Vintage Japanese Political Poster

PinkTentacle posted a neat-o collection of vintage Japanese political posters - and this is my favourite. It's supposedly an anti-pollution poster, but it could also have a host of other meanings and interpretations. Interesting stuff.

Female snake's "virgin births" produce 22 baby snakes!

Ok, so this is pretty random... but I thought it would be fun to give a shout-out to the females of the animal kingdom!

BBC News reports that a female boa constrictor snake has given birth to two litters of extraordinary offspring. The 22 baby snakes do not have a father, and their genetic make-up is unlike any previously recorded among vertebrates.

Virgin births do occur in the animal kingdom - many insects can produce offspring asexually, but among vertebrate animals it remains a novelty, having been documented among less than 0.1% of vertebrate species. Other vertebrates that have been known to reproduce asexually include komodo dragons and hammerhead sharks.

Even though it's pretty rad that some female animals can reproduce asexually, it's not all that great for the "kids." Without the genetic material from the father, the babies have reduced genetic diversity, which makes it more difficult for them to adapt to changes like environmental conditions or new diseases.

Tonight's Show - A Spin on "Labour" Day

Labour Day is an annual holiday that resulted from the labour union movement that celebrates the economic and social achievements of workers. However, we decided to take a feminist spin on the word "labour" and do a show about birthing, labour and delivery.

Tonight, we'll discuss the history of birthing in Canada, with a particular focus on the role of the midwife. Prior to the 1920's, Canadians were born at home with the assistance of family members and a midwife. But changes in technology and a shift toward hospital births made the midwife almost obsolete. Today, there is a major comeback in the desire for midwifes, but there aren't enough midwives to meet the demand.

We will also discuss some of the drugs administered to women in labour. From epidurals (for pain relief in labour) to oxytocin (a hormone that can initiate or speed up labour) we'll look at various drugs commonly used in hospital births and the affects they may have on mother and child.

Tune in tonight from 8:30 to 9:00 pm on CJSW 90.9 fm. Remember, our show is now available as a podcast, so visit this page to dowloand or subscribe to our podcasts.

Websites & articles of interest:

1. History of midwifery in Canada - Histori.ca
2. Lower risk of problems in midwife-assisted home births, study finds - The Globe & Mail, August 31, 2009.

Calling Calgary Mothers: BOLD Red Tent Event

Here's a really cool event for women from every background who have given birth, are about to give birth, or who have an interest in birth.

What: BOLD Red Tent Event - This unique fundraiser is put on by the Elizabeth House, a home for pregnant and parenting young women. They invite you to join in a celebration of birth and motherhood by gathering and sharing stories inside the BOLD Red Tent. Outside the tent, help create a visual expression of your birth story, enjoy free speakers and performances and visit vendors currently serving birthing women and their families.

When: Saturday September 12, 2009. 9:30am - 4:00pm

Where: Bridgeland Riverside Community Association, 917 Centre Avenue NE (just off the Bridgeland C-Train Station and the number 9 bus route).

Cost: $10 donation to participate. 100% of event proceeds to support the women and children of Elizabeth House.

Check the BOLD Red Tent Event website for more details.

Recommended Reading – The Birth House by Ami McKay

I just finished reading a fantastic book that will appeal to my fellow feminists – especially those who are interested in midwifery, women as healers, and women’s traditions and wisdom.

The Birth House is about a young woman, Dora, who becomes a midwife in a small town in Nova Scotia. The novel is set around World War I and focuses on Dora’s experiences as a midwife and healer. It is a fascinating tale of the struggles women have faced to maintain control over their own bodies and to keep birthing traditions alive in the face of modern medicine, which often claims to be superior than traditional knowledge.

If you enjoy a good fiction book, pick this up and you won’t be disappointed!

Lila Rose vs. Planned Parenthood

Now, here's some tricky shit:

Lila Rose (UCLA student and president of pro-life action group Live Action) , has been receiving tons of media clamor following her series of undercover investigations into the apparent corruption within the Planned Parenthood organization. For those who don't know, PP is a publically funded American reproductive health and abortion services provider.

Last year, Lila Rose posed as a 14 year old trying to obtain a waiver from a judge which would give the 'girl' permission to carry out an abortion. Claiming that she had a 31 year old boyfriend, Rose (posing as the 14 year old) was advised by a Planned Parenthood employee to tell the court that her boyfriend was, "17 years old, whatever..." so as not to get the alleged boyfriend into any trouble. Her debate is that Planned Parenthood is operating under poor ethics and defying compliance with the law, therefore, endangering young girls in search of abortion services. The hidden-camera footage we see is out of context and, thus, likely missing some important content. We, the viewers, do not know what is said by either party before or after the clip. The employee could have retracted her suggestion some time after the camera stopped rolling. She may also have known facts about the girls said situation before making the suggestion to obscure the boyfriend's age.


I have not yet been able to figure out exactly what Lila's beef is. Her Live Action organization's project called the Mona Lisa Project accuses Planned Parenthood of contributing to the abuse of young girls by rushing them into abortions under any circumstances and often thrusting them back into the volatile and abusive environments from which they came seeking help. Not once does Lila or Live Action use its investigation to prove that being pro-choice is dangerous in itself. Are Lila Rose's motives political? Self-interested? The stories don't cut to the chase in terms of convincing me that abortion itself is criminal. The videos on the Live Action website tell very little of pro-life values and spend more time attacking corruption within this particular organization, making it difficult to determine where the catch is.

