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| 03.27.2006 | Monday
• THE NEW MISS THAILAND UNIVERSE is Charm Onvarin Osatanon, an 18-year-old student
from Bangkok. She was crowned last Saturday night by Miss Universe Natalie Glebova.
The first runner-up is Pattra Roongratsoonthorn, 23, who will go to Miss Earth, and the second runner-up is
Chayanee Pong-paew, 21. Thanks to Thaimiss.com for this info.
• SHE'S GOING : An earlier report in a Bolivian daily had stated that the current Miss Bolivia Universe Desirée
Durán may be dethroned for failing to attend to her preparations. The report appears to be
false and has been denied by Promociones Gloria (PG), the owner of the franchise. Earlier last week,
Durán was scheduled to meet with her trainer, but she never showed up. Her family told PG
that the beauty queen was in Buenos Aires, unbeknown to Gloria de Limpias,
PG's executive director. Durán returned to Bolivia last Wednesday and explained that she had
been invited to attend a presentation of tango awards party in the Argentina capital. She
acknowledged her mistake for not informing PG of her trip. (El Deber, Santa Cruz de la Sierra,
3/24/2006)
• SHE ALMOST GAVE UP : Neha Kapur may have been crowned Miss India two weeks ago,
but there were times when the Delhi girl felt like quitting the Miss India contest.
Talking to a leading newspaper, Neha said that it was unnerving to be judged too closely by people.
Neha said that though she had been a professional model for the last three years,
“the 60 days of training were as stressful for me as for any other contestant. It was
unnerving to be judged by people 24/7. There were times when I felt like quitting.”
Neha said that a career in Bollywood wouldn’t be her next step. “It's funny, everyone
is asking me about Bollywood and not the Miss Universe pageant. My focus right now is
to win the crown in the international event. I have got a chance to represent India and
I'll do my best to make the country proud.”
Neha added that she wasn’t expecting the win. “I heard my number being announced before
they took my name. So I started walking towards former Miss India Universe Amrita Thapar,
who crowned me. Though this made it seem I was expecting the win, in reality I was not
at all sure. I was too happy to be in the final five.” On what set her apart from others
Neha said, “Focus, consistency and growth. We were judged on how much of the training we had
imbibed. The change in us from the first day to the time when we stood for the final
judgment was a big criterion. Guess, I fulfilled it.” (Apun Ka Choice, California, 3/23/2006)
• THE HOSTS : NBC announced recently that "Access Hollywood's" Nancy O'Dell and "Dancing With
The Star's" cycle two winner Drew Lachey will host the Miss USA 2006 Pageant telecast
live from Baltimore, Maryland on Friday, April 21st, 9-11 p.m. ET/PT. This year marks the
55th anniversary of both the Miss USA and Miss Universe competitions and for the first
time ever Carson Kressley - author, style expert and star of Bravo's "Queer Eye for the
Straight Guy" - will serve as commentator for the Miss USA 2006 pageant. In his role as
pageant commentator, Kressley will enhance the broadcast with his commentary, on
everything from the ladies gowns and their beauty looks to their on-stage presentation. (USA Today,
3/24/2006)
I'm so glad Billy Bush was dropped as a co-host.
I couldn't stand him and never did like him. I don't know the reason why he was dropped; maybe his
contract expired, but do we care? Not really. I am happy that Carson Kressley will be the commentator - and
I'm sure he'll do a better job than Ali Landry and Julie Moran who were constantly
trying to outdo each other.
• COLOMBIA, FUTURE HOST? An article published in the Colombian daily El Universal suggested that
Colombian Vice-President Francisco Santos hinted that Bogotá or Medellín may
host the Miss Universe pageant in 2007 or 2008. Santos believes that the pageant will
boost local economy, but the mayor of Medellín Sergio Fajardo disagrees with Santos
saying that his city will neither spend a dime nor invest in the pageant. Santos
traveled to Miami last week to meet with Tony Santomauro, vice president of MUO.
Colombia will need to present a proposal no later than this coming Friday in regards
to the advantages that Bogotá and Medellín can offer. (El Universal, Colombia,
3/18/2006)
• MEETING CHELSEA : "Reanna Patton walked away with a smile, an autograph and an important
message Saturday after she spoke with Miss USA 2005 Chelsea Cooley at Sacred Heart Cathedral."
