Twenty years ago, a man who hated feminists, entered a male-dominated educational institution and began a massacre. At the end of it all, 14 young women were dead and 10 were physically injured, as were four young men. And countless lives were altered forever.

It’s hard to give a monster more publicity, but his name must be spoken out loud, because he is a representative of what is wrong with our society – what is wrong with women having to be afraid of some men. He, Marc Lepine, entered the Ecole Polytechnique, the engineering school of the French-language University of Montreal, with the express purpose of murdering so-called feminists and with not leaving alive. He had a suicide note with him and he was armed with a gun and a hunting knife. He had a job to do.

While it isn’t unusual for a woman to have to deal with some harassment from certain types of men or to be denied an opportunity because of our sex, most of us don’t have to live in fear of being killed because we were born women. But Lepine blamed his life’s problems on feminism and to him, women in a man’s world – in this case engineering – likely was the best example of women honing in on men.

It was a snowy, cold evening when the news reports began being broadcast on the local news. You could see big, thick snowflakes, ambulances, police officers, and stunned on-lookers. As the evening wore on, panicked friends and relatives joined the crowds. Rumors ran amok – there was one man, there were many. But in reality, the destruction was just one man.

How does the murder of 14 young, bright women affect women across the country, the continent, even the world? How does their murder affect people on the other side of the planet? It shows that there are still some men who blame women for their problem. There are still some men who are resentful that women may be doing better in their lives. There are places in this world – many places – where women are nowhere near equal to men and any attempts to balance this leads to violence, disfigurement, and death.

Educating girls in Afghanistan has resulted in the deaths of many. Educating girls in other similar countries is done only when the girls have been able to do all other chores and jobs they must do to keep their family fed and housed. And in many parts of the world, girls only need to go to school for a few years – because we don’t want them to get too smart, now do we?

Now, December 6 is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada. But maybe it should be everywhere. No, no “maybe,” it should be everywhere.

