The War Against Women

Begins in the Womb-Cry Genocide

A study on female foeticide in India that has been published by renowned British medical journal, Lancet, states that since 1994, over 1 crore - 10 million - female foetuses have been aborted in the country.

India's 'girl deficit' deepest among educated

In 1994, India banned the use of technology to determine the sex of unborn children and the termination of pregnancies on the basis of gender.

However, research for the year 2001 showed that for every 1,000 male babies born in India, there were just 933 girls.

Leading campaigners say many of India's fertility clinics continue to offer a seemingly legitimate facade for a multi-billion pound racket and that gender determination is still big business in India.

The researchers said the "girl deficit" was more common among educated women but did not vary according to religion.

Experts in India say female foeticide is mostly linked to socio-economic factors.

It is an idea that many say carries over from the time India was a predominantly agrarian society where boys were considered an extra pair of hands on the farm.

The girl child has traditionally been considered inferior and a liability - a bride's dowry can cripple a poor family financially

India 'lost birth' study disputed BBC News

I have not seen a lot of bloggers covering this story. It appeared in the MSM one day and of course was gone the next, moving on to the next big story. The Lancet study was done by Doctors at the University of Toronto

DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)67930-0

Low male-to-female sex ratio of children born in India: national survey of 1·1 million households

Prabhat Jha a , Rajesh Kumar b, Priya Vasa a, Neeraj Dhingra a, Deva Thiruchelvam aRahim Moineddin a and

Summary

Background

Fewer girls than boys are born in India. Various hypotheses have been proposed to explain this low sex ratio. Our aim was to ascertain the contribution of prenatal sex determination and selective abortion as measured by previous birth sex.

Methods

We analysed data obtained for the Special Fertility and Mortality Survey undertaken in 1998. Ever-married women living in 1·1 million households in 6671 nationally-representative units were asked questions about their fertility history and children born in 1997.

Findings

For the 133 738 births studied for 1997, the adjusted sex ratio for the second birth when the preceding child was a girl was 759 per 1000 males (99% CI 731–787). The adjusted sex ratio for the third child was 719 (675–762) if the previous two children were girls. By contrast, adjusted sex ratios for second or third births if the previous children were boys were about equal (1102 and 1176, respectively). Mothers with grade 10 or higher education had a significantly lower adjusted sex ratio (683, 610–756) than did illiterate mothers (869, 820–917). Stillbirths and neonatal deaths were more commonly male, and the numbers of stillbirths were fewer than the numbers of missing births, suggesting that female infanticide does not account for the difference.

Interpretation

Prenatal sex determination followed by selective abortion of female fetuses is the most plausible explanation for the low sex ratio at birth in India. Women most clearly at risk are those who already have one or two female children. Based on conservative assumptions, the practice accounts for about 0·5 million missing female births yearly, translating over the past 2 decades into the abortion of some 10 million female fetuses.

Affiliations

a Centre for Global Health Research, St Michael's Hospital, and Department of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
b School of Public Health, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India

Correspondence to: Dr Prabhat Jha, Centre for Global Health Research, St Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto, 70 Richmond Street East, 2nd Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5C 1N8, Canada

The study proves Canadian born feminist theoritician Shulamith Firestone correct.

In her seminal work the Dialectic of Sex she said that as patriarchical society advances its bio-technology in medicine and reproduction (reproductive technology), women become more and more expendable. Girls are commodities in patriarchical society, ones that are valued or disposed of.

Now those on the right will immediately blame the access to abortion that women now have thanks to medical advances. And they will blame feminism;

'Gender' - a new dangerous ideology
Sunday - Catholic Weekly, Poland - 14 Dec 2005
... Shulamith Firestone in her book 'The Dialectic of Sex', published in 1970, modifying the idea of the class struggles, calls to sex-class revolution: 'In order ...

But the reality is that it is patriarchical society which values males as property owners, and devalues women and childern as property, that is the source of this war against women. A war conducted in the wombs of mothers. Not due to advances in abortion, those are ancient womens knoweldge since the dawn of time, but from the advances in the technology of the Ultrasound.

Now those who would use this information to condemn access to abortion would sound ridiculous if they demanded the end of the use of the ultrasound. So vital in the industrial world to the happiness of the middle class who get to see their children growing in moms womb. But in the newly industrialized world, with its cash value for males, this same middle class and upper class use the ultrasound for selective breeding. Abortion comes after.

This war is not isolated to India. It is a world wide phenomena. It is the reality of patriarchal 'family values'.

China faces future as land of boys 09/03/05

Editorial: Asia's Male Tilt 07/15/04

FEMALE FOETICIDE Indians have terminated 10 million girl babies in the last 20 years. This shocking reality has been uncovered in a study done by medical journal Lancet, which also reveals that female foeticide is not a phenomenon restricted to rural India. The fact is corroborated by the 2001 census — 933 girls per 1000 boys. CNN-IBN uncovers India's age-old fascination with the boy child, which has skewed the census figures so.

Unwanted Even Before Birth Son temples of Punjab Cradle of Controversy Brides Killed, Brides Bought Short of girls? Barter Them Glimmer of Hope from MP Slideshow: Ruhani Kaur chronicles

Tags
feminism
medicine
Dialectics of Sex
Shulamith Firestone
female infanticide
science
India
abortion
Female Foeticide
patriarchy
reproductive technology

Mad Science-Flourescent Pigs

Wow file this under another useless scientific wonder. Who thinks up these things. Like the purpose of this is what....to find lost pigs in the dark? Or to have them wander around night clubs as a conversation piece?

Scientists in Taiwan say they have bred three pigs that "glow in the dark".

They claim that while other researchers have bred partly fluorescent pigs, theirs are the only pigs in the world which are green through and through.

The pigs are transgenic, created by adding genetic material from jellyfish into a normal pig embryo.

When lit up in the dark, the pigs glow green


Tags
science
genetics
pigs
jellyfish
flourescent
biology
mutation
biotechnology
genetic manipulation

No Suitcases At Mecca

The Saudi Government has announced that in the future all carry on luggage, bags, suitcases, backpacks, etc. will be banned from Mecca during the Haj in order to avoid incidents like this.

Stampede kills Mecca pilgrims by the hundreds
Interior Ministry spokesman Major-General Mansour al-Turki said the deaths occurred after some pilgrims began to trip over luggage that had spilled from a moving bus.

Of course this kind of news story makes Islam and Muslims look like primitive peoples You know unable to be civilized in public space, pushing shoving, throwing stones, doing strange ritualistic rites, down right tribalistic. But stampedes occur world wide, including in the west during Soccer games.

Backgrounder: Major lethal stampedes last year

Cash and coupons lure 42 to death in Chennai

Or perhaps its just how the media in the West portray it. Do ya think. Like if there were not accidents, incidents, or attacks by terrorists there would be no news about the Haj. It's the only time the western media reports on this major religious holiday. Unlike Christmas at the Vatican.

These aren't accidents, they are preventable incidents, but the Saudi's have failed to do anything about it.

Hajj crowd-pressure must be eased to avoid tragedy New Scientist

But experts say the sheer scale of the stoning ritual makes it inherently dangerous. "There's a huge risk and potential for accidents whenever you have so many people in a tightly confined space," says Keith Still, an expert on crowd behaviour at UK company Crowd Dynamics. "There's a limit to what can be done."

In 1990, 1462 pilgrims were killed in a crush within a tunnel leading to the site and in 2004 another crush caused the death of 251 people. Similar accidents also occurred in 1997 and 1998.

Funny that. Perhaps they should hire the Engineering Firm Bin Laden to solve the problem. Nope on second thought that may not be such a good idea. Mecca hostel collapse prompts rare media criticism

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - The death of 76 people in a Muslim pilgrims' hostel in Mecca before the annual haj prompted a rare flurry of media criticism of Saudi authorities on Saturday.

"Yet another building has collapsed, and with each one the bad management, bad supervision, and nonchalance of the concerned authorities are revealed," columnist Abdul-Rahman Al-Rashed wrote in the main Saudi daily Ashraq al-Awsat.

An Interior Ministry official, who said it was still not clear what caused the collapse, told journalists the hostel had been licensed by the Industry and Trade Ministry.

Or is it just that the statist Saudi's with their army and police can't do the responsible thing and protect public safety, looking the other way at the exploitation of the pilgrims by their own profiteers. Ah say it ain't so.

Still, a report in the daily al-Riyadh newspaper said: "The state is pumping millions into the haj and honest businessmen are sticking to rules, but some who look for quick gain embarrass the country before the international community."

I think given the choice between the luggage is to blame and the Saudi's abidcate responsibilty while cashing in on pilgrams I will chose the latter.

Saudi officials are being blamed for not having taken the necessary measures, yet they complain of “unruly” pilgrims.

Tags
Mecca
Haj
Islam
Muslims
pilgrams
Saudi Arabia

New Libertarian Journal

The Molinari Institute has launched a new bi monthly journal for Left Libertarians from both the individualist and socialist schools of thought. Congrats to them. A tip o the blog to Brad Spangler for this.

This of course exclude 99.9% of the Blogging Tory's in Canada, regardless of their labeling themselves Libertarian (they are actually Randites) and those who often comment here, sans Reg. And it completely excludes the Statist neo-cons that blog as Liberals.

For those interested here is what they say;

CALL TO SUBMIT ARTICLES

Later this year (2006) the Molinari Institute will begin publishing a magazine (either quarterly or bimonthly – stay tuned) titled The Industrial Radical, and devoted to radical libertarian political and social analysis in the tradition of Benjamin Tucker’s 1881-1908 Liberty, Emma Goldman’s 1906-1917 Mother Earth, and Murray Rothbard’s 1965-1968 Left & Right.
Topics to be explored include: radical libertarian alternatives to statism, militarism, and intellectual property; the social and cultural requirements of a free and flourishing society; the structure of work, family, and property relationships in such a society; strategies for getting from here to there; and the possibility of “gains from trade” between the left/socialist and right/capitalist traditions within libertarianism.

The title “Industrial Radical” honors the libertarian and individualist anarchist thinkers and activists of the 19th century, who were “industrial” in the sense of championing what they called the industrial mode of social organization, based on voluntary cooperation and mutual benefit, over the militant mode, based on hierarchy, regimentation, and violence; and who were “radical” in the sense of recognizing that social problems are embedded in sustaining networks of institutions and practices, and so can be addressed only via thoroughgoing social change. Their approach informs our vision.

Canada and Quebec Two Tory Solitudes

Harper ended his platform speech this morning saying something different in French then English.

In French he called on "Canada and Quebec" to vote for the Conservatives, and only refered to Canadians in the English.

Federalists understand Quebec is a country, a nation within Canada, they just can't say it to us in English Canada, while appealing to the Quebecois they recognize this reality. Or maybe its cause he got the endorsement of the ADQ.

As Philippe Gohier says Harper is playing a dangerous game.

Harper’s support could very well be due to his appeal to both the soft-nationalist and soft-federalist vote. On the one hand, he is unequivocally defensive about Canada’s role in the province, but on the other, he is playing up the issues of fiscal imbalance and provincial jurisdiction, two issues dear to the nationalist heart.


Tags
Canada
Federal Election
Politics
Harper
Conservatives
Quebec

Harper Lies About Child Care

In his 30 minute speech announcing the Conservative Platform the Harper proclaimed that the Liberal day care program funding the provinces has not produced a single day care space. Really. In his own home province of Alberta it has and it has allowed Alberta to increase wages for child care workers. But hey don't let the facts get in the way of a good sound bite.

Also see:

Whose Family Values

Day Care

Defend Public Day Care


TAGS
daycare
Alberta
Canada
Federal Election
Politics
Conservatives
Stephen Harper

Two Faced Harper

Harper has just announced the Conservative Platform. Including a series of broken promises. Promises made during the last sitting of the house, when the Conservative party promised to support Liberal policy and spending announcements in an orgy of me too politics. Harper not bound by Liberal initiatives

Now he is saying they will renege on tax breaks, aboriginal funding, daycare funding all ready negotiated with the provinces, the Kyoto accord, and will reintroduce a motion to support the American missle defense plan.