Read more.
• IT'S RAINING MEN : The Manhunt International 2006 finals will take place in Jinjiang, China
on April 20th. Nearly sixty young men are expected to compete, including two reps
from the USA (USA East & USA West). It seems that there are fewer hotties this year
compared to last year's competition. The pageant has not escaped criticism; when the
pageant was held in the Philippines in 1999, several contestants complained about the
very limited food choices. Its founder Alex Liu has also been accused of sexual
harassment and favoritism. The controversy this year has already started with the
election of Manhunt Singapore, Isaac Mong. It is rumoured that Mong's parents
had paid a substantial amount of money to buy three pages of advertisement space in
the pageant programme book, and Mong was the only candidate who had a space. Check
out the candidates' pics in the official website.
• MESSED UP, AND CLEARED : The Miss Mesoamerica International 2005 pageant - which was supposed to have been held
in Guatemala last December 1st - had to be cancelled due to "organizational problems." The girls
were advised that the pageant would resume in Guatemala in February 2006, but we all know now
that it didn't happen, much to the dismay of the candidates, their supporters and the national
directors.
Stahl will be officially crowned as MMI 2005 during the
Miss El Salvador finals on April 7th: this explains why her victory photo is not yet
available in the official MMI website.
Cortez also said that the MMI 2006 will be held in October, though the venue has not been confirmed.
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, April 3, 2006.
Photo credits: Critical Beauty, WireImage.com, Missecuador.net
| 03.20.2006 | Monday
• INDIAN QUEENS : The winners of the Femina Miss India contest were crowned Saturday night
in Mumbai. In the photo above, from left to right: Natasha Suri, 21 (Miss India World),
Neha Kapur, 22 (Miss India Universe) and Amruta Patki, 20 (Miss India Earth).
"Oh god! It's still not sinking in. It has to sink. It has to sink," were among the first
few words Neha Kapur said when she won her title. Kapur hails from Delhi whereas Suri and
Patki come from Mumbai. Twenty-six young women from all over India participated in this
year's pageant. (India Times, 3/19/2006)
• THE NEW MISS PARAGUAY UNIVERSE is Lourdes Arevalo, 22, who was crowned last Saturday night at
the Banco Central del Paraguay theater. Arevalo, at 6'1", is the tallest titleholder so far from her country. Her court includes first runner-up
Leryn Franco, second runner-up Elvira Cuéllar, third runner-up Myriam Rodríguez,
and fourth runner-up Camila Carísimo. The pageant was produced by Promociones Gloria and Telefuturo.
(La Nación, Paraguay, 3/19/2006)
• THE NEW MISS ECUADOR UNIVERSE is Katty Lopez, 22, of Guayaquil who was crowned on March 17th.
Her court includes first runner-up Rebeca Flores of Cuenca who will go to Miss World;
second runner-up Denisse Rodriguez for Miss International; third runner-up
Mirely Barzola for Miss West Indian; and fourth runner-up Karla Caicedo who
will go to Miss Latina Internacional.
• BREAK THE TIES : A coalition of health groups has asked Miss America State Pageants
to end its relationship with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. For the past few years, RJR has
been giving winners of 29 Miss America State Pageants $5,000 to promote the company's
youth anti-smoking campaign.
"R.J. Reynolds is trying to use partnerships with
reputable organizations like the Miss America State Pageants to create the illusion
that it has changed and is part of the solution to the tobacco problem," Matthew Myers,
president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, wrote in a letter to the National
Association of Miss America State Pageants.
Carolyn Brinkley, senior manager of RJR's
public policy programs, told the Associated Press that while the cigarette maker
does provide anti-smoking materials for pageant winners, it does not script their
talks with children and teenagers. "We're being villainized for doing something
that's the right thing to do," Brinkley said. Lamar Mullican, president of the
board of the pageant association, said he has received no complaints about
the program from schools. (The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area, 3/16/2006)
• TRAGIC : Tara Rose McAvoy, the reigning Miss Deaf Texas, was killed last week by a freight
train while walking along the train tranks in South Austin, Texas. Austin police now say
that McAvoy was hit by the train while she was text-messaging family and friends on her
cellphone. McAvoy, who had been deaf since birth, won the state title in June and represented
the state "with dignity and pride," according to state pageant director Laura Loeb-Hill.
