INTERNATIONAL

CONTENTS:

• Giorgio Armani Attacks Consumerism
• Fantasy Royalty: A World of Imposters, Lunatics and the Pathetic
• The Most Expensive Big Mac in the World

GIORGIO ARMANI ATTACKS CONSUMERISM

Forget the silk, the velvet and the suede. The voices of equality prevail, even among those whose livelihood depends upon attracting the wealthy. Hello Magazine reports that Giorgio Armani has flung his pincushion into the class struggle.

Armani recently decried the anti-democratic nature of designers who cater to the wealthy, and called for fashion to fling open its couture doors to regular folks. The designer points to himself as a leader in this effort, since Armani jeans cost a mere $140. He leaves the mention of his $20,000 frocks to another day, when he isn't so busy snipping away at the high fashion barriers that keep the mall crowds out.

http://www.hellomagazine.com/2002/01/14/armani/

FANTASY ROYALTY: A WORLD OF IMPOSTERS AND USURPERS

According to the 19th Century's Guy de Maupassant, we live with "princes and princes, everywhere princes." As every researcher knows, not all are real princes. Since frog-kissing isn't in our job descriptions, we'll use this one-stop shop instead. Learn about the usurpers to thrones, illegal claimants who vie for the spot that is not rightly theirs and regular crazies who perpetuate a royal fraud. Is someone you are researching among these wayward souls?

http://www.chivalricorders.org/royalty/fantasy/fantasy.htm

THE MOST EXPENSIVE BIG MAC IN THE WORLD

To be rich, you must live rich. And what could be a better reflection of wealth than what you pay for a hamburger? You don't think the wealthy eat at the Arches? Who do you think is buying all those fries in Malta, Bangkok, and Argentina? To learn what those silver-lined pockets pay for a taste of home, check out the Big Mac Index, or what The Economist calls The Hamburger Standard. You'll see where the most money hits the counter for burgers across the globe.

http://www.oanda.com/products/bigmac/bigmac.shtml

Cecilia Hogan