Take a look the above item from the July 1965 issue of America’s oldest tabloid—rightwing scandal sheet The National Police Gazette. That’s Claudia Cardinale on the cover, by the way, but we’re pointing to the Castro story. The crack reporters at the Gazette were the first to discover that Fidel was arming southern Negroes for the coming race war. How papers like the New York Times got scooped on this we have no idea, but perhaps it’s because, of all the mid-century tabloids, the Gazette was more obsessed with Castro than most. So in addition to constantly digging for even the most miniscule news items on La Barba, they also made shit up. The only way Castro could have done everything he was accused of in this period was for him to have been triplets working twenty-four hours a day. In fact, we may even have seen a story to that effect somewhere. Pulp Intl. will be exposing more Castro plots as time goes on, and—trust us—the bombshells we’ll drop will change your entire perception of history. A hint? Think harpy/alien hybrids trained in Kama Sutra and flute to drive American men so wild with desire they lose all sense of reason. It was called Project Palin. This is top secret stuff, so we really can’t say any more than that.

We talked a bit about the nudist movement before, and mentioned that the concept of nudism as a healthy lifestyle choice really took off during the pulp heyday of the 1950s. Above you see the August 1962 edition of American Sunbather. One thing you’ll notice—other than the cover model risking serious splinterage by posing on a tree stump—is the stamp of the American Sunbathing Association. The group still exists, surprisingly, albeit under the name American Association for Nude Recreation. But it’s the same org and they’ve been around since 1931. 

We wrote in that previous post that we thought nudism was possibly less accepted now than fifty years ago, but based on a visit to the AANR website, we retract that. The site quotes a USA Today poll result claiming that 15% of Americans “would consider a resort that offers a nude recreation experience or a clothing-optional beach experience” a very desirable part of a vacation. Of course, the key words in that poll question are “beach” and “vacation.” People will vote for anything having to do with those, no matter how weird it may be (consider that a little free advice for 2012, Sarah Palin).

Still, one in six Americans is willing bare all in front of strangers? We think this is a prime example of the chasm between polls and reality. Because while many people say they would strip in front of strangers, most get cold feet when it comes actual time to do the deed. We know whereof we speak—anytime we ask a girl to strip she flat out refuses. Usually while kneeing us in the groin at the same time. But now we’re going to join the AANR, receive a couple of membership cards, and make our requests in an official capacity: “Ma’am, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to strip—it isn't just natural and healthy, it’s the law.” More totally healthy AANR-approved nakedness below.

In Italy, artist Filippo Panseca recently unveiled a controversial painting in which Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi takes the form of a nude angel canoodling with a bare-breasted government minister and former starlet named Mara Carfagna. Though Panseca has created similar pieces over the years, including one showing Berlusconi’s wife Veronica Lario topless and with neat v-shaped pubes (below), the reaction to this new portrait surprised him. “I did it as a joke,” Panseca told the Associated Press yesterday. “I’ve been doing all sorts of works for fifty years. I didn’t expect to raise such clamor with this.”

Perhaps not, but in Italy, where politics and sex are so intertwined Italians once voted porno actress Ilona Staller into the parliament, it isn’t so surprising people took notice, particularly when one considers that two years ago Berlusconi commented to Carfagna, “If I weren’t married I would marry you immediately.” The aside infuriated Berlusconi’s wife, and she demanded a public apology. Intentionally or not, Panseca definitelycaptured a conspiratorial moment in his new portrait. Berlusconi might as well be whispering to Carfagna that he has a nice little stimulus package under his drape. In any case, now that he’s eternally enshrined on canvas with the object of his lust, it’s safe to assume his wife is seriously peeved again. If she buys the painting and burns it, we won’t be surprised. As for Filippo Panseca, perhaps it’s finally time to expand his repertoire beyond Italian political figures. We suggest a winged Sarah Palin flying above a crowd of heavily armed Alaskan bird hunters.

This 1964 cheesecake photo essay of beauty queen Jayne Mansfield running for high office was published the same year Sarah Palin was born. Coincidence? A few more images are viewable here, along with a lot of other interesting things.

Though this could be a public service announcement or a magazine ad, it’s actually a poster for a movie—a real movie that really came out in 1937 and people really went to see. The plot: girl meets drug, girl smokes drug, girl gets the munchies and eats Häagen-Dazs until she gets a lethal brain freeze. It’s a cautionary tale, but you probably got that from the poster.

Here’s a list of admitted “marihuana” smokers who, despite their love of the demon weed, went on to great success: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Sarah Palin, David Bowie, Celine Dion, Eric Clapton, Robert Downey, Jr., Jacqui Smith, Alistair Darling, Al Gore, Clarence Thomas, Newt Gingrich, Michael Bloomberg, Timothy Leary, Paul McCartney, Kate Moss, Mickey Rooney, Robert Mitchum, Elizabeth Taylor, and of course, Charles Manson. Wait—sorry, scratch that last one.

Brigitte Bardot started as a dancer and model, but soon moved into film, debuting in 1952’s Le trou normand. But it wasn’t until today in 1955 that she exploded onto the international scene in Roger Vadim’s Et Dieu… créa la femme, aka And God Created Woman. As Bardot’s career blossomed she embraced the role of luscious sex symbol, and was eventually voted honorary sex goddess of the 1960s—though by whom we aren’t sure. Anyway, if she’s a sex goddess, she’s pulp, so here she is on a collection of vintage posters.

Later in her career Bardot released several albums, charting hits in collaboration with French musical legend Serge Gainsbourg. As Bardot aged she became reclusive, but still speaks out on political issues. Recently she slammed U.S. vice-presidential candidate and fellow sexpot Sarah Palin for, among other transgressions, downplaying the environmental harm caused by humans. There’s much more to Bardot’s life than we can describe here. We recommend checking out her Wikipedia entry and renting her movies.