Police say her family said they had never known her to walk along those tracks before.
Gene Mirus, a deaf studies instructor at Gallaudet, leading university for the
hearing-impaired in the United States, told the Austin American-Statesman that many deaf people
who think they can detect approaching trains by their vibrations are mistaken — that contrary
to what many people think, there are no vibrations on railroad tracks. (CBS News, 3/15/2006)
• CHARITY LOOKS OVERSEAS : For the first time, overseas charity organizations and Shanghai's
foreign communities will be invited to the 55th Miss World charity tour held in the city from April 22 to 23.
So far several Canadian groups have expressed interest in attending. Details are still in negotiation,
according to the Shanghai Charity Foundation. Established contacts include the cancer society and the
diabetes association in Canada, as well as various local charity groups from Vancouver and Toronto,
according to Benson Li, who is helping to organize the charity tour.
"We are trying to let foreign charity groups know about Shanghai as much as possible," said Li.
"So that the city will attract more international attention." As its first attempt to attract foreign
charity donations, the Shanghai Charity Foundation will also reach out to local expatriate communities.
Volunteers with fluent foreign second language skills are now wanted at the foundation. "They will go
to foreign corporate groups and communities in Shanghai," said Ma Zhongqi, the secretary-general of
the Shanghai Charity Foundation. All contestants from the 2005 Miss World pageant will come to
Shanghai in April, including the champion Miss Iceland, Unnur Birna. They will be set into three
groups, namely, Team America, Team Europe and Africa, and Team Asia, to gather donations on the
streets. (Xinhua, China, 3/14/2006)
• MISS USA BITS : The new Miss USA will be crowned on Friday, April 21st, at the First Mariner Arena,
Baltimore's largest indoor sports and entertainment facility. I have been reading the interview write-ups
of each candidate in the official Miss USA site, and frankly, only a few impressed me because of their
academic credentials (Alaska, Arkanas, Maine, New Mexico, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Utah and Vermont). Miss North
Dakota Kimberley Krueger bears a striking resemblance to former Miss USA Brandi Sherwood:
A few strange facts: for Illinois's Catherine Warren - "influencing young children." Since when
has influencing young children been considered a hobby? Michigan's Danelle Marie Gay's craziest thing that
she has ever done was to dance "24 hours straight" to help raise money for her charity. I assume that "straight"
meant non-stop, perhaps not even going to the bathroom! And Ohio's Stacy Offenberger has the most
arresting hobby: "spending money."
• WHAT'S UP WITH KATE : Miss America 1997 Kate Shindle has moved to the Big Apple and is
doing very well on Broadway. Read her interview with Pageantry Magazine.
• MEET THIS YEAR'S CANDIDATES for Miss Universe Canada. The new queen will be crowned tomorrow night at
Casino de Montréal. Rana Lee, the webmistress of Miss HK Beauties, and her friend Angela Tang, webmistress
of Miss Chinese Melbourne,
will represent Critical Beauty as correspondents. Good luck girls, and carry the CB badges with pride!
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, March 27, 2006.
Photo credits: El Vocero, View Images, Miss USA
| 03.13.2006 | Monday
As I type this entry, MUO still has not yet announced which country would host the pageant.
I have been following the Miss Universe pageant for a long time, and as far as I can remember, this
is the first time that MUO has not announced a host country in a timely fashion. It's getting more
exciting - or rather worrying - as time goes by.
• HISSING BEAUTY : Sara Warren was crowned as the new Miss Snake Charmer 2006
at the conclusion of the Miss Snake Charmer Pageant in Sweetwater, Texas on March 9th.
The Miss Snake Charmer Pageant kicks off the World's Largest Rattlesnake Round-up in
Sweetwater. (Reuters, 3/9/2006)
• THE NEW MISS NICARAGUA is Cristiana Frixione Mendoza, a 22-year-old graduate of
business administration who was crowned in Managua last March 4th. The first runner-up is Sharon Amador
and the second runner-up is Anahir Rocha. Sixteen young women participated in the
pageant that was attended by special guest Natalie Glebova, the current Miss Universe.