Montreal learned a lot that day, some of it very frightening. But as long as women are victims of men who thought like the gunman or who believe that violence is the only way to keep women in their place, we need a day of remembrance and action. We owe it to the countless women who are subjected to violence every day, no matter who they are and where they live.

~~~

Image: WikiPedia Creative Commons

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Noticing that there always seemed to be someone calling for a lost child during their children’s playdates in crowded public places, they put their heads together and came up with a way simple but effective way for children to carry contact information on them – the Eyedentity Label, a temporary tattoo.

It’s a bright red and yellow, 2-inch square design made to stand out and is large enough for important personal data, such as cell phone number or hotel information. Easy to apply, the tattoos last anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks.

As word of this new product spreads, it’s quickly becoming clear that it’s potential applications go far beyond a lost child in the park.

• One father had Eyedentity Labels printed with a hotel room number for his dyslexic teenage son, allowing the boy more freedom during a family vacation
• An epileptic teen who hated his “clunky” medic alert bracelet now wears an Eyedentity Label with instructions regarding his medication while traveling with his sports team
• The adult daughter of an elderly Alzheimer’s patient no longer worries when her mother strolls their community, after a neighbor spotted the Eyedentity Label and quickly phoned her when her mother wandered farther than usual
• Children on field trips can wear Eyedentity Labels with their school name and contact information

Sounds like a definite winner for parents or caregivers heading out on the road this summer.

(all images used with permission from Eyedentity Labels)
(source)

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There’s nothing better than a dip in the pool on a hot summer’s day, no?

Well, um, maybe you ought to stick to the sprinkler instead.

Pools (of the public variety), it seems, are often loaded with a creepy parasite called Cryptosporidium, which can bless you with a week or two of barfing, diarrhea or cramps. Good times.

The problem with “Crypto” is that it is resistant to chlorine, leading it to hang out in pool water longer than the average microorganism. In fact, more than a thousand swimmers get sick every year in the US by diving into an affected public pool.

Want to reduce your risks of being one of those unfortunate souls who end up spending more time in the loo than the cool blue? Check with pool’s owner to see what their cleaning practices are and try not to ingest any of the water in question.

Or, you could always spring for a pool of your own, of course. Heh.

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Well now, here’s something you don’t see every day: an article stating the names of meds that doctors wouldn’t take. Yikes. These must be really nasty then, eh?

Well, we make no claims as such, but there surely is fair enough warning against them that we thought we’d pass ‘em along to you. For the hows and whys, read the entire article. But for now, here’s a quick look.

1. Advair (for asthma)

2. Avandia (for diabetes)

3. Celebrex (for arthritis / pain releif)

4. Ketek (antibiotic)

5. Prilosec (for heartburn)

6. Nexium (for heartburn)

7. Visine Original (for eyes)

8. Pseudoephedrine (decongestant)

Yikes! I see a couple on this list that I have taken or used before, how about you? If so, be sure to talk to your doctor to see if a switch may be in order.

Perhaps there’s something to be said for natural health now, isn’t there?

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No wonder there’s so much hacking and sniffling going around in the workplace: researchers have found that there are 400 times more germs at our work stations than in bathrooms! Gross!

So what’s the word on a healthy desk? Take these tips to clean up your act…and your health.

• Wipe you keyboard, mouse, phone and desk with disinfectant wipes once a day. Since they’re the most handled areas in your office, they’re prime spots for spreading germs like the cold virus. My suggestion? Wipe up in the a.m. since you never know who was pawing through your goods during the night.
• Scrub up. Okay, you’ve been lectured on this before, but remember that viruses are mostly spread by hands. Wash hands thoroughly and often, and keep a hand-santizer handy in a pinch.
• Eat where you’re supposed to – not at your desk. In addition to a healthy change of scenery, eating away from your desk can help keep crumbs and bacteria away from your keyboard and other surface areas. For those days you really must work through lunch, wipe down your eating area both before and after you nosh and use a plate or a paper towel instead of placing food directly on your desk.
• Pitch unwrapped goodies. If you do end up playing restaurant at your desk, be sure to toss out any foods that are unpackaged or unwrapped when you’re done. Anything left open is a haven for bacteria, so let it go.
• Spiff up your space. Did you know that even though women’s desks usually look neater, they are actually germier than men’s? That’s because chicks tend to have stuff like candy dishes and tissues at-the-ready for germy co-workers to fondle, allowing them to deposit their creepy crawlies in more locales. Keep things uncluttered and keep viruses at bay.
• Live green. Adding a house (or work) plant to your desk not only improves your mood and decreases stress, but it also helps filter the air around them, beating some airborne ickies down to nonexistence.

So here you go: an arsenal of ideas to keep your workspace as germ-free as possible. Now you have no more excuses for calling in, right? Oh, um, sorry about that!

