I have a feeling Marion Cotillard is not so happy with her newly-found worldwide fame right about now, and for good reason, too. It's always interesting to note how once an actor or an actress becomes famous, all their past and previously expressed opinions become a strange kind of public property. And yes, we have to admit it – we all enjoy a good celebrity scandal, particularly when it comes to silly, controversial or downright stupid statements made by the said celebrity in more or less any circumstances involving their personal or professional life.
Charlize Theron was convinced Budapest is the capital of Turkey, remember? Well, that did not spark an international controversy, but it still helps illustrate the kind of things I'm talking about. If only Marion Cotillard had stuck to confusing European capitals, misspelling or mispronouncing names! The French Oscar winner was interviewed by a French website about a year ago, and at the moment no one really cared about her views on American history. But since now she's all famous and everything, her statements were dug up and presented as new by a French magazine, which brought them to the attention of the international press.
In short, Marion seems to believe the September 11th attacks were a cover-up and there were no plane-hijacking terrorists to begin with. Her words echo a conspiracy theory that has been circulating over the Internet for a long time now – but they are also taken out of context and made to sound much worse than they were originally. Here's a sample. "I think we're lied to about a number of things. We see other towers of the same kind being hit by planes. Are they burned? There [sic] was a tower, I believe it was in Spain, which burnt for 24 hours. It never collapsed. None of these towers collapsed. And there [in New York], in a few minutes, the whole thing collapsed", she is quoted as saying.
The fact is, Marion was talking about watching an Internet documentary in which those exact claims are made. I tend to believe she was just sharing a personal opinion in an informal context, but you must see how appealing this sounds - "French Oscar winner has anti-American views". If Marion has made these statements in good faith, they would make the ultimate scoop, but as things are, I personally believe we're dealing with some (admittedly reckless) statements taken out of context. As I was saying, fame comes at a price – and Marion is slowly starting to pay it. So, my suggestion for her would be to clear up this controversy by releasing a statement explaining what she really meant when she made those statements, and then... well, less "on record" talk and she'll be just fine.
Sydney, March 4: Unlike popular belief, not only the youth, but also older men with lower sex drives are likely to feel morose and depressed, according to a new study.
Depression affects between two and five percent of the population at any given time, the study said. Women are more likely to be depressed until the age of 65, when physical differences between the stronger and the weaker sex all but disappear. Studies suggest sex hormones might be responsible for this phenomenon.
Osvaldo P. Almeida of the University of Western Australia and his colleagues based their study on a survey of 3,987 men aged 71 to 89. Between 2001 and 2004, the men completed reported on their demographics and health history.
They underwent testing for depression and thinking, learning and memory difficulties. Information about physical health conditions was obtained from a short survey and an Australian health database.
Researchers also collected blood samples from the participants and recorded levels of total testosterone and free testosterone, which are not bound to proteins.
A total of 203 of the participants (5.1 per cent) met the criteria for depression. They had significantly lower total and free testosterone levels then men who were not depressed.
After controlling for other factors - education level, body mass index and cognitive scores - men in the lowest quintile (20 per cent) of free testosterone concentration had three times the odds of having depression compared to men in the highest quintile.
The mechanism by which low hormone levels might affect depression risk has not been identified, but might involve changes in the levels of neurotransmitters or hormones in the brain, the authors note.
Findings of the study have been published in the latest issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
London, March 4: Some Asian women in Britain are going to great lengths to fake their virginity, driven to desperation by concepts of 'honour' in a community where myths about their first sexual experience is still widely held, an Asian radio station reported.
If found to have sex before marriage, the lives of some young Asian women can be at risk and they can be driven away from their homes, experts and community workers told the BBC Asian Network documentary 'Like a Virgin', broadcast Monday.
As a result, desperate young women are using fake blood and even going in for reconstructive surgery to fake their virginity, the investigative radio documentary reported.
In an echo of social attitudes held in many parts of the Indian subcontinent, the programme found that most of the 17 to 21 year old men interviewed in the region of West Midlands - home to a large number of Asians - preferred women to be virgins at marriage.
Concepts of 'izzat' - or honour - are strongly held among some conservative Asian communities in Britain and have been linked not only to the practice of forced marriage but also, in some cases, the murder of young women.
An adviser formerly with the national sexual health charity Brook said she personally received requests for information on faking virginity on a daily basis from young Asian women - and that she provided the information because she feared for the safety of these women.
She said: 'They would sometimes come in to the centre because they were concerned about the fact that maybe they had had unprotected sex with a boyfriend and they were concerned about whether other men would know they had had sex before and were not a virgin.
'The discussions would then go around some of the myths around virginity... that girls bleed on the first time of having sexual intercourse. So we were able to say, 'lots of girls don't'.
'The problem is that lots of men and lots of people within the (Asian) community believe that that is true, and therefore they (young women) are very concerned that they will get married and they won't bleed and their husband will believe they weren't a virgin at marriage and all the problems that that would cause them in life.'
She said women were using red dye and mock blood that can be bought from novelty shops that they inserted into their vaginas or spread on the bed sheet after having sex. One Pakistani woman said she knew someone who had used a bottle of red ink - and got away with it. 'Her mother-in-law was very happy,' said the woman.
Underlining the seriousness of the issue, the adviser said she agreed to provide information on how to fake virginity because 'for some young women the risks to them and their personal safety were so great that if they were not able to fake it then the consequences could have been dire.''
A community worker who works with young Asians in west London said some girls have had to flee their homes and go into shelter 'because their life is on the line. Somebody may have found out'.
Linda Cardozo, a gynaecologist at Kings College Hospital in London, said some desperate Asian women were seeking reconstructive hymen-repair surgery, but that it was 'quite difficult to achieve' the repair because there may not always be enough tissues to bring together.
In any case, there was no guarantee that the woman would bleed.
'The main aim of hymen repair is to bleed on wedding night, but of course there are many women who don't bleed on their wedding night, whether they are virgins or not.
'This is because the hymen may be very stretchy, they may have used tampons for menstruation, they may have had lot of exercise and subtle tissues and therefore there are many women who have their first intercourse without bleeding at all.
'So there's no guarantee these women will achieve the aim they set out to achieve,' the doctor added.
Although some 24 such repairs had been performed in the state health sector, the vast majority of such surgeries are thought to take place in the private sector, which each surgery costs between 1,500 and 2,000 pounds. ($3,000-4,000)
Jessica Alba was bullied and branded a "slut" at school after developing her ample bosom at a young age.
The actress claims the main perpetrators were classmates' mothers and her elementary school principal, who made her life misery.
Writing in If I'd Known Then - a forthcoming book of essays by female celebrities - Alba writes, "The accusation still ricochets. 'They think I'm a slut?'"
The pregnant star also hands out advice to troubled teens, urging them to practice safe sex: "Boys are awful. They are made of nothing but hormones until they are about 20 or 21. But it's fun to have a crush, but don't think it's forever. And use birth control and condoms, please."
