In the same week that Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi upset a lot of Italian feminists by saying that the "left have no taste when it comes to women", only months after having to make a public apology to his wife for flirting with another woman during a speech, the open male affinity with the female form seems to be openly celebrated in other parts of the western world.

In the same week, a nude photograph of France's first lady, Carla Bruni, sells for more than 20 times the expected value, and in Russia, it's becoming more popular for senior female manages to strip for promotional calendars, to promote corporate interests.

Only the best looking top managers got selected for the calendar and the conceiver of the idea, Maria Shalina, said she took part in the project to show Corbina Telecom is a "modern company with very beautiful girls".

Refreshing to know that we think we're in such a progressive society, only when it suits us...  :)