(From www.missnicaragua.com)
• ASH POWER : Aishwarya Rai is out to have power – to make a deadly
combination of beauty and muscle. No, muscle doesn’t only mean having a rippling physique,
it also means power and strength. And that is evident from the fact that Ash has invested
in the Maharashtra Government's windmill power project, the Director General of Maharashtra
Energy Development Authority said on Friday. The former Miss World from India has invested in 2.5
MW windmill power project, a non-conventional energy programe, in Dhule district
of the state. The windmill project, announced on February 26, 2004, is on target and
investors from within and outside the state are showing keen interest in it. (Apunkachoice.com,
3/12/2006)
• PUERTO RICAN TEEN POWER : Two teen beauties from the Island of Enchantment were crowned this
past week. Mayra Matos won the Miss Teen International title in San Jose,
Costa Rica on March 9th. The remaining finalists were the delegates from Peru, Costa Rica, and
Venezuela. This is the third time that Puerto Rico has won the title. Cathy González won in 1997 and
Yara Lasanta in 2002. Meanwhile, Mariela Martínez won the Miss Teen World pageant
in Guayaquil, Ecuador during an international beauty festival.
• BOTSWANA TRAGEDY : Police have arrested a 22-year-old man in connection with the death of beauty
queen, Lungile Ndlangamandla. The man from Sekakangwe was arrested last Thursday and remains
in custody. The 22-year-old Ndlangamandla was found dead in her parents' home in New Canada
last Monday. A cousin who had returned from paying the bills found her body. Ndlangamandla
was the second princess in the Miss Botswana 2004 pageant. She was described as a tern person who never
compromised her principles. She had a passion for beauty pageants but strongly believed that
women contestants should not allow their rights to be trampled upon. She refused to pose
in a bikini in a local tabloid despite the agreement between the beauty pageant organizers
and the publication. She argued that walking on a ramp with a bikini is completely different
from appearing in a page of a tabloid. (Mmegi, Botswana, 3/7/2006)
• HOSPITALIZED : Miss Universe 1993 Dayanara Torres was rushed to a New York City
hospital last March 3rd and underwent surgery for obstruction in the intestines. One hour
after she boarded the plane in Los Angeles, Torres felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. Since
there was no doctor aboard, the pilot was going to make an emergency landing in Chicago, but
Torres insisted that she could stand the pain for another hour. The plane landed in the Big
Apple and the ex-beauty queen was transported immediatedly to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. The obstruction
was caused by tissues that had accumulated from an appendix surgery that Torres had in
the Philippines in 1995. (La Tribuna Hispana, 3/8/2006)
• MEET THIS YEAR'S CONTENDERS for the Miss Singapore Universe pageant. Click here.
• MEET ALL SIXTEEN CONTENDERS for Miss Paraguay Universe 2006. Click here.
• VIDEO CLIP : See the opening of the 2006
Binibining Pilipinas pageant. Notice that Precious Lara Quigaman is wearing the same gown
that Zorayda Andam wore in Miss Universe 2001.
• JENNIFER HAWKINS in "Dancing With the Stars" - Round Three. This time,
it's the tango and Jen is looking even sexier than ever!
• THE POLLS ARE NOW CLOSED : To the first question, "Do you think Alicia's nude photos were done in good taste?" -
in reference to Alicia Machado's posing for Playboy Mexico in the February edition -
- 68% of the voters responded yes, 17% no, 34% not sure, 1% no comment. To the second question, "Do beauty queens have
to be role models?" - in reference to Machado's nude posing and Wendy Fitzwilliam's announcement
as an unwed mother in front of Catholic schoolgirls - 47% responded yes, 46% no, 2% not sure, 5% no comment.
The results suggest that it is easier to judge what is or what is not artistic, as opposed to what is or
what is not considered immoral.
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, March 20, 2006.
Photo credits: El Vocero, Lelombrik.net
| 03.06.2006 | Monday
• PHILIPPINE QUEENS : The new winners of the Binibining Pilipinas pageant were crowned Saturday
night at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. In the above photo they are (from left to right):
Denille Lou Valmonte for Miss International, Lia Andrea Ramos for Miss Universe and Ana Maris Igpit
for Miss World. The first runner-up is Rosalyn Santiago and the second runner-up is
Jeannette Bello. Twenty-four young women participated in this year's pageant.
