Showing posts with label time. Show all posts
Showing posts with label time. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

**REAL TIME UPDATES: FBI Says “Currently No Clear Suspects” ; Reportedly Four Improvised Devices; National Guard Now on the Streets of Boston; Officials May Have Had Prior Knowledge; (Videos/Pics)

Updated 04-16-13 13:54 CST


‘The explosives used in the deadly Boston Marathon bombing were contained in 6-liter pressure cookers and hidden in black duffel bags on the ground, a person briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press on Tuesday.


One of the explosives contained shards of metal and ball bearings, and another contained nails, the person said.’ (source)


Updated 04-16-13 9:10CST:


FBI says “currently no clear suspects” in bombing (link)


Bill Hemmer of Fox News reported this morning: Revere, Mass. apartment search yielded no evidence of involvement in bomb plot; Saudi national cleared of wrong doing (no web-based source link available)


Anti-terrorism forces deployed worldwide in the aftermath of the bombing (link)


Still unclear: How many devices were there? Two detonated… two additional unexploded bombs found? (link)


Updated 04-15-13 22:30CST:


National Guard Deployed on Streets of Boston…


…460 Guard members providing security (link)


 Staging area:


National Guard Staging Area


Staging area video:



Military personnel and law enforcement tactical teams prepare to shut down 12 block area surrounding bombing (source):


National Guard Deployed in Boston
(click to view larger image)

…Police, DHS, FBI, ATF Reportedly serving search warrants in Revere, Mass… (link)


…Report that police have detonated a third device in Boston… video:



RAW FOOTAGE *Warning Graphic Content*:



The National Guard is now on the streets of Boston… Staging area video…


Homeland Security Cmte. Member claims it was a coordinated attack.


CNN Analyst Speculates ‘Right-Wing Extremists’ Could Be Behind Marathon Bombing – see video.


A woman holding several bags was telling runners Saturday (April 13) that they were going to die – read more.


UM Coach gives eye-witness report of bomb-sniffing dogs, told “just a drill” :


University of Mobile’s Cross Country Coach, who was near the finish line of the Boston Marathon when a series of explosions went off, said he thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines.“They kept making announcements on the loud speaker that it was just a drill and there was nothing to worry about,” Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15. “It seemed like there was some sort of threat, but they kept telling us it was just a drill.”


Report: No suspect in custody… (link)



CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Suggests Tax Protesters / Patriots Day May be to blame. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJXo2UnMt14 



Boston PD Immediately Shut Down Cell Phone Network city-wide (link)



OFFICIALS MAY HAVE HAD PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:


A startling report from Paul Joseph Watson has revealed that officials may have had prior knowledge of an impending terror attack.


An eyewitness to the two explosions at the Boston Marathon today said that a “drill” was repeatedly announced before the bombs exploded and that he “thought it was odd” bomb sniffing dogs were in place before the blast.



University of Mobile’s Cross Country Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15 News, ““They kept making announcements on the loud speaker that it was just a drill and there was nothing to worry about. “It seemed like there was some sort of threat, but they kept telling us it was just a drill.”


The news station also reports that Stevenson “thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines.”


Stevenson then describes hearing the explosions as he ran away from the scene, having just completed the marathon.


If this report is accurate, it clearly suggests there could have been some degree of prior knowledge of the bombing, which killed two people and injured at least 23.



ORIGINAL REPORT:


Multiple explosions have rocked the Boston Marathon, causing at least two deaths and tearing apart numerous limbs.


A third explosion is now being reported at JFK Library with officials searching the city for any other previously placed bombs.


A report from CBS News documented those that have been confirmed dead:


Two bombs exploded near the finish of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing two people, injuring 22 others and sending authorities rushing to aid wounded spectators at America’s oldest and most prestigous marathon, race organizers and police said.


One runner, a Rhode Island state police officer, said he saw at least two dozen people with very serious injuries, including missing limbs.


