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.

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Image: WikiPedia Creative Commons

Post from: Healthbolt

Health officials in Los Angeles are targeting young woman with a program that offers STD Results Via Text. The progam that started earlier this week provides home delivery of STD testing kits and a text message to alert them when the results are ready online.

A man is suing a Chicago restaurant that he claims provided an undercooked salmon salad that resulted in him having a  9-foot-tapeworm growing inside him.  The Scientific American article that highlights this case asks Are Urban Tapeworms on the rise?

Chastity Bono (daughter of Sonny and Cher) is transitioning from woman to man.

An anti-abortion blogger, who wrote in detail about being pregnant with a sick baby, is outed as a hoax.

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Back in 2003,  imams in northern Nigeria  claimed that polio vaccinations were part of a western plot aimed to make Muslims infertile or infect them with AIDS.  This resulted in large scale boycotting of the vaccines and an almost doubling of children crippled with polio the following year.

(the good news – a big new anti-polio push is currently under way in Nigeria and this time, many of the Muslim imams are advocating for people to have the vaccination.)

Meanwhile, the Pope, during his recent visit to Africa stated that ‘condoms are not the answer’ to fighting AIDS.  Not only that, he went on to add that it (condoms) only increases the problem.  Of course, this statement shouldn’t be all that surprising given the Catholic churches stance on birth control and abortion.  But it really doesn’t help those who are fighting against this disease.

(image by nualabugeye at flickr)

Post from: Healthbolt

First up, the 60 year old woman from Western Canadian who recently gave birth to twins. Seems she had her heart set on having children and when it didn’t happen naturally, resorted to IVF treatment in India (Canada apparently has a cutoff age of 50). I’m sorry but having twins at 60 sounds more like a nightmare than a blessing. Keeping up with one infant would be hard enough but two? Even a thirty year old might have problems doing that.

Second up, the baby faced 13 year old father in England. These kids (the mother is just 15) might have the energy to raise a child but as we all know, it takes so much more than just energy. It takes money. It takes maturity.

And third, there is Octo Mom who, even though she already has six children under age of 7, went to a fertility clinic, an action that resulted in her recently having octuplets. I’m still trying to get my head around this one. Why would anyone do this? Actually, why would any doctor allow this to happen? This woman believes that she can raise all 14 children but also go back to college in the fall and complete a master’s degree in counseling. Seriously, she plans on studying! When! How! The house will be full of children.

Any thoughts?

Post from: Healthbolt

Seeing ghosts or hearing strange voices? Then maybe you need to cut back on your caffeine intake. A recent UK study has found that people drinking more than seven cups of instant coffee a day were three times more likely to hallucinate than those who took just one.

The ‘Green Cigarette’. Smoker’s beware. Just because it’s green doesn’t make it healthier.

A rundown of celebs and their health news:

• Oprah’s weight battle continues
• Apple CEO Steve Job’s ‘hormone imbalance
• Entourage Stars Brush with Mercury Poison
• Patrick Swayze recovering from pneumonia

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Post from: Healthbolt

…in the Congo when volunteering British surgeon uses text message instructions to perform a life-saving arm amputation on a young boy who was bitten by a hippopotamus. Seems while general and vascular surgeon David Nott knew that a forequarter amputation was required to save the 16-year-old boy, he’d never actually done one before. Aware that such an operation before was a huge risk, he decided to call in the ‘cavalry’ – that is, he text messaged Professor Meirion Thomas, one of the few British surgeons  experienced in such procedures and asked for help. Luckily, his phone was on and he txted  back ‘step-by-step instructions on how to do it.’

Meanwhile, in the United States, the cell phone again saves the day….

…when a stray .45-caliber bullet hit a 68 year old man in the chest while he was mowing the lawn. Apparently, all that stood between him and the bullet was his cell phone which took the brunt of the force and saved his life. The man survived with some bruising. Sadly the phone didn’t survive.

And a few extra tidbits…

Want to know whether drinking urine good for your health? 