Ramos, a 25-year-old political science graduate, impressed the judges with her answer on the question, which country, aside
from the Philippines, she would love to spend her life in. She said that she would
love to stay in France, citing its fascinating culture and language. "It’s also a
good place to celebrate democracy.’’ Ramos also won four special awards — Miss Photogenic,
Best in Swimsuit, Miss Beautiful, and Miss Philippine Airlines. (The Manila Bulletin, 3/6/2006)
• THE NEW MISS NICARAGUA is Cristiana Frixione Mendoza, 21, who was crowned Saturday
night at the Teatro Nacional Rubén Darío in Managua. Frixione also won four special awards
including Best Hair and Best Body. The first runner-up is Sharon Amador and the
second runner-up is Anahir Rocha. Miss Universe Natalie Glebova attended the
pageant. (La Prensa, Managua, 3/5/2006)
• SANYA HERE WE COME AGAIN : Sanya, a picturesque tropical city of China which hosted
the Miss World pageant three times in a row until 2005, will stage the Mr. World competition
this year. In an effort to boost the local economy, the municipal Government of
Sanya announced that some 18 events would be kicked off in the sea-side city in 2006.
Major international events include the World Strength Competition and Mr. World contest,
media reports said today. Steve Dougla, Organisation General Manager of Miss World,
said that the competition had been held in Sanya, a city in southern China's island
province of Hainan, with success for three years. (Times of India. India, 3/1/2006)
• NO BEER TO MINORS : Miss America 2006 Jennifer Berry visited her home state of
Oklahoma last February 28th and spoke in support of a bill that would raise penalties for
anyone caught selling beer to minors. The bill would make people - who repeatedly sell or
give alcohol to minors - subject to imprisonment up to five years and fines up to $5,000.
The bill recently passed a House committee, and the full House could consider it later
this week. The newly crowned Miss America said she’s “thrilled” for such legislation
to be considered in Oklahoma at a time when she is taking on underage drinking and
drunken driving nationwide. “I spent six months touring the state about this as
Miss Oklahoma,” Berry said. “Now, I’m able to take it outside the borders of Oklahoma.”
( Enid News & Eagle, OK, 2/28/2006)
• THIS YEAR'S Femina Miss India candidates are a strikingly beautiful bunch, and if
the judges make the right choices, Indian beauties will find themselves among the
faves in the big league international pageants. The finals will be held on March 18 in
Mumbai.
• GAY CANDIDATES WELCOME, BUT : Last year, Gari McDonald was stripped of her
title as Miss Teen Bahamas after she publicly announced that she is a lesbian.
Her dethronement caused McDonald to sue the pageant organizers and accused them of
discrimination. Richa Sands, pageant assistant director, argued that the pageant is based
on Christian principles and that teenagers should not have an established sexual identity.
McDonald's dethronement has caused a sensation in the Bahamas and made everyone question
the role of politics and morality in pageants, including the organizers of the newly
established Miss Teen Bahamas World and Miss Teen Bahamas International programs that
mandate the titleholders to sign a contract which stipulates that they should keep their
sexuality private.
“We don’t waver here and there. We have a contract that stipulates what we
stand for and we stand by that,” exhorted Theodore Sealy, founder and
president of Theodore Elyett Productions, which owns the franchise. “We do
not discriminate. In our queen’s contract, it clearly states that whether
heterosexual, bi-sexual, or lesbian, that is you... outside of our title. We
ask you to keep that private and personal. At no point and time is the queen
allowed to publicly or privately disclose her sexual preference because she
is representing you, not only in the country but around the world. Now after
she has finished her reign and she wishes to do that, we don’t have a
problem with that; but if she publicly displays it, she will be stripped.”
(The Bahamas Journal, 2/28/2006)
Hmmm... now I can imagine how Islamofascists would react if a Muslim beauty queen decided
to renounce Islam and married a non-Muslim. Would there be riots and mayhem?
• HOT GOSSIP : Miss Turkey 2003 Tugba Karaca got married and used her wedding as
a matchmaking site for her single friends which include former beauty queens,
while Miss Turkey 2000 Yuksel Ak had an unfortunate miscarriage. Thanks to Nick Can for this
info.
• SORRY, BUT THIS IS JUST TOO FUNNY : "It seemed like a good idea, but all robbing a beauty
school got Jared Gipson was the beating of a lifetime and 25 years in prison." Read more.
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, March 13, 2006.
