Smiling now!   It is the weekend and all my hard work from last week can be put to bed for a couple of days and I can smile and enjoy family and food…….. lots of food…….and maybe a nice Bordeaux.

Yesterday, Friday, was a horrible day….my internet was intermittent at best…..we all know how frustrating that can be, right?

I have been researching Central Asia for a series that I am writing for my friends over at Legationes……that is an area that has little info in Western sources so I have to read a lot and give myself massive headaches……

Who doesn’t like a post on sex?

However I did find something of interest while researching……a sex tax!

Say what?  No, really there is a proposal coming out of Kazakhstan…….

It may or may not have been a joke: The leader of a Muslim group in Kazakhstan has laid out a series of possible sex taxes, taking into account variables such as knowledge of the state language, homosexuality and even (perhaps) how well-endowed you are.

Murat Telibekov, of the Muslim Union of Kazakhstan, came up with a comprehensive list of financial repercussions for engaging in various kinds of intercourse, and posted it on Facebook. Kazakh and Russian media were quick to pick it up.

Admittedly, there is nothing in the post indicating whether he was serious or not, and some of the outlets suggested that it may have been a response to a recently-introduced tax on picking wild mushrooms and berries.

The extensive list covers most of the ways of cavorting in bed (or not) that you might be able to think of, and proposes a broad range of fees, to be paid on a by-case basis.

Under the proposal, the cheapest you can pay is about $1, if you’re married and a Kazakh. This includes a 50 percent discount if at least one of you knows the state language. However, that is only if you do it the ‘traditional’ way and for no longer than 14 minutes.

From there, the tax only grows: If you and your partner are in a long-term relationship, but not officially married, it’s about $2.50 (again, this and any other price on the list can be cut in half if you know Kazakh).

A one night stand will cost you a base fee of almost $7.

If you’re gay, the proposal sets the tax at some $10.

Then it gets interesting: A vaguely-defined “non-traditional” act should be taxed at about $18, the proposed bill says.