Humanize the Earth!

Africa’s first female elected leader

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf appears to have won the Liberian elections.Her opponant is claiming fraud. If his claims are rejected, Johnson-Sirleaf will become Africa’s first female elected head of state.

Congratulations!

Of course, I have no idea if her victory is good for the country or not. I would’ve said the same if George Weah had won. She’ll certainly be a role model for girls from now on. Excellent

If Women Do Fall They Lie by Kameron Hurley

Read this really great short story the other day by the author of Brutal Women. Check it out: If Women Do Fall They Lie by Kameron Hurley

sunday nov. 13 - an informative discussion in and about the ladies room

Got this by email and thought I’d pass it on:

hello girl-friends - and sympathetic, curious
others

Motivated by a desire to practice natural birth
control methods, i recently took a fertility
awarenesss course. i learned far more about my
menstrual cycle and fertility and….. all the
affects and consequences of these cyclical events
than i imagined. honestly, i was shocked that at
30 years of age, no one had ever even mentioned
these basic biological functions to me. With
further research and knowledge now in hand, i am
eagar to share what i have learned since. (this
coming from abelief thatwe all should have
access to such basic information and not have to
rely on paid authorities to feel confident in
maintaining our own reproductive health.)

What i will offerare the simple basics -
information for use for anything from
contra(con)ception to managing and detecting
patterns of PMS, cramping or other associated
menstrual afflictions. (I can offer some
references for true expertise on the subject if
your needs and interests go beyond this)

Please join me for an informative Sunday evening
ladies room discussion and sharing over tea and
cookies. I will show you how to chart your cycle
with birth control or conception in mind and
share alternative (eco-friendly) products for the
collection (and possible distribution!) of your
fertile menses.At the end, you will also be
able to order some of these products through a
co-op buying club.

on SUNDAY, november 13th. 4-7pm at the home of
(contact Ted for details) (Little Village).
PLEASE RSVP BY FRIDAY: (contact Ted for details)
and do please share this with anyone you think
might be interested.

The clitoris needs more respect

There are just so many reasons to criticize mainstream western medicine. Here’s another one (luckily, one being addressed inside the system, at least by one doctor) (via Brutal Women): “There was no description of the clitoris in the main textbook that was being used to prepare surgeons in training. There was no diagram, and in the diagram of the pelvis no clitoris was evident.”

transportation alternatives in Detroit

My new friend Heatherpoet has a new blog, InnocenceAwakening!

Turns out she’s from Detroit, where I grew up and where my family all lives. In her post Mass transit in Detroit, referring to reading about alternatives to cars, she writes: “I was very inspired because there has to be something we can do to spark legislation that will actually get somewhere. I was wondering if anyone out there knows of anything I can participate in to get something on the books or that is already in motion.”

I have a couple of thoughts about that. One is to check out Critical Mass Detroit and go ride with them. Another is to drop Mark Dilley a line. He’s a union organizer and knows a lot of what’s going on in the Detroit area.

Working on alternatives in the belly of the beast, as it were, legislation is a fine goal. Don’t overlook personal and small group actions that can make a difference. Bike lanes, for example, are a chicken and egg problem, really. No need for lanes without people being on their bikes and people don’t always feel safe on their bikes without seperate lanes. So go ride in the Mass, get some friends together for a group on-street ride so it’s safer, etc. Some goes for walking, car-pooling, bussing, whatever.

I look forward to a report-back!