I may be playing the devil's advocate by pointing out that, in the video of Lila's encounter with the Planned Parenthood employee in Memphis, the employee does retract to say that [she] doesn't know whether the girl's boyfriend would get in trouble if the girl were or were not to tell the courts his "true" age. After all, I doubt that she is legally bound to tell the young girl what may possibly happen if the boyfriend's age were concealed. Although unsettling, it's possible the employee [her]self did not know what repercussions would ensue if the girl chose to take her advice. I would imagine that if it were eventually uncovered that the advice given to the "young girl" was to lie about her boyfriend's age, it would be somewhat difficult to criminally prosecute and subsequently charge Planned Parenthood for any illegal activity.

Who knows, maybe the employee did alert authorities once the girl left. Maybe the employee was poorly trained or not properly equipped with information on how to handle such a report. On the other hand, I imagine that without detailed information about this boyfriend, it would be a complex case to report anyway.

As discussed on the most recent episode of Yeah, What She Said, it's worrisome to think that people can be so devoted to bringing down organizations that deal with social issues most others prefer to avoid.

I must admit, I don't understand why the PP employee would encourage the girl to lie unless she was personally determined to see the girl wind up back in a relationship that was potentially unsafe; I won't deny that the video is disturbing in that sense. Live Action's reports on the Mona Lisa Project leave me questioning whether these reports are factual and if any crucial details have been omitted and, if these reports are legit, is PP as an organization behaving this way strictly out of carelessness? Seriously? The fact that Live Action will pursue their efforts to 'expose' corruptness in abortion service centers like Planned Parenthood bothers me. Is it abortion they are fighting against or is it crime? And is The Mona Lisa Project merely attempting to affect the generalized notion that abortion is crime? If so, it's a cheap tactic and it's unfortunate that Lila Rose and Live Action don't think the majority of us will be able see through it.

Among other notoriously right wing networks, Lila appears on Fox TV's Glenn Beck program (where Glenn ends up referring to her as "Twila"), for crying out loud...

Thoughts, please.

Watch more Glenn Beck videos on AOL Video

*Be sure to check out the Association for Women's Rights In Development's article for more on this.

Could Marijuana be GOOD While Pregnant?

Ahh, the internet. What can't you find on here?Today I found a super-interesting little piece on the news website, Current.
A study was conducted that documented the effect on new-born babies if the mother had been a heavy marijuana smoker. The report's conclusions may come as a surprise to some.

On the newborns third day of life, there were no significant differences between newborns that were exposed to marijuana and those that were not. The newborns of heavy marijuana-using mothers had better scores on autonomic stability, quality of alertness, irritability, and self-regulation and were judged to be more rewarding for caregivers.

Marijuana is known to have many proven health and therapeutic benefits. There are thousands of published scientific studies on the benefits of medicinal marijuana. I am not surpised that this study found it could actually promote neonatal development - but somehow I don't think the idea of a pregnant lady smoking pot will be accepted by society anytime soon. Thoughts?

Tonight's Show - Current Events Mash-up

Tonight's show will be a general overview of some current happenings on the feminist circuit. I'll be talking a little bit about the situation surrounding the young girl who was recently raped and impregnated by her stepfather. I'll also be touching on Campus Pro Life Club's Genocide Awareness Project display that went up last week on the U of C campus. You can read an article about it from the U of C's news magazine, The Gauntlet. Finally, I'll be updating you on several events happening around town that are totally worth checking out.

Here are some helpful links related to some of the topics and events that will be featured on tonight's show.


Events Listings

Story Circle Woman Song presented with Sexual Health Access Alberta

Upcoming Events at the Women's Resource Centre

WAM! Women, Action and The Media
*This event took place over the weekend in the States but you can register for next year by visiting the site.


On another note, The Yeah, What She Said dynamic is about to change! Jennie Thunder and I will have a special show planned for April 20th to inaugurate the changes, so mark your calendars and be sure to tune in for more details!

Tune in tonight at 8:30pm MST to hear the full run-down on CJSW 90.9 FM or stream it live from CJSW.com.

Our Father...

If abortion is murder but risking a nine-year-old's life so that she may deliver twins (conceived when she's raped by her step-father, nonetheless) is not only okay but also expected, then murder and, evidently, a young sexual abuse victim's right to live are in the trusty and authoritative hands of the orthodox Catholic church. Now, don't we all feel safe? A special thanks to the Archdiocese of Olinda for teaching us what morality is all about.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Teenage Pregnancy Rates a Concern in US & UK

A 13 year old boy in England recently became one of Britain's youngest fathers. The boy, Alfie, was just 12 when he impregnated his 14 year old girlfriend. When asked what he'd do to support his child financially, he answered "What's financially?"

The UK has a high number of teenage pregnancies with about 27 out of 1,000 births by girls aged 15-19. Britain's teen pregnancy rate, however, is still far below that of the United States, which registers 44 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19.

To put those rates in perspective, here are the rates for some other Western countries:

• Australia: 17 per 1,000
• Canada: 11 per 1,000
  
• Spain: 10 per 1,000
• France: 8 per 1,000
• The Netherlands: 5 per 1,000

That means that the teenage pregnancy rate in the USA is almost 9x greater than the Netherlands, and 4x greater than Canada's.

I think it's fascinating that The Netherlands, which is one of the most sexually liberated countries on the earth (with their red light district and legalized prostitution) has such a low teen pregnancy rate. I think that when a society is open and honest about sex, people are better educated about the risks and take more precautions.

*Stats for this blog entry were taken from this CBC article.