Strippers Ignite Protests

Alleged discrimination in Norway's tax law on bare assets is sparking an international controversy, according to an AP story.

It seems that the all-male American Chippendale strip troupe has to pay only a 15-percent tax on their revenues. Meanwhile, foreign female strippers have to peel 24-percent of ticket sales off the top to give to the Norwegian tax man.

But Norway's Gender Equality Ombudsman Kristin Mile is investigating. Ed. imagines that Kristin will determine the naked truth of the matter after stripping away all the rhetoric and grinding out the raw numbers.

In a related story, Ed. reports that the Ombudsman of Lapland, Lotta Tatas, has filed suit in the World Court seeking past and future royalties from strippers across the globe who perform her country's native choreography routines without license and without paying the Laplanders their due.

"It's a gross violation of international copyright laws," said Tatas. "We created the Lap Dance and have been performing it at festivals for hundreds of years. Now, we understand that Lap Dances are being performed at every strip joint in the world. We want our fair share."