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Reading food labels can be a lot like studying for NASA privileges or deciphering a cryptic code. It takes a lot of work, it takes a lot of effort, and it takes a lot of time…which most of us don’t have.

So when Shape magazine posted a poll online asking whether a food’s packaging should clearly state whether or not it meets healthy guidelines, I got wondering what you all would say.

In your opinion, should a manufacturer be forced to disclose whether a food item is a “healthy” choice on its packaging, or no? If yes, would you still buy an item even if it was designated “Unhealthy”? If you vote “No”, what would be your suggestion for consumers trying to assess a product’s health quotient?

After you discuss, I’ll post the percentages of the Shape readers’ votes and some of their thoughts. Until then, have at it…

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M-Law wanted to point out how, over the years, more and more absurd warning labels have started to appear. And it’s not because the manufacturers think consumers are stupid. It’s just that out of control litigation has forced companies to become more and more cautious.

 This year’s Wacky Warning Label Contest winners highlight the extreme measures that companies will go to make sure all possibilities are covered.

First Prize:

A label on a tractor stating ‘Danger: Avoid Death” (talk about stating the obvious!)

 Second Prize:

Iron-on T Shirt transfer that warns ‘Do not iron while wearing shirt’ (duh!)

Third Prize: 

Label on a baby stroller featuring a small storage pouch that warns ‘Do not put child in bag’ (as if!)

Of course, these are just the tip of the iceberg. Previous wacky warning label winners include…

• a sign on a toilet brush saying ‘Do not use for personal hygiene’
• a label on a childern’s scooter that says ‘This product moves when used.’
• a warning on a digital thermometer that says ‘Once used rectally, the thermometer should not be used orally.’
• a label on a hair dryer that reads ‘Never use hair dryer while sleeping.’
• a label on a heat gun stating ‘Do not use as a hair dryer.’      

And the list goes on and on…

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1,797,600How Many Germs Live On Your Keyboard?

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The official ribbon of Genital Integrity.

Circumcision: if you are male and were born in, say, 1967, there’s an 85% chance you made the cut. But the rate of male circumcision in America is slipping steadily. If you are male and were born in 2004, not only are you not even reading this post, there’s a near fifty-fifty chance you are uncircumcised. Globally, about 1 in 4 men are circumcised.

Whether for religious reasons or family tradition, is circumcision really healthier, um, all around?

Intactivists, as they refer to themselves, are calling for an end to circumcision. The movement to save the foreskin is growing even amongst Jewish groups. Several prominent Jewish writers have questioned the tradition in recent writings. Motivations for intactivism vary. One leading intactivist joined the movement because he resents being circumcised himself.

The circumcision debate has long raged, but as to the alleged health benefits, there’s no definitive answer. It’s not medically necessary, so insurance providers increasingly deny coverage for the procedure. Yet some physicians still recommend it. Whether as a preventive for masturbation, syphilis, or currently, HIV, the unsubstantiated (and sometimes ridiculous) claims come and go. As for the hygiene argument, I’m curious to know what any pediatrician readers think. The American Academy of Pediatrics says circumcision is unnecessary, but makes no normative statement.

Is circumcision another example of successful social conditioning? Or going a step further, as intactivists do, is it an archaic blood ritual depriving humans of their right to genital integrity? The truth is that men’s perfectly functional penises have long been altered because someone – God? – decided thousands of years ago that lopping off infants’ foreskins was awesome good stuff. To be fair, circumcision may have made very good sense for those living in a hot climate in the days before running water and modern health care. Perhaps, for some, it still does. What do you think?

Moving along, both sides of the circumcision debate claim that sexual pleasure and sensitivity are enhanced, but that’s clearly subjective. I suggest more testing.

Further reading:

Incredibly, er, tasteless circumcision cartoon

Yahoo Health graphic comparison and what it actually looks like (sensitivity alert, gang!)

Did you know? The human male is the only primate whose penis does not have an actual bone in it! (This is called a baculum, and most male mammals have one.)

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Tis time for another PSA from the ‘bolt: a major beef recall is underway. Check out the details from ABC to make sure you’re not about to grill up fresh illness for dinner. This is the biggest recall so far in a year full of bad beef and troublesome greens. Unfortunately, it took authorities six weeks to recall the 21 million pounds of beef (visual: that’s enough patties for a nationwide BBQ party).

So, if you’re feeling a bit underwhelmed at the prospect of E. coli, allow me to present a healthy alternative: shrimp. Yes, healthy. A snippet from the Los Angeles Times explains that contrary to popular wisdom, shrimp – or what my vegetarian friend Dori refers to as sea bugs – are not at all high in cholesterol. And neither are lobsters, crab, and other shellfish. You’ll want to buy the good sea bugs (don’t go for cheap farmed shrimp, unless you like sea lice and environmental devastation).

Here is a really delicious grilled shrimp recipe with lime and feta. Shellfish are rich in protein, of course, but they also offer many important vitamins and minerals. Here is all the nutrition information you need to know about every kind of shrimp ever. In fact, this may beat Forrest Gump. Seriously.

(Flickr Photo CC)

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