Turns out left-handed men earn five per cent more every HOUR than right-handers.

And for some psychiatric patients, life seems like TV.

By the way, never assume that hospitals are safe environments. In the UK, inspectors for the Healthcare Commission found that only five out of 51 hospital trusts pass hygiene test.

Post from: Healthbolt

To start of with, what do you think about this – a ‘chastity belt’ lingerie fitted with GPS tracking system’. Lingerie maker Lucia Lorio of Brazil says it’s designed for ‘modern, techno-savvy woman’. But feminist are calling it a modern-day slaver and are urging women to boycott the GPS underwear

Meanwhile, Swedish health authorities are causing controversy with their decision to supply free prosthetic penises that are not fully functional to transsexual men. Seems these free prosthetic penises [are] strictly flaccid a situation that some call ridiculous. But the Swedish health authorities have no choice – government regulations prohibit them from using taxpayers money for either products or procedures that might be considered sexual aids.

If this article – The 25 Weirdest Things Eaten By A Human – is anything to go by, Xray technicans see it all. The article exposes some of the more extreme items that people have eaten, from a ‘prisoner who has being held in a cell with wire mesh walls attempted to eat his way out of jail’ to a ‘man in England tried to walk out of a jewelry store with an engagement ring by swallowing it.’

And talking about strange things to eat, what about this collection of foods from around the world…

Weird Things People Eat Around The World – Amazing videos are here

And finally, lifehacker thinks they have the answer to Obama’s hypoallergenic dog problem – a robotic pet.

Post from: Healthbolt

Singing a Song of Sanitation – When Feliciano Dos Santos, a leading South African musician, is not touring Europe with his band Massukos,  he can be found wandering Mozambique’s highland villages, singing about going to the bathroom and washing your hands when you are done. As head of Estamos (”we are”), a small charity that focuses on clean water and safe sanitation for some of the poorest provinces in Mozambique, dos Santos is clearly a man with a mission.

And finally…

This from AdFreak…What? Still washing your crotch with soap? a post about Man Junk, a line of organic shampoos for the discriminating scrotum.  The Man Junk Web site states “Any product that’s made to clean your neck, back, buttocks or legs isn’t going to provide the specific levels of odor fighting and skin treatment that Man Junk does.”

Post from: Healthbolt

Beware edible sex ’spreads’… they could contain melamine, the poisonous chemical linked to the Chinese milk crisis. The UK Food Standards Agency issued a food alert on Friday for Chinese-made “I Love You” sets. According to an agency spokesperson said: ‘This is a first. We’ve never had to put out an alert before on “willy spread” – chocolate-flavoured or otherwise.’

Extreme Allergies… due to environment has caused one woman to live a large portion of each day in a galvanized-steel-and-porcelain shed, complete with toilet, a metal cabinet, a box spring with the metal coils exposed, and a pile of organic cotton blankets. Windows are covered with aluminum foil, making the shed as appealing as a prison cell. Seems to work for her, but the neighbors are up in arms about the shed, saying that the 160-square-foot building is not only unsightly but also unstable and will bring down the property values.

Presidential problems…south of the border – trust mental floss to come up with a unique list of presidential ailments. Read at you’re own peril. And not while you are eating!!! At least there are no pictures involved.

And finally…Feel that no one is listening to you. Then go and talk to the robot. Seriously, check out this talking robot. I’ve just had a long and interesting conversation with him/her about the…weather!!!

Post from: Healthbolt

Bluegrass and Brain Surgery – Mostly, surgeons prefer patients to be unconscious during surgery, but in this case, they not only wanted to keep their patient awake but they also wanted him to play the banjo. Why? Because they were trying to determine what region of the brain was causing the patient to suffer tremors. See for yourself here.

Dead Man Walking Bathing – He’s been dead since 1924, but every year, he has a bath. Can you guess who? No. Then head over to Morbid Anatomy for the answer. And if you’re curious to see how a dead man baths, then check out this photo essay.

Post from: Healthbolt