greengurll

I'm off to pastures new

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:40:00 +0000

I havent really been giving this blog the attention I should, so am starting afresh with a new blog with a specifically anarchafeminist slant.
So long and thanks for all the fish.
Do please visit my new blog at http://www.feminismistheanswer.blogspot.com.

feminist Activist Meeting - London,26th and 27th Jan 08

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:25:00 +0000

Defend The Abortion Act - Calling all pro-choice supporters

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:26:00 +0000

Defend the Abortion Act
Campaigning for a woman's right to decide
Public meeting - Wednesday 16th January 2008 7pm for a 7.30pm start Committee room 10, House of Commons
Nearest tube: Westminster
The meeting will hear a range of short contributions from invited speakers followed by time for contributions thoughts and ideas from the floor.
Speakers include:Baroness Joyce Gould; Baroness Jenny Tonge; Emily Thornberry MP; Katy Clark MP; Diane Abbott MP; Frances O'Grady, Deputy General Secretary TUC; Wendy Savage, Doctors for a Woman's Right to Choose on Abortion; Anni Marjoram, Policy Adviser to the Mayor of London; Alex Kemp, NUS Disabled Students' Campaign; Katherine Rake, director Fawcett Society;
Parliamentarians opposed to women’s right to choose on abortion would like to use the government’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, currently speeding through the House of Lords, to drive back abortion rights. Already, Baroness Masham has tabled an amendment to restrict abortion access. Other parliamentarians are expected to try to lower the legal abortion time limit from 24 to 20 or even 13 weeks. Any such restrictions would be devastating for women and must be defeated. Pro-choice MPs are also expected to table amendments to improve the law. These should be fully supported.
Please allow plenty of time to clear security on entering the Palace of Westminster and tell the police outside Parliament that you are attending a meeting sponsored by Emily Thornberry MP
The room is wheelchair accessible and has a hearing loop system. Please let us know of any additional access requirements.
This meeting will launch the pro-choice campaign around the Bill. Have your say and get involved – all pro-choice supporters welcome!
http://www.abortionrights.org.uk/

If you would like to attend, RSVP choice@abortionrights.org.uk

Some musings on 2007

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 22:18:00 +0000

Well another years come and gone, and 2007 really has been a good one for me. My years like everyone elses I suppose are usually a smattering of ups and downs, with at least a couple of minor tragedies dominating. 2007 however has been a fantastic year for me and I hope it has for you too.
I spent the first part of the year pregnant with my second child. The miracle and wonder of life really hits when its happening inside your own body and this really was a fantastic time for me. July brought the birth of Maggie, yet another beautiful girlchild for me to love and since then I have been living on cloud nine. I love having children, and both of mine make me ecstatically happy. The fact that I planned for and had a home birth further adds to my sense of pride at what I've acheived this year. I'm so glad I'm a woman and have the chance to experience these things.
Feminism has also added greatly to my pleasure and sense of acheivement when I contemplate this year. Although I have been an active feminist for a long time and involved in various other issues and movements, by moving it up a level and joining the management committee of the Feminist Library I really have felt a fulfillment that was missing in my life. I had previously been volunteering at the library and when an emergency meeting was called to discuss the future of this precious and threatened feminist resource I decided to join the managment committee. As a result I have met and become friends with many amazing women, some of whom were and still are prominent in the womens liberation movement, I have visited other feminist resources such as Feminist Archive North, represented the library at gatherings, conferences and other feminist happenings like Feminist Fightback and Reclaim the Night, chaired an open meeting on the future of radical archives at the Anarchist Bookfair, been instrumental in forming a national network of radical libraries and archives and most importantly played a role in preserving the future of the Feminist Library for future generations and in doing so furthering the Feminist cause. The act of becoming involved in feminism is empowering in itself and I really have empowered myself this year.
So all in all its been a good year for me. I'm sure I've probably jinxed myself by going on about how great my life is and no doubt theres some dark event waiting around the corner for me, but hey thats life I suppose and theres no point dwelling on whats ahead. Although we live in a dark scarey world, I feel hope for the future and know that in 2008 I am going to spend even more of my time trying to make the world a better place. 2008 will be a year of revolution, so lets bring it on, the time is now!