About two hours after the winners crossed the finish line, there was a loud explosion on the north side of Boylston Street, just before the photo bridge that marks the line. Another explosion could be heard a few seconds later.



During a news conference featuring Boston officials, it was confirmed that a third explosion had hit but that information was still trickling in that could confirm that.


The first two explosions occurred during the last mile of the race which had been dedicated to the Newtown victims families.


The last mile of the marathon was dedicated to the victims of the Newtown shooting. Family members were at the race near the finish line but no injuries to those families have been reported.



Fox News has also confirmed that there are reports that a suspect whom suffered shrapnel wounds is being guarded at a local Boston hospital.


Pictures at the scene: Warning Graphic Content


Images via The Atlantic

















Stay tuned as more details will be added as they come in.



Delivered by The Daily Sheeple



Contributed by The Daily Sheeple of www.TheDailySheeple.com.


This content may be freely reproduced in full or in part in digital form with full attribution to the author and a link to www.TheDailySheeple.com.


The Daily Sheeple



**REAL TIME UPDATES: FBI Says “Currently No Clear Suspects” ; Reportedly Four Improvised Devices; National Guard Now on the Streets of Boston; Officials May Have Had Prior Knowledge; (Videos/Pics)

**REAL TIME UPDATES: National Guard Now on the Streets of Boston; Officials May Have Had Prior Knowledge; CNN Suggests Patriots to Blame (Videos/Pics)

National Guard Deployed on Streets of Boston…


…460 Guard members providing security (link)


 Staging area:


National Guard Staging Area


Staging area video:



Military personnel and law enforcement tactical teams prepare to shut down 12 block area surrounding bombing:


National Guard Deployed in Boston
(click to view larger image)

…Police, DHS, FBI, ATF Reportedly serving search warrants in Revere, Mass… (link)


…Report that police have detonated a third device in Boston… video:



RAW FOOTAGE *Warning Graphic Content*:



The National Guard is now on the streets of Boston… Staging area video…


Homeland Security Cmte. Member claims it was a coordinated attack.


CNN Analyst Speculates ‘Right-Wing Extremists’ Could Be Behind Marathon Bombing – see video.


A woman holding several bags was telling runners Saturday (April 13) that they were going to die – read more.


UM Coach gives eye-witness report of bomb-sniffing dogs, told “just a drill” :


University of Mobile’s Cross Country Coach, who was near the finish line of the Boston Marathon when a series of explosions went off, said he thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines.“They kept making announcements on the loud speaker that it was just a drill and there was nothing to worry about,” Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15. “It seemed like there was some sort of threat, but they kept telling us it was just a drill.”


Report: No suspect in custody… (link)



CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Suggests Tax Protesters / Patriots Day May be to blame. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJXo2UnMt14 



Boston PD Immediately Shut Down Cell Phone Network city-wide (link)



OFFICIALS MAY HAVE HAD PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:


A startling report from Paul Joseph Watson has revealed that officials may have had prior knowledge of an impending terror attack.


An eyewitness to the two explosions at the Boston Marathon today said that a “drill” was repeatedly announced before the bombs exploded and that he “thought it was odd” bomb sniffing dogs were in place before the blast.



University of Mobile’s Cross Country Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15 News, ““They kept making announcements on the loud speaker that it was just a drill and there was nothing to worry about. “It seemed like there was some sort of threat, but they kept telling us it was just a drill.”


The news station also reports that Stevenson “thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines.”


Stevenson then describes hearing the explosions as he ran away from the scene, having just completed the marathon.


If this report is accurate, it clearly suggests there could have been some degree of prior knowledge of the bombing, which killed two people and injured at least 23.



ORIGINAL REPORT:


Multiple explosions have rocked the Boston Marathon, causing at least two deaths and tearing apart numerous limbs.


A third explosion is now being reported at JFK Library with officials searching the city for any other previously placed bombs.


A report from CBS News documented those that have been confirmed dead:


Two bombs exploded near the finish of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing two people, injuring 22 others and sending authorities rushing to aid wounded spectators at America’s oldest and most prestigous marathon, race organizers and police said.


One runner, a Rhode Island state police officer, said he saw at least two dozen people with very serious injuries, including missing limbs.


About two hours after the winners crossed the finish line, there was a loud explosion on the north side of Boylston Street, just before the photo bridge that marks the line. Another explosion could be heard a few seconds later.



During a news conference featuring Boston officials, it was confirmed that a third explosion had hit but that information was still trickling in that could confirm that.


The first two explosions occurred during the last mile of the race which had been dedicated to the Newtown victims families.


The last mile of the marathon was dedicated to the victims of the Newtown shooting. Family members were at the race near the finish line but no injuries to those families have been reported.



Fox News has also confirmed that there are reports that a suspect whom suffered shrapnel wounds is being guarded at a local Boston hospital.


Pictures at the scene: Warning Graphic Content


Images via The Atlantic

















Stay tuned as more details will be added as they come in.



Delivered by The Daily Sheeple



Contributed by The Daily Sheeple of www.TheDailySheeple.com.


This content may be freely reproduced in full or in part in digital form with full attribution to the author and a link to www.TheDailySheeple.com.


The Daily Sheeple



**REAL TIME UPDATES: National Guard Now on the Streets of Boston; Officials May Have Had Prior Knowledge; CNN Suggests Patriots to Blame (Videos/Pics)

Monday, April 15, 2013

What Happened The Last Time We Saw Gold Drop Like This?

The rapidity of gold’s drop is impressive, concerning, and disorderly. We have seen two other such instances of disorderly ‘hurried’ selling in the last five years. In July 2008, gold quickly dropped 21% – seemingly pre-empting the Lehman debacle and the collapse of the western banking system. In September 2011, gold fell 20% in a short period – as Europe’s risks exploded and stocks slumped prompting a globally co-ordinated central bank intervention the likes of which we have not seen before. Given the almost-record-breaking drop in gold in the last few days, we wonder what is coming?


 



 


This is what it looked like in Q3 2008…



 


and in 2011…



 


and now…



 and it seems safety is bid dramatically elsewhere as 2Y Swiss rates plunge 4bps to -7bps – their lowest in 4 months…


Charts: Bloomberg


Delivered by The Daily Sheeple



Contributed by Zero Hedge of www.zerohedge.com.


The Daily Sheeple



What Happened The Last Time We Saw Gold Drop Like This?

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Politcal Time



Politcal Time

The most comical moment of Brazilian television. Long live democracy! ― at Belo Horizonte – MG, Brasil http://www.viddy.com/video/b2d1bf12-3a01-427d-8de6-8ad…



Politcal Time

Friday, April 12, 2013

Politcal Time



The most comical moment of Brazilian television. Long live democracy! ― at Belo Horizonte – MG, Brasil http://www.viddy.com/video/b2d1bf12-3a01-427d-8de6-8ad…




How does Campaign Finance Reform work? — from tito2k.
Video Rating: 5 / 5



Politcal Time

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Politcal Time




The most comical moment of Brazilian television. Long live democracy! ― at Belo Horizonte – MG, Brasil http://www.viddy.com/video/b2d1bf12-3a01-427d-8de6-8ad…
Video Rating: 0 / 5



Politcal Time

Italian Bank Holdings Of Italian Debt Rise To All Time High


Wondering why the Italian bond market has been stable and “improving” in recent months, with yields relentlessly dropping as a mysterious bidder keeps waving it all in despite the complete political void in the government and what may be months of uncertainty for the country, and despite both PIMCO and BlackRock recently announcing they are taking a pass on the blue light special offered by BTPs? Simple. As the Bank of Italy reported earlier today, total holdings of Italian bonds by Italian banks hit an all time record of €351.6 billion in February.



