Is it appropriate at work?

It'd be a pretty dull day at the office if no one ever cracked a dirty joke.

But, some say, years of zero tolerance sexual harassment policies in the workplace have produced a frigid climate where everyone has to check their sexual beings at the reception desk (without making an inappropriate comment to the receptionist, of course).

Well, a new study has broken the ice...sort of.

Researchers at University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management and the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Management discovered that some employees say they actually, gasp, enjoy the occasional sexually charged joke, discussions of sexual matters or flirtation around the office.

But before you go patting your coworker on the butt, the study also found that the same workers who said they enjoyed a some sexual banter in the workplace also withdrew from work, felt less valued and reported depressive symptoms more often than employees who experienced little to no sexual behavior at the office.

In other words, a little sexual innuendo might be good for a laugh, but it's lousy for morale and productivity.

'In our culture, sexuality has connotations of domination, subordinance and vulnerability,' said Professor Jennifer Berdahl, coauthor of the study. 'Often a dominating behaviour is a way of making someone squirmy. Why bring this into the workplace?' Considering how quickly most dinner party conversation eventually gets around to the topic of sex, it's unrealistic to think that people who spend 8-12 hours a day together aren't ever going to go there.

But you only have to watch an episode of Mad Men to see how bad things things might still be if we hadn't put on the brakes. Sexual harassment laws did much to eliminate the day when it was okay to make 'bosom' cracks in front of your female secretary.

Sure, harassment laws can be applied overly zealously - using them to stop a man from putting a picture of his wife in a bikini on his desk, something that apparently happened somewhere in the US, for example. But, as far as I'm concerned, as long as men and women are too daft to recognize behaviour that makes another person squirmy, we still need rules to keep the workplace from feeling like a singles' bar or, even a dinner party.

And no, I don't think that's funny.

North Port Florida Teacher Arrested After Allegedly Using Text Messages To Seduce Teen For Sex

Ronald Barche, a 47 year old ROTC teacher at North Port High School in Northport, Florida has been arrested on accusations that he attempted to seduce a 16-year-old student through text messages over a cell phone.

According to police, Barche began text messaging with a 16-year-old girl using a cell phone that became sexually explicit in nature on July 30th.
Investigators say Barche propositioned the teen for sex during his conversations with the teen.

There is also an unconfirmed report that the teen allegedly sent naked images of herself to Barche during the cell phone communications.

Police first became aware of the relationship when the girl and her mother filed a report with North Port police department and showed them the messages on the teens cell phone.

Barche was arrested at his home and charged with use of a computer service or electronic device to seduce/solicit a child. He was reportedly being held at the Sarasota County Jail.

Prince Harry apologizes over racist remarks

Britain's Prince Harry issued a public apology Saturday after a British newspaper published video on its Web site of him using offensive and racist language.

The News of The World reported that Harry, third in line to the British throne, used offensive terms to refer to people from Pakistan and people of Arab descent.

Harry, who is an army lieutenant in the Household Cavalry's Blues and Royals, is purported to have made the remarks in 2006 in an airport departure lounge as soldiers waited to travel to Cyprus for training exercises.

The newspaper said in a statement that in the video, Harry referred to one colleague as "our little paki friend" — using a derogatory term for people of Pakistani origin.

It reported that he called another cadet — who was wearing a headscarf — a "raghead." The newspaper said that the video was filmed by other cadets and supplied to the newspaper.

St. James's Palace — the office of Harry and his elder brother Prince William — said on Saturday that Harry was sorry for any offense caused by his use of the word "paki."

"Prince Harry fully understands how offensive this term can be, and is extremely sorry for any offense his words might cause," spokesman Patrick Harrison said in a statement.

"However, on this occasion three years ago, Prince Harry used the term without any malice and as a nickname about a highly popular member of his platoon. There is no question that Prince Harry was in any way seeking to insult his friend."

Harrison said that Harry had used the other offensive term to refer to either the Taliban or Iraqi insurgents.

"Neither the army nor the armed forces tolerates inappropriate behavior in any shape or form," Britain's defense ministry said in a statement Saturday. "The Army takes all allegations of inappropriate behavior very seriously and all substantive allegations are investigated."

The ministry said no complaint had been raised against Harry over his comments. "We are not aware of any complaint having been made by the individual," the ministry's statement said.

Last year, Harry served with the British Army in Afghanistan for 10 weeks. He was withdrawn from the combat zone after his deployment, a closely guarded secret, became public.

Harry has previously acknowledged drinking underage and smoking marijuana. In January 2005, he apologized after being pictured in a newspaper at a costume party dressed as a Nazi, complete with a swastika armband.

I've a few problems with this:

- This incident occurred 3 years ago, and only now is an apology issued?

- I know he's a prince and all, but he couldn't apologize himself, with his own mouth, and a statement had to be issued for him? he was able to use his mouth to make the comments, couldn't use his mouth to issue the apology??

- With the costume incident in 2005, it's safe to assume this isn't just an accidental one time thing, but a pattern of behavior like this can be seen. I'm sorry but something like that can't be just condoned or brushed off simply because of someone's status. WRONG IS WRONG!

- Someone with feelings like this, being on a "peacekeeping" mission in a foreign country....with a loaded lethal weapon in hand, and knowing that there status can basically allow them to get away with anything... is VERY unnerving!!

- Is these traits to look up to in a potential future king?

Am I the only one who feels this way about this?? am I taking it the wrong way?? What do my readers think of this??