We’re gonna need a bigger boat…

No shit, Sherlock.

BBC News.  

Media portrayal of young women as sex objects harms girls’ mental and physical health, US experts warn.

I’ve read something that has left me feeling quite disturbed.

BBC News -  female infanticide or illegal abortions

390 pieces of bone from newly-born babies or foetuses were found buried near a hospital in India.

and then:

Ratlam’s police chief said they were investigating the possibility of female infanticide or illegal abortions.

So I looked a bit further.

BBC News - Cradles plan for unwanted girls

It is the latest initiative to try to wipe out the practice of female foeticide and female infanticide.

 What? I know, this is India, this is far from my own personal experiences, both socially and culturally.

A girl child is often viewed as inferior to a boy. (snip) Research for the year 2001 showed that for every 1,000 male babies born in India, there were just 933 girls.

I’m torn between being stunned that this is happening somewhere in the world and hoping that these "Cradles" will save some of these girls lives. Then there is that irritation, that itch at the edge of my mind where I know this is a start but it isn’t enough.

But I like to have a happy note if I can! So on a completely unrelated topic……

Hugs are good for Women! 

Feel free to leave or claim a hug in the comments. Let the hug-fest begin!

Sometimes we have to record and comment on something because to witness it makes it real. I’ve done this before on this blog. I’ll carry on doing it. As always, these are my perceptions of a situation, witnessed in a glimpse as I drove past.

The ambulance is parked crookedly on the corner.  The lights are flashing, the siren is silent. The car in front of it is a police patrol car.

A crowd of assorted uniforms exit the house at the end of the long, neat drive winding through the carefully cultivated flower borders. It’s a nice house in a nice neighbourhood.

The green clad paramedics wheel her out. She has a neck collar on and the dark stains of too much spilled blood are clear on them and her. One of them is holding her hand, in his other hand he holds a bag of fluids high, he is squeezing it as they run for the safety of the ambulance. They slam her inside and pull the doors shut. Both paramedics are in the back with her. The ambulance doesn’t pull out as I’d expect it to do.

Backtrack a few seconds to the crowd leaving the house.

The larger of the two police officers is male. He has the man in handcuffs and holds him by the upper arm. The man is trying to kick out at the stretcher and woman, despite being pulled away. He spits at her. The shorter police officer is female. She is running for the car, phone/radio close to her mouth as she delivers her words and gives her orders. She glances back at her colleague and flings open the door to allow him to push the man inside. They are not gentle.

The police car pulls away behind me, the siren comes on and I pull over to let them past. The ambulance still hasn’t moved.  I have this sinking feeling that this is a bad thing.

I got home. There’s nothing on the local radio, nothing on the news.  There was no crowd watching, no reporters, no-one saw. But I did. Whoever she is/was, whatever happened, I saw, I remember.

From Witchy Woo’s place - thanks Witchy for yet another thought provoking post! I started commenting and then gave up to come over here and blog my thoughts instead.

Answers.com - Radical definition. 

 Adjective: Definition: extreme, revolutionary in belief, fundamental, basic

 Noun: Definition: person who holds revolutionary beliefs

From that "Answers" link I find a few words give me a flinch reaction - rabid, extreme, fanatic, zealot. They all have very negative associations. So I flinch away and say, No, I’m not one of those rabid, foaming at the mouth, extremist(terrorist) feminists!

But. There’s so much wrong, I see so many things influencing, gently guiding my daughter. She’s 3. She sits in the trolley at the supermarket and that raises her eye level so she can just about see the lads mags. Is that intentional? No, it’s not. No-one bothered to think about it. There’s no conscious conspiracy. It’s just so intrinsically woven into the fabric of society that so many don’t even think about it.

Lets go back to the definitions, after all I am a word smith! Definitions taken from Answers.com as per link above.

Rabid - showing or having enthusiasm. Holding especially political views that deviate drastically and fundamentally from conventional or traditional beliefs. Full of or marked by extreme anger.

Umm, that’s familiar. I can relate to that.

Extreme -   Either of the two things situated at opposite ends of a range, Very dangerous or difficult, Extending far beyond the norm.

Not sure about this one but my ecology views are extreme. My path through life has never been one of ease, I was never one to conform without question. Ah well, I seem to be extreme as well then.

Fanatic -   A person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause.

I object to unreasoning! I have my reasons and I am finding more and more.

Zealot - a fervent and even militant proponent of something

I’m still not sure where I stand on the radical scale.  But it’s not a choice, it’s a journey and I’m still travelling. It’s not a label I think I deserve, not yet. But I do relate to many of the facets associated with it.

Ok. Inspired by Simply Wondered telling all about the tags and search terms used to find his blog, and now Teetering Slightly. I think Witchy’s done it too?

Anyway, I went to have a look and mine aren’t at all exciting!

• Shazia Mirza Armpit 
• 2007 shave
• Sexualisation of women
• Breastfeeding a rapists child.

Actually, I’m on pg 3 of that last one, and only because I mentioned Breastfeeding and Rapists in the same month. Most of my traffic comes from other blogs and forums.

Clearly I have to work harder to get interesting tags….. 

I find this very very disturbing.

Police raid on a brothel - and others. Have a look at the others in the set. I really do object to this being presented at a Toy Fair.

Admiring the scenery.  Just ugh.

There are places hidden amongst the dead concrete of our urbanity that breathe green. There are islands of life, sanctuaries for plant and animal.

Manor Gardens in Hackney Wick is one of them.  Thanks to my friend Kris for highlighting this.

Unfortunately they happen to be exactly where the 2012 Olympic Park is planned. 

This small island of 80 allotment plots provides food for 150 families and homes for untold numbers of our native wildlife. The bid for the 2012 Olympics espoused a strong biodiversity commitment. Yet they are willing to evict the allotment holders and destroy this green island and the life it supports.

There’s a petition Here if you want to support the campaign to stop this destruction.  

Trying out a new ad program - BidVertiser. I don’t know what it’ll be like so if you see anything untoward please let me know and I can block it or dump them like a hot brick. I’m hoping to make a few pennies through them though! we’ll see what happens.