The Daily Newds 1/8/09

• Although unsuccessful in securing an official nude beach for Queensland, Anita Grigg of the Free Beaches Association has been named one of the top ten newsmakers for Noosa, Australia.
• Using Barack Obama as a canvas is the wish of New Zealand body painter Joanne Gair.
• Sir Ian McKellen will not be doing the Full Monty in the public television version of King Lear.
• An unofficial nude beach in New Zealand is coming under scrutiny over reports of overt gay sexual behavior.
• Two more signs of support for breastfeeding mothers who are protesting Facebook.
  
  Susan Nielsen:

  Facebook's policy is defensible from a business standpoint. The site wants to limit nudity and doesn't want to get into value judgments about tastefulness. (And let's face it: Of the many challenges facing new moms, the ability to post personal photos doesn't crack the top 50.)
  
  Yet after contacting several Oregon women who've joined the group or are passionate about breastfeeding, I see the value of this online protest. As they explained, online activism can be powerful -- as long it spurs real-world action rather than replaces it.

  Lori Colan, M.D.:

  As long as formula feeding remains the cultural norm, mothers and babies will continue to have higher risks of these maladies. Others have likened breastfeeding to going to the bathroom — something to be done in private, but I would counter that the normal act of an infant taking milk is not disgusting or immoral, or something to be hidden. Babies need to eat, and mothers need to feed them, wherever they are together.

  Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked