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Friday, October 31, 2014

Menstruation: No Menstrual Hygiene For Indian Women Holds Economy Back


I came across this article today and thought about the time when my menstrual cycle started at the age of 12 yrs..58 yrs ago to date!

I lived in South Africa at the time and the subject wasn't exactly taboo but my mother was reluctant to discuss it with me except to present me with a pad and belt and explain to me how the two worked together to make things a little easier to cope with.
Fortunately these pads were disposable so, at least, I didn't have to wash them

I attended a convent school run by Catholic nuns and I did notice that the convent washline
sometimes had many pad-like articles hanging on it so I surmised that nuns also were subjected to the monthly 'curse'..as it was known.

Keeping the fact that one had begun to get the 'curse' was a real hassle as there were boy pupils attending the school as well and they would tease and harrass any victim they caught out!
I was relieved to go to an all girl boarding school from age 13.

I truly empathise with all girls and women around the world who suffer from the taboos that surround a perfectly normal act of nature and would like to point out to the ignorant males in a global society that, in case they didn't know it, without the menstrual cycle, their birth would not have taken place.


No menstrual hygiene for Indian women holds economy back

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Max Soffar: Innocent on Texas Death Row?; Max Soffar's last appeal..terminally ill with liver cancer

I started corresponding with prisoners on Florida's death row in 1997. I followed the lives of  other death row prisoners in other states in the USA and Max Soffar was one of them.

Max apparently 'confessed' to the crime but there was no evidence to tie him to it except his own confession.

It seems there is a certain Paul Dennis Reid who may have been the real killer but Max does not have time on his side to experience the joy of being found innocent as the investigations and such drag on.

His story is sad and his impulsive behaviour caused him only trouble in his youth but I would say that, now he is dying, one could see them as mitigators to set him free.

Max Soffar: Governor Perry have mercy on this man

Max Soffar's last appeal

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Peter Connelly: Baby P: The untold story BBC documentary


The very sad story of baby Peter Connelly, an innocent little boy who was abused and eventually murdered, indirectly by his careless mother and directly by her callous, cruel and nasty boyfriend and his brother.

These unsavoury characters received virtually no punishment for their heinous crime and soon all three of them will be free to repeat more of same on more innocent victims!


Peter Connelly: Baby P The untold story

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Libya ablaze ( will bring floods of African migrants to Europe ) Editorial - timesofmalta.com

Editorial - timesofmalta.com

Orchid: Beauty in bloom





This beautiful orchid has been in bloom for weeks!
I have moved it around a bit but now it seems to like its new spot where there
is lots of light and little direct sun.
Orchids are very rewarding as they need little attention and seem to survive even when watering is erratic

Friday, October 24, 2014

Coltan: Why you should recycle your cell phone and electronics

Coltan: Why you should recycle your cell phone

Sexual violence is a weapon; Dr Denis Mukwege; Democratic Republic of Congo; Gynaecologist helps rape victims; Congo exploited and destabilised because of Coltan; Recycle electronic equipment

In this day and age where we very nonchalantly toss our 'not so up to date' electronic equipment out with the garbage, most of us do not realise at what a price these gadgets come about and how women and children and families and communities and habitats are being destroyed in the relentless search for a metal called coltan which is extracted from columbite tantalum..an ore.. which is mined in, mainly, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Much of the mining is done illegally and gangs prey on the local communities and try to drive them out of the area where the ore is found.
Sexual violence is used as a weapon and thousands of women and children have been raped and demoralised and have sustained very serious injuries during these rapes which leave them incontinent of urine and faeces.

In 1998 Dr Denis Mukwege founded the Panzi hospital in Bukavu for these rape victims and repairs as best he can the fistulas that form and, in so doing, gives the victims a new chance into the future.

Because computers and mobile phones etc have become part of our daily living, it will be almost impossible to call a ban or boycott on this metal but we can help to bring down the demand if we recycle our equipment instead of relentlessly seeking and buying the very latest models to enhance our yuppy lives!

Dr Denis Mukwege wins Sakharov prize 2014

Coltan: The link between chimpanzees and your cell phone

Taking action against sexual violence in Democratic Republic of Congo..in pictures

Democratic Republic of Congo: History

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Shane: Anencephaly: to abort or not to abort...that is the question

As a student midwife in South Africa I was present at the deliveries of 2 anencephalic babies.

 It was not a pleasant experience as, in those days, we did not have ultra sound and so the mothers were not warned or had no choice to abort or not to abort as abortion was illegal and only carried out after two doctors gave the written opinion that the mother's life was in danger.

We were not allowed to feed the babies and I doubt that the mothers saw them but not 100% sure about the latter. I do remember tho' that both babies were alone when they died..one quite soon after birth and the other a day or so after birth which caused a controversy as some of the students thought it was cruel to leave the child to die of thirst and so they gave it milk when it became apparent that it had a sucking reflex.

Nature often takes care of flawed foetuses through spontaneous miscarriages but if it does not it is not right for us to be judgemental. Abortion is legal in most countries today and so parents can choose to either destroy or nurture the life that has started growing.

 In an uncaring and selfish world where abortion has become an accepted option, I think it's wrong to condemn parents who want to meet the little life they have started and are prepared to make huge sacrifice to show love and caring for the little time they are allowed.

Shane: 'Bucket list baby' dies in mother's arms

Friday, October 10, 2014

LCHF: Managing Diabetes with the Diet Doctor

I have been overweight for years and, although I was unhappy about the fact that I'd gone up 10 kg in 6 years, I never really put much effort into reversing the status quo!

This year my husband, who had been diagnosed with diabetes 2 in 2012 after a mitral valve repair to the heart, was prescribed Metmorfin to drop his blood sugar as the diet he was half heartedly following was not working.
I decided to take matters in hand and, after years of leaving the cooking to him, took over the kitchen and started to follow..more or less..the LCHF diet that my son in law was so enthralled about. He is gluten intolerant and had researched different diets and felt that cutting out all grains was the answer to healthier living.

We don't follow the stricter form of the diet but, aside from eating toast in the morning, we have cut out rice, pasta, bread and, of course, sugar!
It has been difficult but, since I started eating lentils, chick peas, beans and sweet potato, loads of veg both raw and cooked, nuts and fibre and fruit in small quantities I have lost 8 kg since April 2014. Sugar in all forms is prohibited but it's difficult to avoid altogether as it is found in almost eveything one buys.

Butter, cream, yogurt ( all high fat ) has become part of our daily intake and we try to keep carbs at around 45 to 60g per meal.

My husband is now off the Metmorfin tablets he used to drop his blood sugar and hopefully he will avoid the awful side effects of the disease such as blindness and limb amputation. Although his mitral valve was repaired, his heart was otherwise in good condition.
Following this diet is more difficult for him as he tends to lose weight easily and so too much exercise and low carbs is a difficult balancing act. He has now, after much protestation, invested in a blood sugar meter and so we'll get a better picture of how to manage his carb intake so that he feels more comfortable with himself

Am posting a link to what I think is a very sensible way of living so please check it out and modify accordingly!

LCHF and fighting diabetes 2

Monday, October 06, 2014

Isaiah 53: Is it about Jesus/Messiah?

My parents were nominal Christians.
They followed Methodism which is a movement that was founded by John Wesley in the 18th century

Methodism

I spent most of my school years at Roman Catholic convents and attended mass and was seriously thinking of converting to catholicism during my last year at boarding school.

I'd had some sort of 'revelation' during one of those masses in the cathedral and the memory of it left me feeling that maybe I was being called to some higher purpose.

My Mother was sceptical and, although she never actually told me not to convert, she suggested I wait a year to see how I'd feel out in the real world while I pursued a career in nursing.

During that time I did go to the local Methodist church fairly regularly to see if I could find out exactly why I was here but the answers never came.

Years passed and my spiritual life suffered due to bad choices and failures. I was brought to some very low points before, eventually, being gradually lead to a certain realisation that
no matter how low I'd sunk, I'd never really been alone through all the struggles.

This realisation led me to back to church..Anglican, Baptist and even Roman Catholicism again, but I could not really relate to any of them for different reasons.

Eventually I emigrated and learned a foreign language and tried to shake the often very strong feeling that 'the salt' was missing.

I prayed that God..who I had/have never had trouble in believing in as Creator of the universe and mankind, would open my eyes and show me the way.

This happened in 1987 when a magazine turned up in my mailbox written in my mother tongue which is English!

After the arrival of the first magazine I applied for more to be sent seeing as they were free.
Even though the content was of a religious nature I read them from cover to cover mostly for the English but also for the topics covered.

All topics were referred back to biblical content which I tended to ignore until, eventually, one of them lead me to the book of Isaiah.

The chapter of interest was Isaiah 53 where, the article pointed out for whatever reason, the prophet was speaking about the coming of the Messiah and His suffering and death for the salvation of mankind.

I was hooked and started on a long journey through the Bible and learned about the history of Israel.

I studied church history and how the Jewish christian church suffered and how christianity was Romanised and the temple in Jerusalem destroyed after the death of Jesus.

As a result I was baptised into the church responsible for the magazines and began to accept Saturday as the true day of rest known as the Sabbath.

I learned that easter and christmas originated from pagan times and that the emperor Constantine the Great converted to the Roman version of christianity for, probably, political reasons and incorporated the dates into the new state religion.

The fact that the early church was Jewish and started with 12 Jewish apostles was gradually blotted out and Peter 'became' Roman and is accepted by millions throughout the world to have been the founder of the Roman church.

Since my baptism I am not an avid church goer because I have come to the conclusion that religion is man made for devious reasons. Mostly I just read up stuff on the internet and come to my own conclusions after doing my own research.

Yesterday ( 6th Oct 2014) I was once again brought back to the same prophet Isaiah who kindled my interest almost 30 years ago and set me on the path of no return!

The Jewish people celebrated Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement without a temple to go to!
Their temple was razed to the ground in 70 A.D.

The author of the article sent to my internet mailbox pointed out that Isaiah 53 tells us of the righteous servant who would be sent by God to suffer and be sacrificed to death for our atonement.

He also wrote that the Hebrew prophet Daniel told us in the book of Daniel 9: 24-26 that the Anointed One would be cut off and after that the city and the sanctuary would be destroyed.

In other words Jesus/Messiah died and then the temple was destroyed
After three days He was resurrected and is the bridge between God and mankind.

Because of these two facts all those who believe in faith will be saved and no more sacrifices are necessary.

In a world wracked by violence and hatred these two prophets bring messages of hope for the suffering and the deluded.
Their messages were written long before Jesus was born and died but the messages remain true today and into tomorrow.

Read them with open minds and hearts!

Isaiah 53: Is it about Jesus/Messaiah


Daniel9: 24-26