Twice as Nice

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 10:22:00 +0000

My life is twice as nice because of you
Given to me, born of me, mini me,
My child. Grow strong, be brave,
Life is hard sometimes and long.
You and your sister have made mine better,
I love you.

Reclaim the Night '07 photos

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 10:40:00 +0000

Here are some of my photos from Reclaim the Night '07. My camera is pretty shit I'm afraid and most of the photos I took didnt turn out. These are some of the better ones, but are still rather lame. Next year I will definitely try to get a better camera.

Reclaim the Night '07

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 17:10:00 +0000

Oh my gosh, what a fantastic night! Finn Mackay and the London Feminist Network have done it again. Reclaim the Night 07 was even bigger than last year and I reckon that there must have been close to two thousand women there, if not more. It was absolutely fantastic to see so many women marching and shouting against violence against women. It truely was an inspirational night and really motivated me to get even more active with my feminism.
The rally afterwards was so fantastic. I had a table for the Feminist Library and it really was a great opportunity to meet lots of feminists and make them aware of the librarys situation. All of the speakers at the rally were amazing, but in particular Kat the NUS Womens Officer was great, as was the woman from Bradfords Rape Crisis Centre. Finn Mackay though really rocked. She is such an inspirational woman and her speech was so rousing and motivational, the crowd loved her. With women like her around, and the mass of women she brought to central London on Saturday night, it really does make revolution seem possible.
I did take some photos but my camera really let me down, just like last year. I will try to post them over the next few days.

