News You Might Have Missed: Hot or Not, iPad Updates, and Lightning Strikes Twice

This week we’ve got beauty queens that aren’t easy on the eyes and Olympic athletes that are. Also, updates on the iPad, new government crackdowns and a deadly roadkill dinner.

Netizens are upset over the results of a Chongqing beauty contest where the top three girls were considered less than pretty. Netizens quickly took to their Weibos to express their disbelief: “It’s a competition for inner beauty!” “The title is wrong – it’s an ugly pageant.” “Pulling anyone off the street in Chongqing is better than these three monsters.” Adding fuel to the scandal, one judge has stepped forward and claimed the results were not their decision.

With the Olympics less than a fortnight away, expect to start seeing lists, comparisons, predictions, commentary and everyone’s opinion on anything ad nauseum. MIC Gadget has offered up a list of the top ten Chinese Olympic beauties. Some seem naturally fresh-faced, while others owe much to makeup, stylists, good lighting and photo filters. Maybe this will help you decide what sports to watch or who to look out for.

Have territorial disputes moved to the iPad? A newly released game called Defend the ****** Islands allows players to violently fight off Japanese invaders. Apple soon realized, however, that the basic premise of the game violated their App Store policy that games not target "a specific race, culture, real government or corporation or any other real entity." The company is said to be in negotiations with Apple over the game. Negotiations, we presume, over whether they can agree upon clear lines that cannot be crossed. Ironic.

If you’re planning on getting the new iPad later this month, be prepared to fend off the scalpers. The Apple store will continue to sell the tablet through a reserve and pick-up system, though even this method has been beaten by scalpers using automated programs. Reservations will begin on July 19. It's hoped that this will prevent another egging incident in Sanlitun.

Authorities around the country are putting the clamps on public sleeping and basketball. In Guangzhou, small spikes have been installed under bridges to prevent homeless people from sleeping there. Activists took to Weibo offering comments and cartoons, like above, and one artist protested the move by posing naked on the spikes. Days later, a Communist Party School in Ningbo locked up their basketball hoops to prevent non-students from playing. Netizens were less than impressed by the ungainly appearance: “Haha, this creation…was it inspired by the ancient Roman chastity belt?” Ever-inventive, they've been suggesting workarounds: “It’s still possible to play basketball there if we just change the rules a bit: Get the ball to stop on the wooden board covering the hoop and that counts as a goal.”

Here's a story that could be titled "The Revenge of the Roadkill." On July 7, a man killed a stray sheep with his car and took it to a nearby restaurant to get it cooked. Fifteen diners feasted on the mutton. Afterwards, the driver’s father felt unwell; he was taken to the hospital, diagnosed with organophosphate poisoning, and eventually died. Two dogs who had shared in the meal also died from the poisoning. Agricultural authorities are investigating the local farms.

Lightning has been taking a toll on livestock around the country. In Shenzhen, 53 pigs died from one strike on July 5 while 173 sheep and goats were killed in Xinjiang by a lone lightening bolt. The monetary loss of the animals in Xinjiang is estimated to be RMB 200,000.

Photos: Huanqiu.com, Micgadget.com, France24.com, Chinasmack.com