Author Archives: Natalie Bennett

Friday Femmes Fatales No 68

Returning after a two-week hiatus – sorry about that: hideous technical problems that are finally, I hope, cross toes, solved. I never wanted to be a techie, but these days it seems almost impossible to avoid.

But to business – ten great posts from ten new (to me) women bloggers. It is here every week: it is going to be really, truly, I promise.

First, a real discovery, and just down the road for me: Stroppyblog. I can’t imagine how I’ve missed (her) sorry – them – for so long. In this post Louisefeminista’s talking about the problems encountered by a lap-dancing club that is solely for women customers.

Staying in the UK, Antiprincess (love the name!) on I Shame the Matriarchy is commenting on recently announced plans to ban violent porn. She says: “I want to say: Hey! British Home Office! Don’t ban me! Don’t erase me! … Don’t make it a crime to look at me!” But it is a much more nuanced post than that sounds – do go to check it out.

Very much on the personal is political side, Pippa on One Salford Feminist reflects on how in 1988 she gave up her name. She says she’s now ready to choose another name, and is looking for suggestions.

Then a little traditional British politics; on thatlittlebluehome, the author reflects as a non-aligned voter what is wrong with the Liberal Democrats. Have a look at the Greens, I say – not just those who stick on a thin green-coloured cloak.

Leaving the relatively civilised shores of Europe – a must-read post on Den of the Biting Beaver. She had a hell of a struggle to get access to emergency contraception, and reflects with compelling honesty and frankness on the experience.

Then into the classroom, where Alternative Solutions Centre, the blog of a deaf-owned and operated psychotherapy and consulting practice, where three women blog, is a post about girls only being allowed to study female scientists. “She is … being told, very subtly, that just being a girl is enough to prevent her from getting something she wants.” (And should you be able to read American Sign Language, there’s a V-log post.)

The Dancing Queen on Wheelchair Dancer is reflecting on the pleasures of a well-designed, well-made building.

On propernoun.net, mindy reviews Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow, a French best-seller that has been compared to Catcher in the Rye. Sticking with books, on Meredith Reads YA, a there’s a reflection on Saint Arthur Ransome. And finally, staying literary, Ruth on Blogcritics is fed up with fantasy. She’s looking for more originality in thought and action.

****

If you missed the last edition, it is here. (If you’d like to see all of them as a list, click on the category “Friday Femmes Fatales” in the righthand sidebar. That will take you to a collection of 650, and counting, women bloggers.)

***

Please: In the next week if you read, or write, a post by a woman blogger and think “that deserves a wider audience” (particularly someone who doesn’t yet get many hits), drop a comment. It really does make my life easier. Or don’t be shy – nominate yourself! (Thanks to Penny who sent in nominations this week.)

Don’t tell UKIP…

… but it seems Britons are predominately genetically Basques, descended from the settlers who arrived in Britain from about 12,000 to 7,000 years ago (before the land bridge to the rest of the Continent was broken).

The English still derive most of their current gene pool from the same early Basque source as the Irish, Welsh and Scots. These figures are at odds with the modern perceptions of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon ethnicity based on more recent invasions. There were many later invasions, as well as less violent immigrations, and each left a genetic signal, but no individual event contributed much more than 5 per cent to our modern genetic mix.

Killer fact of the Green Party conference…

It takes six pints of water to produce one cotton bud.
(That’s from the Environmental Justice Foundation.)

Why I am a Green

Over on Comment is free I’ve got a post written as I set out for the Green Party conference. It explains why I’m happy to be a Green and nothing about today has changed my view.

Also there I’ve a summary of some of the day one education discussion, which was enlightening if sometimes depressing.

I’m writing this from Hove beach. The sky is blue, the sun is warm, the seagulls are swooping and the dogs playing, but I’ll be back in conference soon. Honest.

Echinacea – this week it works

As a person who gets a cold every time I catch public transport once the weather has left dead summer (or at least it often feel like that), I had tried echinacea. But it is hard to tell wiith a case study of one whether it is working – my colds usually last two weeks and “flus” a month … so it all blurs after a while.

But after reading some apparently definitive study or another I gave up on echinacea. But it seems I’ll have to try it again:

Use of echinacea, or extract of the purple coneflower, before the onset of full-blown symptoms of the common cold reduces the incidence by more than a half and the duration by almost two full days, researchers reported here at the annual meeting of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology.

And a bit more of the party

The Carnival of Asian History is up on the delightfully named Mutant Frog Travelogue. Having been to North Korea I’ve got a particular interest in the place, so was fascinated by the link to a story about border issues there, but there’s much more … a syllabus for a course on Japanese women, for example. Do go over and check it out.