Home Birth - Our Story

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:01:00 +0000

On the 16th of July 2007, Maggie was born to us at home. I had decided I wanted to have a home birth before she was even conceived, and am really delighted that I had the opportunity to do so. This is the story of Maggies birth, I hope it will encourage others to consider the possibility of giving birth at home.
My first daughter Molly was born in hospital. Having read Janet Balaskas's "Active Birth" I had planned and prepared for a natural and active birth in hospital. Unfortunately it wasn't to be. I went into hospital 10 days after my due date to have an induction, fortunately however I went into labour myself without the need for intervention. My labour was very quick (i had been drinking gallonfuls of raspberry leaf tea) and also very painful, and the baby was showing signs of distress apparently. As a result I was hooked up to a monitor, and so had to lie on the delivery table throughout the labour, thus making my plans for an active birth impossible. However Mollys birth continued quickly on and she was delivered without the need for further intervention. Mollys birth was amazing and it was the best day of my life. However the hospital experience left me disappointed. I found it intimidating and impersonal, and the clinical setting really offputting and even scary.
Secondtime around I was in a much better position. Having already had a baby I knew what to expect from labour, and just how painful it can be. As soon as I got pregnant I began to mentally prepare myself for labour. I decided I wanted a homebirth, and although my partner was slightly anxious about it, he supported me 100 percent. When I went to the doctor to confirm my pregnancy and book my midwife, I told her that I wanted to give birth at home. She was really dismissive of me and my decision, and insisted that I would probably deliver in hospital anyway so it was best to book me in. I was prepared for this sort of reaction anyway, but she really did shit me up and make me think I was making a dangerous decision. Luckily however when I met my midwife Aggie she was completely supportive and really up for me having a homebirth. As an NHS midwife she doesnt often get the chance to assist at a homebirth, so she was really positive about it.
I had a fantastic pregnancy. The first time around i had tried to prepare myself physically for birth by doing loads of yoga and excercise, this time I realised that the key was actually psychological preparation. Pain is such a psychological thing and I knew that I could conquer pain if I faced up to and conquered my fear. I read loads of fantastic books such as "Spiritual Midwifery" and "Ina Mays Guide to Childbirth" by Ina May Gaskin, "Birth without Violence" by Frederick Leboyer, "Home Birth" by Sheila Kitzinger, and also read lots of peoples testimonies of homebirth online. These books and testimonies were fantastic because they really show another side to birth. We hear so many scary stories about labour and pain and medical intervention, that it leads us to fear birth and expect pain, thus leading to more pain and more likely medical intervention. I read lots of positive birth stories about women and their partners delivering their children without the need for medical intervention at home. I determined that I would not allow people to scare me into fearing the worst, that I would look forward to my labour instead of dreading it and even if it did hurt that I would not allow myself moan and give out. I knew that my body would allow me birth my baby naturally and that my midwife and partner would support me in my task. Every now and again I did have fleeting moments of fear, where I'd worry about whether I was putting my child and myself at risk by not having the baby at hospital, but I would always push the negative thoughts out of my head with positive affirmations about the wonder and capability of the female body.
And so 2 days after my due date, I awoke to a dull ache in my back like a bad period pain. I knew that today was the day. I told my partner and we started to get the bedroom ready. He had a meeting at nine so I told him to go and to come back afterwards. So Matt went off to his meeting and i had a long soak in the bath. My contractions had started getting more regular, so I got out and lay on the sitting room floor with Molly and waited for matthew to come back. He was back just over an hour later and we began to time the contractions. The contractions were coming every three minutes and lasting for about a minute, so we decided to ring the hospital to see could a midwife be sent out. Fortunately Aggie was on duty and said that she would come straight over. I got on with things as much as I could, stopping every few minutes to lean against the wall to succumb to a contraction. I did not scream or shout at all, even though it was quite painful. I felt really calm and in control and just allowed my body to go with it. Aggie arrived with all her equipment. They bring loads of stuff to cover every possibility. She checked me over, confirmed I was in labour and that I was 4 centimeters dialated. She decided to stay as delivery was probably imminent, and rang for backup. Thats another good thing about a homebirth, because it is perceived within the medical perfession as being slightly more highrisk they insist that 2 senior midwives always attend each homebirth and unlike in a hospital where you are sharing your midwife with lots of other women, at home you have both midwives just for you. They layed out all their equipment and just let me get on with it. It was so good to be just left alone with Matt to deal with the contractions. He would just rub my back throughout each contraction and it felt really good. I did not need any pain relief. We laughed a lot throughout the labour and really helped me to deal with it all. Labour is such an intense experience and it really can swallow you whole, but Matts jokes and pisstaking ways really centred me and allowed me let go in a controlled way. I am so proud of myself that I didnt start moaning or feeling sorry for myself. Just before one o clock Matthew had to take Molly to her nursery which is just around the corner.Even though he was only gone for about 10 minutes, it was a long and difficult 10 minutes and i really started to feel overwhelmed and a bit scared. I think I must of been in transition at this stage, hence the fear. The pain increased tenfold and was almost constant now. I decided to ask for the gas and air, even though I wanted to do it without any drugs. Matt was soon back and then the midwife decided to examine me again. She checked me and told us that I was almost fully dilated but there was a small lip of cervix over the babys head. Aggie tried to push this back, and this was very painful. However as soon as she did it, I felt an enormous uncontrollable urge to push. I told them that I needed to stand up, which I did. Matt stood behind me and held me up from under my arms. I started to push but got paranoid that I was going to poo myself. I had thought the same thing the first time around too. After some reassurances from the midwives and Matthew that it was ok and just to let go, I let go and bore down. The urge to push really is mental. You cannot fight it, its such a strong feeling. So I did one big push, and my babys head appeared between my legs. Aggie turned the babys shoulder, I did one more push and my baby was born. I collapsed on my bed, so glad that it was over. I was completely knackered and totally fucked. I had asked for my baby to be given to me immediately after birth, so they put my baby on my belly and we just lay there. The baby began to cry. A blanket was put over us and we stayed there for a few miniutes. I didnt want the cord cut until it had stopped pulsating and the babys breathing had been established. Matt couldnt face cutting the cord so I did it. As I cut the cord that connected the baby to me, I had a right cheesy moment and said something like "go free little one, be free", which really made us all laugh. Then one the other midwife took the baby to clean her up and I delivered the placenta. Aggie checked me for cuts, and I did have a small tear. She told me I could get a stitch if i wanted, but this would have meant that I would have to go to hospital so I decided not to get one. Altogether I was in labour for about 4 hours and had delivered a healthy baby girl weighing 8 lbs 7 ozs. The midwives got us both cleaned up, tidied up the bedroom, changed the sheets and made us a cp of tea. then after an hour or two they went and left us to it. It was fantastic to be in our own home. Molly came back from school and we began our life as a family together straight away. I was buzzing for days. I was so pleased with us all that we had done it ourselves, our way. I knew that my body wouldnt let me down and it didnt. Womens bodies are amazing things and I am so glad that I have been lucky enough to have experienced the opening of my womb twice.
So thats it, my experience of birth at home. i would recommend it to every woman, it really is an empowering experience. If you are positive about pregnancy, birth and beyond then there is no reason why you cannot have your child wherever you want. Statistics show that if you do chose to have a homebirth, you are less likely to have an induction, an episiotomy, or any medical intervention and you are also less likely to need to use powerful pain relieving drugs. And at the end of the day most of our sisters around the world do not have their children in hospitals.
So if youre reading this post and thinking about having a homebirth, then just do it. Dont be scared, just do it.