Why are local banks loaded to the gills in the very security that may and will blow up their balance sheets when the ECB loses control of the European sovereign risk scene as it tends to do every year? Because courtesy of ECB generosity, Italian debt continues to be “cash good collateral” with the ECB, and as a result Italian banks can’t wait to pledge and repo it with Mario Draghi in exchange for virtually full cash allottment. In other words, the more debt the Italian Tesoro issues, the more fungible cash the Italian banks have to spend on such things as padding up their cap ratios and making their balance sheets appear like medieval (any refernce to Feudal Europe is purely accidental) fortresses.


Source: Reuters and Bank of Italy





    


Zero Hedge



Italian Bank Holdings Of Italian Debt Rise To All Time High

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Politcal Time




The most comical moment of Brazilian television. Long live democracy! ― at Belo Horizonte – MG, Brasil http://www.viddy.com/video/b2d1bf12-3a01-427d-8de6-8ad…




How does Campaign Finance Reform work? — from tito2k.



Politcal Time

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Politcal Time




The most comical moment of Brazilian television. Long live democracy! ― at Belo Horizonte – MG, Brasil http://www.viddy.com/video/b2d1bf12-3a01-427d-8de6-8ad…
Video Rating: 0 / 5



Politcal Time

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Adventures in Menstruation: Time to Dump Those Silly Taboos








In 1970, Germaine Greer wrote in The Female Eunuch, “If you think you are emancipated, you might consider the idea of tasting your own menstrual blood. If it makes you sick, you’ve got a long way to go.”


In 2013, “menstrual activists,” or menarchists (menstrual anarchists) are tasting, baking, making art and painting their lips with their own menstrual blood as a gesture of defiance toward the shame and secrecy that still attends periods, even in ostensibly modern, Western, secular culture.


Germaine would be proud.


These fearless feminists are just some examples of a recent wave of menstrual activists who are refusing to see themselves as biohazards just for doing what comes naturally and occupies a sizable portion of a woman’s lifetime. Other activists are questioning the medicalization of premenstrual syndrome and the over-prescription of anti-depressants to treat its symptoms. (Although some women certainly do suffer painful physical and sometimes psychological symptoms around their periods, the problem arises when Big Pharma sees big dollar signs.) These mostly young women are taking on the menstrual products industry, the mega corporations behind it, like Proctor & Gamble and Kimberly Clarke, and the shame-based advertising that has always been the hallmark of selling period products to women.


There’s also the environmental wing of the movement, which points out that the average (Western) woman will use somewhere in the vicinity of 11,800 tampons in her lifetime, tampons that are not particularly well-regulated in terms of their pesticide and dioxin content and which will fill both landfills and oceans. “Friends don’t let friends use tampons,” writes RandomGirl. In the U.S., the environmental impact is exacerbated by the fact that tampons are generally inserted with applicators—not so in Europe.


Finally, there are activists who are questioning the way we educate young girls about menstruation. “We teach them that it is a hygienic crisis,” says Chris Bobel, author of New Blood: Third Wave Feminism and the Politics of Menstruation, “rather than what it is, which is an important gateway to talk about our bodies, our sexuality, our health, how we mature and age, as well as body image issues.  Talking about menstruation can be a way to begin teaching girls that they are not products for consumer culture, to be improved upon, sculpted and cleaned up. It opens up the discourse about all sorts of issues.”


Clearly, not every woman loves her period, or sees it as an occasion to celebrate. There will be those who will be tempted to try the latest birth control pills, which suppress periods altogether, like Lybrel made by Pfizer, and largely made up of an estrogen-based compound. But where some see liberation, others see Big Pharma declaring that those messy, disgusting periods are outdated, and now women can be “clean,” “more sexually appealing” and available. The lack of scientific studies on the long-term effects of these hormonally based, period-suppressing oral contraceptives is also troubling.