Photo credits: Reuters, Rafi Daluya
FEBRUARY 2006
• TALL ORDER : The new Miss Universe Canada is Alice Panikian, left, a 20-year-old student
from Toronto, who was crowned at Casino de Montréal last March 21st. She succeeds Natalie
Glebova who was crowned Miss Universe in Bangkok last year. At 6,1", Panikian is so far
the tallest woman to be crowned the national title. Bulgarian-born Panikian's court includes
first runner-up Ana Zotovic, second runner-up Angela Triantafyllakis,
third runner-up Fanny Samaniego, and fourth runner-up Galyna Skrypnyk.
During the preliminaries held on March 18th, Panikian won the Miss Photogenic and the Best in
Swimsuit awards. She is also the reigning International Queen of Coffee. Critical Beauty
sent guest correspondents Rana Lee and Angela Tang to the pageant.
Check out some
of the pictures they took!
• WHAT'S UP WITH MARIA : Former Miss Massachusetts Teen USA 1996 Maria Menounos, left, will host
this year´s Eurovision Song Contest 2006 on May 20th live from Athens, Greece together
with the Greek singer Sakis Rouvas. For those of you who don´t know the Eurovision
Song Contest. It first started in 1956 and has taken place once a year ever since.
It is one of the most popular and most watched shows all over Europe, televised live
from Iceland to Israel, from Portugal to Turkey, from Finland to Armenia. More than 40
European countries participate in this song contest every year. Thanks to Michael Knittel
for this info. 
Early last week, a notice was posted on several message
boards stating that Magdalena Stahl, left,
of Ecuador was selected as MMI 2005 by the pageant organizers. I didn't believe the notice,
because as the national director for the Philippines, I had not received any confirmation
whatsoever from Francisco Cortez, MMI's president and founder. I was able to contact
Cortez three days ago and he did confirm that the notice was accurate - that Stahl is MMI 2005
and that April Ross Perez of the Philippines is the first runner-up and
Aida Estrada of Guatemala is the second runner-up. When I asked Cortez why the national
directors had not been informed of the results, he replied that it was "beyond his control"
and that the Guatemalan organizers leaked out the information without his authorization.
• NOT IN PUERTO RICO : The Miss Universe 2006 pageant will not be held in Puerto Rico, according
to Jorge Silva Puras, the secretary of Economic and Commercial Development. Puras
stated that this year's budget does not include spending between four to six million U.S.
dollars to pay for the hosting fee. He also said that Donald Trump had intervened to make
Puerto Rico as the host country instead of Thailand. Earlier Internet rumours suggested that
representatives from MUO had visited the island to find a venue to hold the pageant, but
these rumours seem to be unsubstantiated. This is certainly bad news for Miss Puerto Rico
Universe Zuleyka Rivera, left, who wishes to be crowned in her country to duplicate
Denise Quiñones's feat in 2001. (El Vocero, San Juan, 3/11/2006)
• OVERWEIGHT BEAUTY : Cameroon crowned Vanessa Foulbay, 27, left, as its first Miss Mama Kilos,
a pageant designed for round, voluptuous, and overweight (fat) women. Foulbay, at 5'6", weighs
approximately 258 lbs. After two months of competition, eleven women were chosen for the
finals. For fear that the pageant would attract a small audience only, the organizers ended up
paying for the admission fee of most spectators. (Ici Cemac, Cameroon, 3/7/2006)
• HE'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH : Lithuanian basketball star Sarunas Jasikevicius -
who plays for the Indiana Pacers - is dating ex-Miss World Linor Abargil from Israel
and the couple (see photo left) is considering
getting married, but their plan is getting a harsh reaction from Baruch Marzel
the Chairman of the extreme right United Jewish Front party. The couple met in Israel when
Jasikevicius used to play for the country's leading basketball team, Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Mazel wrote to Abargil pleading with her to think seriously about saving her Hebrew traditions.
The Jewish population is decreasing in an alarming rate because more and more Jews
prefer to marry outside their faith. It was reported that Jasikevicius does not
have any intention of converting to Judaism. Marzel even offered to lend Abargil any help
in case she needs it: "If you wish to be informed of the dangers associated with
marrying gentiles, I am leaving you my cell phone number. Please call me any time
and I shall help you." (Ynetnews, Israel, 3/3/2006)