Back Again

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 23:18:00 +0000

Its been a while but I'm back.
I took a few months off all things computerish, in order to focus on my family.
I am glad to announce that I gave birth to a baby girl on 16th of July. Her name is Maggie and she is fine. She weighed in at a healthy 8 lbs 7ozs and was born at home. We are all delighted with the new member of our family, and we hope she likes us too.

Summer Sprouting

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Fri, 25 May 2007 20:24:00 +0000

Here are some photos of the latest crop from my garden, purple sprouting brocolli.....yummee!

Last Trimester

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 13:40:00 +0000

I am now 6 months pregnant and in the final trimester, thankfully and I have been drinking cups and cups of Raspberry leaf tea (tones the uterus and encourages steady labour. Last time around I drank buckets of the stuff and as a result had a 5 hour labour which is short for the first child). Theres no denying I'm pregnant now, as I'm really quite big. Everything has been going well and I feel suprisingly good, albeit slightly tired. I still have no set ideas for a name, which is worrying me a bit. Dont want to be reduced to calling baby Junior.
Have decided to have a home birth, which I am quite excited about and my midwife is really supportive. So all in all am just trying to stay positive and not worry too much. I know I can do this, I've done it before afterall and I trust my body to do it.
Have been reading some really good books about birth which have really been inspiring me. Number one best childbirth book is "Birth Without Violence" by Frederick Leboyer. This is a really amazing and beautiful book and has really affected my view of birth. This is a definite must read for all mothers and fathers to be. "Ina Mays Guide to Childbirth" is another fantastic book which I have just read. This book is full of fantastic natural birth stories and has lots of fantastic guidance on coping with pain. She has another book "Spiritual Midwifery" which is supposed to be great too and which I am dying to read but have yet to get a copy.
I am starting to get really excited now and I cant wait to see this person living inside me.

Luton Town manager Mike Newell sacked finally.

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 19:52:00 +0000

Now I dont normally rejoice at the misfortune of others but I was quite pleased to hear that Mike Newell, manager of Luton Town Football Club, has been sacked. Mike Newell, you may remember, made extraordinarily sexist and public remarks about female officials in football (see my previous posts here and here.)
He wasnt sacked for being a misogynist, oh no, but for criticising the Board of Directors (all male I think we can safely assume). Still he's got what he deserved finally and that makes me happy.

I haven't been ignoring you....

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 19:27:00 +0000

Haven't been on in a while coz life has just been incredibly busy. What with painting the house (early nesting instinct I think), loads of work to do in the garden (spring has sprung), work and various other things I just havent had a chance to even look at this blog. I still dont really have anything worthy of blogging about so I am going to leave you with a few pictures of the last of my leeks which I pulled from the garden last week. They looked and tasted beautiful!

International Womens Day

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 21:04:00 +0000

To all my sisters and brothers, Happy International Womens Day.

Unite today for justice tomorrow.

Plane crash in Indonesia

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 20:35:00 +0000

Am really upset to read that there was an Air Garuda plane crash in beautiful Yogyakarta in Indonesia yesterday. 49 people are suspected to have died, although over a hundred escaped alive. This comes the day after a massive earthquake rocked the Indonesian island of Sumatra killing at least 71 and injuring hundreds more. There just seems to be one disaster after another in this beautiful yet impoverished country. How much more can these people take?
Read about some of my experiences in Indonesia here.

Declining populations is linked to discrimination against mothers in the workplace

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 19:34:00 +0000

Quite an interesting article here about declining Western populations.

Hats off to Hackney - for a change!!!

