounds.

Yamamotoyama is reported to have once devoured 146 pieces of sushi in a single sitting, so packing on another 20 pounds seems doable. But he might be setting himself up for a difficult situation 16 years from now. This year, Japan enacted a policy that requires citizens ages 40 to 74 to undergo mandatory "fat checks." Those with waists more than 34 inches will be put on special exercise programs. It's part of an effort to keep citizens' bulging bottoms from breaking the government's budget, as reported in the FP article, "Bulging Bottom Lines."

Surely, though, there must be a special sumo exemption?

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If you want to protest in favor of freedom and democracy during next month's Olympics, you have an ironically appropriate place to go: the Beijing World Park. The park -- which has replicas of the Statue of Liberty, the U.S. Capitol Building, and the White House, along with other world monuments such as the Sydney Opera House and the Eiffel Tower -- is one of three official protest zones that China has set up for protesters.

Some have speculated that the logic of designating the World Park as a protest zone is to make it look like protesters are elsewhere when images appear on television and the Internet.

And what's up with the Twin Towers still standing in the replica of the New York City skyline?

In India, more women are wearing jeans and other Western clothing. That's bad news for sari weavers in the city of Varanasi. Demand for Varanasi's famed, 6-meter silk saris, which have been hand-woven there for centuries, is falling, as the Christian Science Monitor recently reported.

The problem is due to much more than changing fashions, however. The hand-woven saris -- which typically have ornate patterns and scenes, such as Mughal processions of horses and elephants -- have to compete against cheaper copies that are churned out by machines, some of which are in China. The result: Varanasi's hand loom weavers are plunging into grinding poverty.

In the face of creative destruction, perhaps weavers could reframe their product. "What we really need is for crafts in India to reposition themselves, like in Italy, where handmade has a high value," Adarsh Kumar of the All India Artisan and Craftworkers Welfare Association told the CSM.

Indeed, couldn't ornately woven fabric be used to make table linens, decorative sofa pillows, tunic shirts that could be paired with jeans, and even Western-style dresses? And all marketed to people worldwide, not just Indians? In fact, one Canada-based businesswoman is using such logic to preserve alpona, another Indian art form that's been in decline.

It looks like the business savvy to reposition Varanasi saris hasn't yet materialized. And if it doesn't, weavers' lives may be left in tatters.

China, as part of its ongoing efforts to be culturally sensitive and have its people on their best behavior for the Olympics, is displaying posters informing its people of eight things they should not ask foreigners:

1. Don't ask about income or expenses.
2. Don't ask about age.
3. Don't ask about love life or marriage.
4. Don't ask about health.
5. Don't ask about someone's home or address.
6. Don't ask about personal experience.
7. Don't ask about religious beliefs or political views.
8. Don't ask what someone does.

Oh, and if you're a guy, here's a tip on how to be a gentleman:

Men should help women carry things, but must not help women carry their handbags.

Cate Gillon/Getty Images

If you plan on being in London any time soon, you might end up disappointed if you try ordering Peking duck at a restaurant. Inspectors have been going around with tape and sealing shut the special ovens used to prepare the Chinese delicacy.

The ovens, which—surprise—are made in China, lack a Conformité Européenne (CE) mark indicating that they comply with safety regulations on carbon monoxide emissions as established by Eurocrats in Brussels. For the record, there have been no reports of injuries, accidents, or other health problems caused by the 6-foot-tall ovens.

It's another example of Brits being pushed around by EU diktat. Last year, the contentious issue was whether Britain would have to sell beer by the liter, rather than the beloved pint.

In other questionable food regulation news, Italy's anti-immigrant Northern League party has proposed a law in the Lombardy region that would ban Chinese restaurants and Middle Eastern kebab vendors from historic city centers, on the grounds that such eateries would mar their unique character. (Ironically, that logic is also what got Starbucks to withdraw from Beijing's 600-year-old Forbidden City last year.)

Back in London, it may be a month until restaurants can get CE-marked ovens installed and put Peking duck back on the menu.

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Nineteen-year-old Mehboba Ahdyar, an Afghan runner featured in FP's photo essay "The Olympians of Afghanistan," has decided to seek political asylum in Europe due to the threats she has received in her home country. Ahdyar, who runs wearing a head scarf and full-length track suit, competes in events ranging from 800 to 3,000 meters and has been a poster child for the Olympics.

