The power puff girls

If you are a male candidate for the top political job in the government, your looks hardly matter. How else do you explain Winston Churchill or Adolf Hitler? However, if you8217;re a candidate and female, the first thing everyone looks for, or looks at, is the cut of your cloth, the length of your hemline, the plunge of your neckline, your shade of lipstick, the 8216;colour8217; of your hair8212;and the ladder to the top doesn8217;t include your stockings!

In 2007, an unusual number of 50-something female politicians were the cynosure of all eyes. They have many interesting features other than their looks, but they have been photographed, videographed and choreographed for the leader8217;s post, more on the basis of their style than substance. Designers design them, fashion writers celebrate or denigrate them and Youtube consigns them to the footage of history. Segolene Royal nearly won the French presidency on her looks and Hillary Clinton might lose the American one because of hers, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner8217;s figure has mass appreciation and Condoleezza Rice8217;s derriere got noticed as much as her diplomacy.

Goodbye Harry: The magic ends
All good things come to an end, and so did the seven-book saga. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the last in the series of the coming-of-age of a young boarding school wizard, sold 15 million copies in 24 hours. As a whole, the series has sold over 400 million copies worldwide, and has been translated into 64 languages, making Harry8217;s mom, J.K. Rowling, worth 545 million, the only billionaire author, dead or alive. Brand Potter is roughly worth 15 billion. This includes five films, five video games and 400 licensed products. Need we say more?