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 21:06:00 +0000

Hats off to Hackney council who from tomorrow are introducing compulsory recycling. Residents will be fined up to £1000 if they do not make use of their green recycling boxes. Although I'm sure many people will complain and look upon this as draconian, I think it is a great idea and really applaud Hackney council for making this decision to force people to recycle. Hackney has one of the worst recycling rates in Britain, with Britain having the worst rates in Europe. As an avid recycler I know that it does not take much time or effort to recycle. In fact it has never been easier to recycle a vast range of resources. Yet many people simply cannot be bothered and these people are, in my opinion, selfish and lazy and dont give a shit about the world, its people and our future so the only way to get through to them is through their pocket. So let them pay £1000, fine them more! It doesnt cost anything to recycle and it doesnt take much time, but it really can make a big difference and in this stage of our history it really is the least we can do.

well it had to be really

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 20:58:00 +0000

Your Blog Should Be Green

Your blog is smart and thoughtful - not a lot of fluff.
You enjoy a good discussion, especially if it involves picking apart ideas.
However, you tend to get easily annoyed by any thoughtless comments in your blog.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

Equalities review explodes the myth that todays women have it all

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 19:11:00 +0000

Yesterdays Equalities Review reported the shocking (not so shocking to us who experience sex discrimination daily) truth about discrimination in this country. The Review reports that inequality in this country remains at an "intolerable" level and that new impetus is needed to break down "entrenched" inequalities which are holding back groups such as working mothers, the disabled and ethnic minorities. The report also found that women with young children suffered the most discrimination at work, with mothers with a child under the age of 11 nearly 50% less likely to be recruited than a man. The report also cites a survey which found that three quarters of recruitment agencies had been asked by clients to avoid hiring pregnant women or those of childbearing age.
While the truths revealed in this report may come as a shock to the government and society at large, most women have known about and been living with these facts all of their lives and know that discrimination in employment is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the discrimination and downright misogeny we are facing because of our sex. The one thing that is damning about this report is the fact that despite equality legislation and so-called equal opportunites in this country, society does not seem to have changed, especially for women, the disabled and ethnic minorities. And if you happen to belong to all of these categories and are a disabled woman of colour with a young child then what chance do you have of fair treatment in society. Unbelievably there are some people, mostly men, who think that women have never had it better and that feminism belongs to the past, well, hopefully this report will highlight for them the truth about sexism and awaken within them the flames of feminism.

Economic Inequalities - The Facts

Women receive on average just 54 pence for every £1 of income received by men.
The average man in a pensioner couple receives £261 a week - the average woman £119.
Women in full-time employment spend nearly 30% more time on childcare than men in full-time employment.

Benefits make up 21% of the average woman's income and just 8% of the average man's income.

Facts from the Fawcett Society

One year to save the feminist library - Press Release

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 14:27:00 +0000

"At an emergency meeting of the Feminist Library management committee, volunteers and supporters, it has been decided to give ourselves a year to try and keep the collection together. If no suitable home - either autonomous or as part of another organisation - is found for the library by February 2008, the collection will be split up and dispersed to suitable libraries and archives across the country, and the Feminist Library as an organisation will be dissolved. Despite the efforts of a number of dedicated volunteers, and a change in management, the library has not been able to get itself out of the crisis induced in 2003 by a sudden vast increase in its rent. The Feminist Library management committee decided to call an emergency meeting in a last ditch attempt to garner support from the feminist community to stop this valuable collection of many thousands of books, pamphlets and ephemera collected since 1975 from being lost. At the well-attended meeting, held on 24 February, a great deal of support was voiced for the library, and it was decided to make one last attempt to save the collection. Seven new volunteers came forward to join the management committee. Taking guidance from the meeting, that the library should retain its autonomy if possible, the reinvigorated management committee will give itself a year to explore the various options and see if it is possible to retain a viable feminist library, either independently, or within another organisition. In addition, a number of volunteers put themselves forward at the meeting to open the library to the public once again, carry out administrative duties and put together a new website. One member of the management committee, Gail Chester, said: "It was gratifying to see such a strong turn out of feminists who support the library and want us to keep going." Jess McCabe, who also sits on the management committee, added: "The feminist community has demonstrated it wants us to keep on plugging away at keeping the library open, and that's what we intend to do." "

If there is anyone reading this blog who can offer any sort of help to the Feminist Library please contact me. What we really need is a viable and affordable space to house the collection, financial assistance, publicity and volunteer womanpower. If there are any skills or time that you believe that you could offer, it would be greatly appreciated. This is the last chance to save this valuable resource and piece of history for future generations.

