Day: October 20, 2009

Octuplet doctor expelled

hippocampa14 Comments

It was world news when Nadya Suleman gave birth to octuplets last January.  When it turned out she was a single mother of 33 who already had 6 children under 7 (all by IVF), even the people who cheered this medical miracle loudest expressed some doubts about the wisdom of this intervention.

The American Society of Reproductive Medicine have now expelled dr. Michael Kamrava from their society because his pattern of behaviour is detrimental to the field, according to the spokesman of the ASRM. They also announced stricter guidelines on embryo transfers.

What is it with people wanting to turn the vagina into a clown car?

I am an unreal woman, apparently

Jender3 Comments

See what I mean?

A survey for the Centre for Policy Studies suggested a third of mothers would not work if they had the choice…
Ms Odone said the “overwhelming majority of women do not want to commit full-time to a job”.
She calls this majority “real women” who want to lead a “full life”.

Ms Odone (who I suspect would not like being called that) also draws this helpful contrast:

Ms Odone’s report, What Women Want and How They Can Get It, calls for family-friendly policies, rather than those promoting women’s rights in the workplace.

Fascinatingly, despite the stunning claims about what it takes to be a real woman, the actual recommendations made are perfectly sensible***:

Her recommendations include:
Rather than “pumping billions into an unpopular childcare system”, the government should enable families to choose*
Weekly national insurance credits for carers of children and the disabled should be extended to include more people
Reform the tax and benefit system to stop penalising stay at home mothers**
Make it easier for businesses to employ part-time workers

*Actually, I’m not sure what this one means. Might not be so sensible after all.
**One wonders if it’s OK to penalise stay at home fathers.
***I don’t know what bizarre spirit of charity overcame me when I wrote that.

There’s actually a ton to be said about this article, but life is too short. (Thanks, HA!)

OMG! Who knows what might happen next?

Jender4 Comments

A girl wants to wear a tuxedo in her yearbook photo. The school is refusing to print it. Some classmates say things like this:

“If the kids and the adults don’t abide by the rules that are set down for them, then what’s this country coming to if you don’t have any structure?” another Wesson resident asked.

Fortunately others, and the ACLU, are more sensible, though it’s still unclear what will happen.

And what is the rule she falls foul of?

According to the school, boys must wear tuxedos for senior pictures, while girls must wear drapes.

DRAPES??? What is this, Gone With the Wind?? (Thanks, Jender-Parents.)

We’re going to be shorter and fatter and we’re all going to die sooner

hippocampa3 Comments

Science often confuses me, despite me having a rather solid empirical background. So today I was first alerted to this article in the New Scientist, explaining how women are evolutionary moving towards my model (i.e. shorter and plumper) and the next moment I read in the NY times that this being underheight will make me live shorter.

Ok, well obviously, reproductive success has nothing to do with long lives, that’s why heart diseases and other stuff that emerges after the reproductive age doesn’t get weeded out of the human race and such.

I guess I have been living shorter all my life. I don’t care much that it affects my longevity, at this moment. (Ask me again in 20 years when I will be 60ish).