However you feel about your period, menstrual activists just want to see a whole lot more openness about the whole bloody topic. “A lot of energy is expended on claiming that it is a non-issue,” Bobel says, “when clearly, it’s still a charged topic.”


Which is why those body outlaws, those menarchists are painting their lips with their menses. To shock us into a discussion. “We think menstruation is funny,” reads the menstrual zine, Adventures in Menstruating, edited by British activist and comic Chella Quint. The online pub promises “highly unsanitary comedy,” and features plenty of hilarious leakage stories. Anything to get the conversation, ahem, flowing.


But seriously, considering that the average woman spends about an eighth of her life menstruating, it is amazing how both entrenched and universal the menstrual taboo remains. It has some deep roots, of course. Traditional religions have long emphasized the “impurity” of the menstruating woman. And many of us grew up with the view that menstruation is a “curse.”  


A quick rundown:


Orthodox Judaism: The strictest. It is a religion of laws, after all: 613 of them to be exact, many of them in the book of Leviticus. No physical contact is allowed with a menstruating woman both during her period, and for a week after (until she becomes “clean” again with the ritual mikvah bath.) A menstruating woman cannot pass an object directly to another person. She must first put it down, then the other person can pick it up so as not to be contaminated. She cannot share a bed or even a seat cushion with her husband, and he can’t eat her leftovers, smell her perfume, look at her clothes, or listen to her sing.


Christianity: The proscriptions are not as explicit as in Judaism, but the menstrual taboo has long helped keep women out of authority in the church.


Islam: No touching a menstruating woman, who is unclean, and she cannot pray, enter a mosque, touch or speak the Q’ran, or fast for Ramadan.


Hinduism: The menstruating woman cannot enter a temple, and she must leave the house. She can’t ride a horse, ox or elephant, or drive a vehicle. She also must not be allowed to touch a pickle, since it will spoil if she does.


Buddhism: Menstruating women are seen as dangerously vulnerable, and Buddhist scripture sees all bodies, male and female, as flawed, leaky and filthy.


Sikhism: The best of the lot when it comes to equality between the sexes. Women are seen as equal, and equally pure as men. The menstrual cycle is not seen as a pollutant in any way.


There’s the flipside, too: the societies where menstrual blood is seen as powerful. The Maoris bathe in it and even drink it, and believe it contains human souls.


Now, some might say that hanging out in a menstrual hut with other women would come as a welcome break from the drudgery of housework, cooking for the family and other chores, although childcare does still generally fall to even menstruating women, and some feminists have embraced the idea of the Red Tent or some other kind of structure as a place of retreat and rejuvenation, or just a place where women can gather amongst themselves.


In the modern world,  the menstrual taboo mostly takes the form of a certain silence around the subject. Many girls are taught not to discuss their period with boys, or even their fathers. Ads for sanitary products still feature a mysterious blue fluid to show absorbency, and the word vagina can be used in sitcoms, but not tampon ads. Buying menstrual products is seen as excruciatingly embarrassing. And one study showed that a woman just visibly carrying tampons was held in lower esteem than a woman with no tampons on her person.


“Women,” as Chris Bobel says, “are expected to keep their periods hidden and silenced.” Something that the runner Uta Pippig was not able to do when she won the Boston Marathon in 1996 with visible menstrual blood running down her leg. The horrified commentators were completely tongue-tied about the situation, never once referring to it as what it so obviously was. A woman doing a very ordinary thing, having her period, while also doing something extraordinary, winning the marathon.


Still, we have come some way in making menstruation matter, and bringing the topic out into the open. Online forums feature young women declaring their refusal to see their periods as dirty, and automatically rejecting boyfriends who won’t go down on them when they are menstruating. “It’s my litmus test,” one declares. Spiritual feminists celebrate their inner moon goddess, wear red jewelry, and fertilize their plants with menstrual blood. The marketing of renewable, healthy and environmentally sound methods of catching period blood, such as Moon Cups, sea sponges and washable pads has gone viral, and menstrual activism is springing up in many parts of the world. Girls and women are increasingly being taught about their cycling body as a resource rather than as a curse.


