I love everything about this. They got a bullying letter from the US Navy over something beyond their control, handled it like professionals, turned it into free publicity and a news story, and the reporters got a sheepish "no comment" from both the DoD and Bahrainian officials. chef's kiss BRB, I think I need to order some butt plugs.
this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2026
523 points (99.2% liked)
Not The Onion
19200 readers
993 users here now
Welcome
We're not The Onion! Not affiliated with them in any way! Not operated by them in any way! All the news here is real!
The Rules
Posts must be:
- Links to news stories from...
- ...credible sources, with...
- ...their original headlines, that...
- ...would make people who see the headline think, “That has got to be a story from The Onion, America’s Finest News Source.”
Please also avoid duplicates.
Comments and post content must abide by the server rules for Lemmy.world and generally abstain from trollish, bigoted, or otherwise disruptive behavior that makes this community less fun for everyone.
And that’s basically it!
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Shouldn't the letter be coming from a more appropriate department, like Commerce or Trade or something?
Also, "Buttplugs for Bahrain" sounds like a charity drive.
It is, they have a shortage.
I love how they framed the letter and hung it on their wall.
No one takes the USA seriously.
Not even butt plug sellers.
Especially butt plug sellers. Canada has thousands employed mining buttplugs.
The children yearn for the..nope.
I haven't seen Pam in pixel format before, that could easily be from an 80s Sierra game, though I didn't count pixels or colours to be sure but if my memory works and it sure does not I'd say it's good.
In a bedazzled frame.
They didn't get bullied. The letter just notified the company the parcel was returned because the US base complies with the host country's import customs.
This. No bullying in sight.
This is to notify you that the parcel was returned to the sender .Please notify the sender that pornographic materials or devices are not allowed into the Kingdom of Bahrein.
All I can see is an information why the package was returned. The only thing that went "wrong" is that it was returned to the address of the original sender and not to the address of the person who forwarded the parcel to Bahrein.
If that middle man didn't put their address on the package, it's no surprise that it was instead sent to the original sender.
Tbh, there's not really a story at all. The package contained stuff that's illegal in the destination country and thus was returned. A letter was attached to explain that fact. That's it.
BRB, I think I need to order some butt plugs.
Surely and I mean SURELY this is Streisand effect in full force. I wonder how many they're going to receive in the coming months.
I don't think Bahrain cares how many buttplugs they sell in other countries, so I wouldn't call it a Streisand effect
The Streisand effect is them receiving more by drawing attention to it.
That's not what it means. You need a party actively trying to censor or hide information to be a Streisand effect, this is just accidental marketing.
Bahrain is going to have butt plugs coming out the…
…well, you know…
Oh, yeah, exactly what I was thinking. Anybody got an address that would maximize the impact?
You've heard Bombs over Baghdad, now get ready for Buttplugs to Bahrain.
Toys for thots.
This story is a stretch.
pornographic material, including sex toys, handcuffs and nudity magazines, are in “strict violation” of Bahrain law.
It has nothing to do with the US, other than Naval Command wrote the letter informing them that another country doesn't allow it.
Nothing in the article contradict what you said
Factually, no, but it, and the headline, infers that the US is being it's usual uptight self. There's plenty of stuff to complain about without the spin.
Thst's just yout false interpretation of the title. The body of the article explained accurately what happened.
Soldiers ordered items that is prohibited . As the srmy you are responsible for your soldiers actions
I thought it was a joke order, and it still could be, but this cracked me up:
Bennett questioned whether or not the American soldiers stationed in Bahrain have been directly notified on what they are allowed to order to the country.
I suspect they haven't. I've never actually been in the military but I have been a private contractor that has worked with the military and it's amazing how dysfunctional it can be.
Everyone involved in any particular situation always seems to be the least competent person they could possibly have had. Often it's a combination of wilful ignorance combined with a "not my job" attitude.
I can totally see a situation where no one has bothered it to sit down with the soldiers and actually tell them any of this, while at the same time soldiers are obtrusive enough that it never occurred to them that Bahrain is extremely non-progressive.
Honestly, probably not. Sure stuff like alcohol restrictions, but do you really think kegsbreath is letting the military tell its troops they may very well be interested in buttplugs, but Bahrain prohibits them so they need to leave them with the booze back home.
Bahrain allows alcohol.
Whats a butt plug other than a very short/long bottle?
Its basically the same as a cork on a bottle of wine.
One of the letters from the U.S. Department of Defense, mounted in a bedazzled frame.
🤣
„Too sexy for Bahrain“ should be their new slogan
I can already hear a new version of the Right Said Fred song.
"I'm too sexy for Bahrain Too sexy for Bahrain ..."
..too sexy to contain!
unfortunately they are massive dickheads in real life.
Who? Right Said Fred?
yeah. big Brexiters who've said some bigoted things
Did not know that. Thanks.
Dear US Department of War/Defense: In the words of a wise old philosopher, "screw you, make me". Sincerely, the Sex Toy Store.
US wrote the letter, but it's Bahrain law. The headline is a bit of a stretch.
A butt plug is a gift that keeps on giving.
Might want to size up if they are comming out 🤭
It's not very clearly written. I'm left wondering who shipped the articles to Bahrein, as the company does not ship there. Also there's lots of meandering and rephrasing.
The reason it's confusing is the headline.
- Soldiers ordered through third-parties because Bahrain law does not allow adult products
- US navy intercepted during inspection, and wrote a letter to the sender informing them of what was occurring
So many things going wrong these days, but this one is spin.
We need a "Not the Beaverton" site.
That's what this is.
view more: next ›