Earlier this month, though, Ahdyar went missing from a training facility in Italy. Several days later, she called her parents and told them she was seeking asylum in Europe because of fears for her life. She has received death threats on her mobile phone from Muslim extremists who object to a Muslim woman participating in sports. Earlier this year, her neighbors called the police, claiming she was a prostitute -- a charge that landed her father in jail until the matter was cleared up.

This whole incident is such a shame. This young woman simply wants to run in the Olympics, not run for her life.

U.S. Library of Congress

Which economists, journalists, and business leaders are doing the best job of advancing free markets and free people? You can make your opinions known by voting for nominees for the Free Market Hall of Fame.

At this year's FreedomFest—which describes itself as the world's largest annual gathering of free minds and is the brainchild of contrarian economist Mark Skousen—the first five members of the Free Market Hall of Fame will be inducted at a July 12 gala banquet in Las Vegas. Unlike with FP's top public intellectuals poll, however, the nominees receiving the highest vote counts won't necessarily make it into the Hall of Fame. Rather, "[a] select group of economists and other free-market supporters will make the final decision and vote on upcoming Hall of Fame members," according to the hall's Web site. I guess the Hall of Fame isn't ready to surrender the commanding heights to the tyranny of the Internet majority.

Yesterday's Washington Post Quote of the Week:

And I reminded the president that I am reminded of the great talent of the—of our Philippine Americans when I eat dinner at the White House.

—U.S. President George W. Bush with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, referring to White House chef Cristeta Comerford, who was born in Manila.

Preeti Aroon for FP

At the Claude Taylor Photography Gallery, just a short stroll from FP's office at Dupont Circle in Washington, you don't need dollars if you want to buy a print. Just hand over your euros -- each gets you $1.50, according to this sign in the window. The studio began accepting euros in March, owner Claude Taylor told the Washington Post, citing his perception of increased numbers of European tourists due to the weak dollar. The phenomenon isn't limited to Washington. Some stores in New York have also been accepting euros.

Meanwhile, also in the Washington area, guess who's buying SUVs in this era of record-high oil prices? Europeans. With the weak dollar, they can import jumbo vehicles at teeny prices.

Bhutan -- Land of the Thunder Dragon -- is on the cutting edge when it comes to postage stamps. It has a stamp on a CD-ROM, roughly 4 inches in diameter, seen in this image. The CD plays a video on the history of the country's kings. Other philatelic highlights from Bhutan include 3-D stamps and scented stamps, as well as stamps printed on steel, silk, and extruded plastic.

Want to buy the stamp? Check out the "Marketplace" tent at the 42nd annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, held through June 29 and again from July 2 to 6. In addition to its exhibition on Bhutan, the event has programs on NASA ("Fifty Years and Beyond") and Texas ("A Celebration of Music, Food, and Wine").

If you're a struggling American newspaper trying to maintain quality and improve local coverage, what's one possible solution?

Outsource to India, says the deputy editor of the Orange County Register, California's fifth-largest newspaper. On a one-month trial basis, Mindworks Global Media, an India-based company, will copy-edit some of the Register's stories and lay out pages for a community newspaper at the same company that owns the Register.

This isn't the first time an American news outlet has outsourced to India. Last year, Passport blogged about a Pasadena, California, news Web site that hired Indian journalists to cover meetings of the Pasadena City Council, which are broadcast over the Internet.

There are bound to be some hiccups and gaffes along the way, but it could work better than expected. Mindworks says on its Web site that its workers are "trained thoroughly to become familiar with the client publication and the region," and some employees are bound to have been educated at American universities. And perhaps articles about India and other countries will include more nuance and context.

For American editors and reporters, increased outsourcing is understandably scary. But what if it's key to fundamentally reinventing newspapers, whose U.S. circulation and advertising revenue have been plummeting? Those of us who work in journalism will have to up our game and make ourselves relevant. It's creative destruction at work.

ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images

This is heartbreaking: Times have gotten so tough in Indonesia that parents have been sending their children to live in orphanages, where they can at least get food and an education. A 2006 government survey found that 80 percent of children in orphanages have two living parents. Orphanages say that, this year, even more parents have been giving up their children, according to a recent CNN article.

