Category Archives: women

Fat?

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Seriously…this cheerleader is considered “pudgy”…?

And the question “why are women so mean” is soooo far out of line it’s unbelievable.  Men can be just as cruel.  It may be a little more subtle, but still impacts his partner.

Anyway, it is really disgusting to see how Hollywood and the media  have demanded women become anorexic in order to be considered sexy and desirable.  It is pathological and unhealthy.  (it’s also personal as my ex was constantly on me about my weight.  I was 125 pounds–and small–and he was constantly telling me that I “better not get fat”.  It was a control thing with him.)

I’m not ashamed of being a woman. Of having curves.  The only time I feel bad about that is when those curves are somehow seen as “public property” that can be groped or commented on…like I’m not even a human being….

Some good news

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The poster that I blogged about here is apparently okay, as s/he is posting again.  Perhaps didn’t see the post asking if s/he was okay.  Some good news for a change…and yes, we have lost people to suicide in this group…I posted about one a while ago, but it has been lost. <sigh>   She was mercury toxic, without a job,  money,  or health insurance, and living out of a car.   She took her life in her despair.

Meanwhile….corporations get welfare while they ponder cutting Medicare, Social Security, and food stamps….

Hunger in America

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…speaking of hunger:

http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/us_hunger_facts.htm

..an issue for the  poor whom are also Celiacs, would be made ill by bread and other commonly donated food.  Things get more difficult for the poor and sick when the efforts of those trying to help aren’t helping–and would instead make them sick—I’m sure many would seem ungrateful to those trying to help when they would refuse food.

 

 

The strength of women

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This story is refreshing in that it paints a woman as empowered.  She fought back:  http://www.commondreams.org/further/2013/04/26-1

I have a quibble with it, however, because then the question from the minds of those who wish to blame women for being raped:  why didn’t they fight back…?

First, this woman is trained in defense.  Most women are not….which begs the question of why not…??  Why aren’t self defense classes for women offered in high school? (on that note, why aren’t they taught how to change the oil in a car…but that’s another subject for another post.)

Secondly, this woman apparently has enough upper and lower body strength to put on a good defense.  What if she did not?  If she was unable to fend off her attacker and was raped, would she be considered complacent?

And lastly, if this were another scenario, where she were out on a date and was raped, but not violently….she would have a much more difficult time of proving it was raped….and this would be only after her sex life and, well, her entire life were examined to *know* that she was telling the truth and not a slut…

Domestic violence mirrors war

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I swear that I did not see this before making my previous comment on the connection between domestic violence and war.  Wow, what a timely article.

From the article:

Some 3,073 people were killed in the terrorist attacks on the United States on 9/11. Between that day and June 6, 2012, 6,488 US soldiers were killed in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing the death toll for America’s war on terror at home and abroad to 9,561. During the same period, 11,766 women were murdered in the United States by their husbands or boyfriends, both military and civilian. The greater number of women killed here at home is a measure of the scope and the furious intensity of the war against women, a war that threatens to continue long after the misconceived war on terror is history.

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On the photos taken of the violence at home:

The photos are remarkable because the photographer is very good and the subject of her attention is so rarely caught on camera. Unlike warfare covered in Iraq and Afghanistan by embedded combat photographers, wife torture takes place mostly behind closed doors, unannounced and unrecorded.

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An excellent point–because in Communications, the Vietnam War is known as the media war —a war that was lost because of the diligence of the press–they brought the war home every night on the nightly news.  People could see with their own eyes what was happening–politicians in Washington could not whitewash it.  The violence we were doing to others could not be denied.  The thought of a photographer taking photos while someone commits domestic violence makes my stomach turn…and at the same time, I’m thinking “is this what it takes to make it *real*….???”  Do the people have to see photos of women beaten to a pulp on the nightly news, every night to grasp how horrible this is?

Here’s another report on domestic violence in Africa following war.  Does the war cause domestic violence or is it a cycle repeating itself?

 

 

Blood Medicine

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I’m watching Kathleen Sharp on BookTV (yay, Book TV) that has written a book called Blood Medicine about a cancer drug, Epo,  that did a great job of helping red blood cells to grow….

….unfortunately, it also helps cancer cells to grow.

Yes, yes, it is freaking amazing that this drug is on the market with serious issues such as suspected of killing people.

The operation was a success.  But the patient died.

Sharp describes a cancer patient was helped by the drug with his cancer fight, but died because he began bleeding out the nose and mouth.

Sharp is adamant against pharmaceutical companies being able to advertise on Tv.  I  believe she said that we and perhaps another country are the only developed countries that allow these commercials.

In Communications, they go to great lengths in order to sell the product.  Advertising agencies will do a study of the targeted audience to see how to construct the message for the best impact — i.e., to get the target audience  to request it from their doctors. or perhaps I should say demand it from their doctors.  They are convinced by slick advertising that *this* drug will help them get healthy again.   As someone who has been *there*, it really doesn’t take much in convincing if you’re so ill that you would do almost anything to regain your health.  Sharp didn’t even touch on the fact that these doctors who are prescribing these drugs, may be invested in these companies, and therefore, have a financial interest to prescribe these drugs.  I’ve seen how pharma works –they are not legally supposed to buy doctors lunches and other gifts….so they have “information sessions” and just happen to have it during the lunch hour….and have lunch brought in.  Ahem.

A sunshine law is part of the Obama health plan.  We’ll see if it does any good.  I’m pessimistic because the whole culture surrounding the FDA and the pharm industry and the billion dollar lobbying by Big Pharma…

More history here.

And here.  How can we forget Bush appointment, Dr. Hager,  and his ex-wife’s allegations of marital rape?

Sharp mentions the revolving door between the pharm industry and the FDA.

A man calling himself  John calls in and is identifying himself as a neonatalogist whom immediately states that Sharp has “poorly researched” her book. (red flag that this guy is perhaps an industry exec or someone tied to the billion dollar industry).   She states that there are some uses for the drug, but  the consumers are not aware of the dangers and that needs to change.

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While researching this, I found this link.  People were protesting Monsanto back in 1994….but Bill Clinton was busy in the Oval Office….something about an intern with a blue dress…

Michigan debates Common Core

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Diane Ravitch has this up on the debate on Common Core education standards in Michigan.  It’s odd that they are debating it after they had accepted it….jumped the gun, maybe?  That seems to be all to common in the education world–some *expert* claims to have the magic bullet for *fixing* education, but that never seems to pan out….