Some will no doubt choose that period-free life Big Pharma is promising. Choice is, after all, a good thing, as long as it is educated. As Bobel says, “We shouldn’t trade one dogma for another. However you feel about your period is fine.” Body literacy, not dogma, is the goal.


 


 


 


 


Sun, 03/31/2013 – 09:25


 
AlterNet.org Main RSS Feed



Adventures in Menstruation: Time to Dump Those Silly Taboos

Adventures in Menstruating -- It"s Time to Dump Those Silly Taboos








In 1970, Germaine Greer wrote in The Female Eunuch, “If you think you are emancipated, you might consider the idea of tasting your own menstrual blood. If it makes you sick, you’ve got a long way to go.”


In 2013, in-your-face menstrual activists, or menarchists (menstrual anarchists) are tasting, baking, making art and painting their lips with their own menstrual blood as a gesture of total defiance of the shame and secrecy that still attends periods, even in ostensibly modern, western, secular culture.


Germaine would have been proud.


These fearless feminists are just some examples of a recent wave of menstrual activists who are refusing to see themselves as biohazards, just for doing what comes naturally and occupies a sizable portion of a woman’s lifetime. There are other overlapping movements, from scholars who are questioning the medicalization of, and over-prescription of anti-depressants to treat, Premenstrual Syndrome—although certainly some women do suffer painful physical and sometimes psychological symptoms around their period, the problem arises when Big Pharma sees big dollar signs—to mostly young women who are taking on the menstrual products industry, the mega corporations behind it, like Proctor & Gamble and Kimberly Clarke, and the shame-based advertising that has always been the hallmark of selling period products to women.


There’s also the environmental wing of the movement, the one that points out that the average (Western) woman will use somewhere in the vicinity of 11,800 tampons in her lifetime, tampons that are not particularly well-regulated in terms of their pesticide and dioxin content and which will fill both landfills and oceans. “Friends don’t let friends use tampons,” writes RandomGirl. In the U.S., the environmental impact is exacerbated by the fact that tampons are generally inserted with applicators—not so in Europe.


Finally, there are activists who are questioning the way we educate young girls about menstruation. “We teach them that it is a hygienic crisis,” says Chris Bobel, author of New Blood: Third Wave Feminism and the Politics of Menstruation, “rather than what it is, which is an important gateway to talk about our bodies, our sexuality, our health, how we mature and age, as well as body image issues.  Talking about menstruation can be a way to begin teaching girls that they are not products for consumer culture, to be improved upon, sculpted and cleaned up. It opens up the discourse about all sorts of issues.”


Clearly, not every woman loves her period, or sees it as an occasion to celebrate. There will be those who will be tempted to try the latest birth control pills, which suppress periods altogether, like Lybrel made by Pfizer, and largely made up of an estrogen-based compound. But where some see liberation, others see Big Pharma declaring that those messy, disgusting periods are outdated, and now women can be “clean,” “more sexually appealing” and available. The lack of scientific studies on the longterm effects of these hormonally-based, period suppressing oral contraceptives is also troubling.


But bottom line, however you feel about your period or during it, menstrual activists just want to see a whole lot more openness about the whole bloody topic.  “A lot of energy is expended on claiming that it is a non issue,” Bobel says, “when clearly, it’s still a charged topic.”


Which is why those body outlaws, those menarchists are painting their lips with their menses. To shock us into a discussion. “We think menstruation is funny,” reads the menstrual ‘zine, “Adventures in Menstruating,” edited by British activist and comic Chella Quint. The on-line pub promises “highly unsanitary comedy,” and features plenty of hilarious leakage stories. Anything to get the conversation, ahem, flowing.