But after many promises to cost their platform, wait till we release our platform said Monte Solberg earlier this week, they still have NOT given Canadians the cost of their program.

In a lock up of selected reporters this morning, imitating a government budget release, Monte Solberg their point man in finance could not give a straight answer on costing their promises. Is it $60.5 billion or $90.billion. Last week it was either going to be $32 billion or $49 billion, or even $52 billion. However you cut it they still have not figured out how to use an abacus or a calculator.

"Voodoo economics" - Bob Fife

"It turns out that their total promises for the Conservative Party adds up to $75 billion. When there is reallocation we are told it is $60.7 billion. But this took about an hour or so of discussions and adding up to get to this figure of about $67 billion. Total tax measures are about 44.9 billion. Other spending initiatives I don't want to go there because it was so confusing even Monte Solberg the conservative finance critic did not explain that to us."

Journalists try to get their heads around the Conservative numbers following 'lock up' on Friday.

In the Conservative platform, the party says Canadians can expect $30 billion in new spending over the next five years, alongside $45 billion in previously-announced tax breaks.

The one new tax break pledged by Harper is to eliminate the capital-gains tax for individuals and companies who reinvest the money within six months.

Conservatives would spend $171.6 billion in the next fiscal year -- $1 billion less than Harper said the Liberals would spend.

And after five years, federal spending would climb to $198.8 billion, about $7 billion less than the projected Liberal platform, he said.

The Tory's really don't have a hidden agenda, they have a blatant agenda, which takes money from already promised deals to pay for their pig in a poke promises. This is a platform that is financed with your own money twice. And we still don't know how much it will cost!

Tags
Canada
Federal Election
Politics
Harper
Conservatives

Marriage Canada Historical Revisionists

While checking out the right wing lobby Marriage Canada I found this interesting.

Marriage Canada is a pro-traditional marriage web site set up as an information outlet by David Mainse. David is currently very busy behind the scenes as a "Spiritual Statesman for Canada." His public position on “Marriage” is certainly on record.

They are a political lobby, but since they are funded by David Manse of One Hundered Huntely Street does that make them a religious charity under his church?

They go on to say; Marriage predates government. It is a religious covenant. Marriage is a union of "one man and one woman.”

Marriage certainly does predate the state, but as I have written here before marriage as a union of one man and one woman IS sanctioned by the State. It is a legal entity created by the State. It is a property relationship.

Marriage prior to that was a relationship between mothers and their children in a communal property relationship.

With the rise of property and property rights under the patririachy the State defined marriage as one man and one woman, and the man's mistresses of course and his slaves, and his children, and his farm animals, etc. etc.

I also like this about Marriage Canada's campaign, you see they are not really lobbying over relationship but a word. Defending the traditional definition of the word "Marriage"

Also See my articles:

Whose Family Values?

Marx on Bigamy

The Sexual Revolution Continues

History of the WRF

Tags
Canada
Federal Election
Same Sex Marriage
Marriage Canada
gay
lesbian
gay rights

Who Not To Vote For

Candidates endorsed by the right whing whiners; Marriage Canada.

Former Liberal and outgoing Independent Member of Parliament Pat O’Brien and former Leader of the Opposition the Hon. Grant Hill, P.C., announced, today, that Vote Marriage Canada endorses three pro-marriage candidates. Said Pat O’Brien, “On behalf of Vote Marriage Canada, Grant Hill and I are endorsing incumbent Liberal Paul Szabo of Mississauga South, Conservative Dan Mailer of London—Fanshawe, and former NDP and incumbent Independent Bev Desjarlais of Churchill. Each has taken a stand and given clear indication of supporting marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman in the next Parliament.” Vote Marriage Canada is carrying on a national campaign calling on the next Parliament to restore and to promote marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman.

Tags
Canada
Federal Election
Same Sex Marriage
Marriage Canada
gay
lesbian
gay rights
Conservatives
Liberals

Look Up Is It A Bird?

Is it a plane? Is it...

Nope it is defintely a bird.
Researcher: Early Man Was Hunted by Birds


Other Science stories I have blogged on

Tags
science
evolution
biology
Darwinism
history of science