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Comedian Mike Myers's latest movie, The Love Guru, hits the big screen in the United States today. In the film, Myers plays Guru Pitka, a character who is raised at an ashram in India and then moves to the United States to serve as a New Age-ish life coach for a Canadian ice hockey player experiencing marital problems.

Some Hindus in the United States have complained that, based on what they've seen in the trailer, the movie lampoons their faith and reinforces misconceptions about their religion. The movie never mentions Hinduism, and Guru Pitka is supposed to be of a fictional faith. Critics, however, contend that considering he's coming from an ashram in India, wears Hindu saffron robes, and uses the term "guru," what other religion would viewers logically link him to?

It's true that in the United States, Hinduism -- one of the world's fastest growing religions and practiced by nearly 1 billion people -- has been largely and inaccurately portrayed as a bizarre, New Age-like religion. And The Love Guru will probably reinforce that image. As one Hindu leader told the Associated Press, "People are not very well-versed in Hinduism, so this might be their only exposure. They will have an image in their minds of stereotypes. They will think most of us are like that."

Upset Hindus should take solace, however, in the fact that this movie is a flop, mainly due to Myers's tired jokes and lame toilet humor. Reviews have been scathing, and the film received a pathetically low 15 percent on the tomatometer. Looks like The Love Guru generated some bad karma for itself.

TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images

This cork-filled life preserver from the Titanic, which sunk in 1912, will be sold at auction house Christie's annual ocean liner sale in New York next Wednesday. The life preserver, one of only six known to exist, had been kept by a family in Nova Scotia since it was found -- allegedly by a farmer at the Halifax shoreline soon after the tragedy. Christie's expects it to go for 30,000 to 40,000 pounds ($59,000 to $79,000); the auction house sold another one last year in London for 61,000 pounds ($120,000).

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Fear of terrorism contributed to higher vacancy rates in and around tall office buildings in Chicago after the 9/11 attacks, according to a recent working paper.

The study examined vacancy rates of office space from 1996 to 2006 in Chicago's central business district. Chicago was selected because it has three landmark buildings: the Sears Tower (the tallest building in the United States), the Aon Center (the third tallest), and the Hancock Tower (the fourth tallest).

Controlling for all sorts of variables, the researchers (Alberto Abadie of Harvard University and Sofia Dermisi of Roosevelt University) compared office space in the three landmark buildings and in buildings within a 0.3-mile-radius "shadow area" of those buildings, with office space in the central business district that was more than 0.3 miles from those buildings.

In the five years before 9/11, the vacancy rates in the shadow areas and non-shadow areas tracked one another closely. After 9/11, however, vacancy rates in the shadow areas increased significantly more than those in the non-shadow areas. The finding suggests that fear of terrorism contributed to higher vacancy rates in and around tall landmark buildings.

For those of you who work in cities with skyscrapers, do you think people still have reservations about working in tall buildings? (In June 2006, seven men were arrested for allegedly plotting to destroy the Sears Tower.) Could a higher perceived risk of terrorism really be causing firms to shy away from high-rises?

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Is Becky Hammon a traitor or a savvy capitalist?

The story in a nutshell: Hammon, 31 and from South Dakota, plays basketball for the San Antonio Silver Stars, where she earns the maximum WNBA salary, about $95,000, and was last season's runner-up for the league's MVP. Last year, she signed a four-year contract worth more than $2 million to play with a professional Russian team in the off-season. Russia then fast-tracked her to citizenship, and she became a dual U.S.-Russian citizen early this year. Two weeks later, she became a member of Russia's national team and will now be representing Russia at the Olympics.

Hammon, who has no Russian heritage, says it was simply a smart business decision. Dual citizenship makes her more valuable because her Russian league requires two Russians on the court at all times and each club permits only two American players. "There's nothing more American than taking advantage of an opportunity," she told ESPN.

Hammon insists she never had a serious chance of making the U.S. Olympic team. She wasn't on USA Basketball's original short list of 23 candidates last year and, given that she's 31, this Olympics is probably her last shot. (Why an MVP runner-up didn't even make the short list is another subject altogether.)

Some may criticize Hammon for being unpatriotic, but she is embracing two things Americans love dearly -- capitalism and the freedom to pursue happiness. In a world of athletes without borders, such as Lukas Podolski, expect more talented sports players to go to the highest bidder.

Still, I'm curious to see if her eyes tear up to Russia's national anthem if she gets to mount the medals podium this August.