But seriously, considering that the average woman spends about an eighth of her life menstruating, it is amazing how both entrenched and universal the menstrual taboo remains. It has some deep roots, of course. Traditional religions have long emphasized the “impurity” of the menstruating woman.  And many of us grew up with the view that menstruation a “curse.”  


A quick rundown:


Judaism: The strictest. It is a religion of laws after all. 613 of them to be exact, many of them in the book of Leviticus. No physical contact is allowed with a menstruating woman both during her period, and for a week after (until she becomes “clean” again with the ritual mikvah bath.) A menstruating woman cannot pass an object directly to another person. She must first put it down, then the other person can pick it up so as not to be contaminated. She cannot share a bed or even a seat cushion with her husband, and he can’t eat her leftovers, smell her perfume, look at her clothes, or listen to her sing.


Christianity: The proscriptions are not as explicit as in Judaism, but the menstrual taboo has long helped keep women out of authority in the church.


Islam: No touching a menstruating woman, who is unclean, and she cannot pray, enter a mosque, touch or speak the Q’ran, or fast for Ramadan.


Hinduism: The menstruating woman cannot enter a temple, and she must leave the house. She can’t ride a horse, ox or elephant, or drive a vehicle. She also must not be allowed to touch a pickle, since it will spoil if she does.


Buddhism: Menstruating women are seen as dangerously vulnerable, and Buddhist scripture sees all bodies, male and female, as flawed, leaky and filthy.


Sikhism: The best of the lot when it comes to equality between the sexes. Women are seen as equal, and equally pure as men. The menstrual cycle is not seen as a pollutant in any way.


There’s the flipside too. The societies where menstrual blood is seen as powerful. Like the Maoris who bathe in it and even drink it, and believe it contains human souls.


Now, some might say—in fact some have said—that hanging out in a menstrual hut with other women would come as a welcome break from the drudgery of housework, cooking for the family and other chores, although childcare does still generally fall to even menstruating women, and some feminists have embraced the idea of the Red Tent or some other kind of structure as a place of retreat and rejuvenation, or just a place where women can gather amongst themselves.


In the modern world,  the menstrual taboo mostly takes the form of a certain silence around the subject. Many girls are taught not to discuss their period with boys, or even their fathers, ads for sanitary products still feature a mysterious blue fluid to show absorbency, and the word vagina can be used in sitcoms, but not tampon ads. Buying menstrual products is seen as excruciatingly embarrassing. And one study showed that a woman just visibly carrying tampons was held in lower esteem than a woman with no tampons on her. “Women,” as Chris Bobel says, “are expected to keep their periods hidden and silenced.” Something that the runner Uta Pippig was not able to do when she won the Boston Marathon in 1996 with visible menstrual blood running down her leg. The horrified commentators were completely tongue-tied about the situation, never once referring to it as what it so obviously was. A woman doing a very ordinary thing, having her period, while also doing something extraordinary, winning the marathon.


Still, we have come some way in making menstruation matter, and bringing the topic out into the open. On-line forums feature young women declaring their refusal to see their periods as dirty, and automatically rejecting boyfriends who won’t go down on them when they are menstruating. “It’s my litmus test,” one declares. Spiritual feminists celebrate their inner moon goddess, wear red jewelry, and fertilize their plants with menstrual blood. The marketing of renewable, healthy and environmentally sound methods of catching period blood, such as Moon Cups, sea sponges and washable pads has gone viral, and menstrual activism is springing up in lots of parts of the world.  Girls and women are increasingly being taught about their cycling body as a resource rather than as a curse.


Some will no doubt choose that period-free life that Big Pharma is promising. Choice is, after all, a good thing, as long as it is educated. As Bobel says, “We shouldn’t trade one dogma for another. However you feel about your period is fine.” Body literacy, not dogma, is the goal.


 


 


 


 


Sun, 03/31/2013 – 09:25


 
AlterNet.org Main RSS Feed



Adventures in Menstruating -- It"s Time to Dump Those Silly Taboos