by Cate Mackenzie
*For many, the 1st of January heralds a new start, and it’s not uncommon for weight loss to top the New Year’s resolutions list. Sense About Science, a London-based nonprofit has released its Celebrities and Science 2010 Review, which counters the more unusual diet and nutrition tips that have appeared in magazines this past year. For example, singer Sarah Harding crumbles charcoal over her food to absorb “all the bad, damaging stuff.” Dr. Juliet Stevens points out that while charcoal is useful for treating poisoning and overdoses, it is not an appropriate everyday cleanser. Model Gisele Bündchen is also taken to task for criticising women who don’t breastfeed and instead “give chemical food to [their] child.”
*The Tea Party’s “poster-girl” Christine O’Donnell caused a great upset in the GOP when she defeated nine-term Republican representative Michael Castle in Delaware’s September 2010 primary. O’Donnell, who earned an “A” mark from the National Rifle Association, made an ad declaring that she’s not a witch and appeared not to know the meaning of the First Amendment in a campaign debate. Now O’Donnell is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for violating federal law by diverting campaign funds for personal use . Is this a politically-motivated storm in a teacup or is something rotten in Delaware?
*Italian photographer Luca Locatelli explores the lives and impact of tourism and the sex industry on the members of China’s Mosuo tribe, where a matrilineal culture prevails. For photographs, click here .
*Dilma Rousseff was inaugurated as Brazil’s first female president on January 1, 2011. In “Continuity, With a Woman’s Face,” Inter Press Service analyzes Rousseff’s choice of cabinet ministers and wonders whether changes will be of style or substance.
Cate Mackenzie is an editorial intern at Women and Foreign Policy. She is pursuing a master’s in comparative and international studies at ETH Zürich.