Last chance to save the Feminist Library, London.

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 18:22:00 +0000

LAST CHANCE TO SAVE YOUR FEMINIST LIBRARY

The management committee of the Feminist Library is calling an emergency meeting on Saturday 24th February 2007 to decide on whether to close the library for good. This meeting is a last ditch attempt to rally feminists to support our library and, if we are not able to come up with a solution, to discuss finding another suitable home for the collection. Those of you who have not been in touch for a while might like to know that the collection now also includes 75 boxes of material that was the Women's Health Library that we rescued from being thrown in a skip over the summer.

For a number of years the Feminist Library has existed in a state of permanent emergency, with a dwindling number of volunteers to take part in running the library, a precarious financial situation, uncertainty about its location, and a lack of womanpower to pursue crucial funding applications.

The current group of volunteers is no longer able to sustain the situation, and the library will be forced to close without an injection of new volunteers. Therefore the meeting will have a dual function: to decide on whether or not the library will continue to stay open, and to gather experience, advice and new volunteers to reinvigorate the management committee, or help the committee find a suitable home for the collection if the decision is taken to close.

The meeting will take place at 11am at the Feminist Library on Saturday 24th February. There will be the opportunity to look around the library and to chat to us, followed by a more formal discussion. The building is wheelchair accessible. Please do let us know if you have any special access requirements.

Please distribute this invitation to attend as widely as possible. Feedback from the many feminist groups and individuals who have an interest in the library is very important to us, as well as the need to get extra help.

As a basis for discussion at the meeting, we are preparing a short document on the library's current plight and what our future options could be. If you would like to receive a copy before the meeting, or have other questions, or are considering volunteering, please contact us by email (feministlibraryappeal@gmail.com) or post

(Feminist Library, 5 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7XW). If you wish to speak to us by phone, please include your phone number in your message and we will get back to you as quickly as possible, although it may take a few days.

RSVP is preferred but not essential.

Yours

Charlotte, Gail, Jess and Polly on behalf of
the current management committee

David Cameron smoked weed apparently.....so what!

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 20:28:00 +0000

So Tory leader David Cameron apparently smoked a few joints when attending posh public school Eton almost 3 decades ago. David Cameron refused to comment, but did not deny the fact that he had narrowly missed expulsion from the school because he had admitted to the Headmaster that he had only smoked it and not sold it. Here in Britain no-one seems too perturbed that the leader of the conservative party, who you would think be completely zero-tolerant on drugs, had smoken cannabis and been busted for it while a student and the Home-Secretary John Reid, himself responsible for the criminal justice system in Britain publicly stated "so what" to these allegations. So what is going on with that? The fact of the matter is, I believe, that the majority of people under 40 in this country have at some point smoked cannabis and really do not consider it a harmful drug. In the UK a lot of people, particularly young people, smoke cannabis regularly and manage to live particularly normal lives, going to work, studying, bringing up children. I am not denying that for a few people there can be quite bad side-effects, but for the majority of pot-smokers, cannabis enhances their life. Its not something that everyone enjoys, but then they dont have to do it. So I think its time that we woke up to the fact that there are millions of people everyday breaking the law in this country and smoking joints in the comfort of their own home. They are not a threat to themselves or society, and are not indulging in anti-social behaviour, unlike those who chose alcohol as their drug of choice. So the time has come, I believe, to follow the Dutch example and decriminalise cannabis. Lets go even further and legalise it.

The Campaign To Legalise Cannabis Association

Just when we thought the Great British winter was gone forever...

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 19:11:00 +0000

After one of the warmest Januarys in England ever, Winter finally arrived today and it really was a lovely sight. I think this is the first time in the ten years that I have lived in London that I have seen proper, fluffy, beautiful snow, that has actually stuck and stayed for longer than an hour or two.
We made 2 sno wpeople and had lots of snowball fights. It was great. I love Winter.

Terror hits Britain again......allegedly.

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 19:09:00 +0000

British media has gone completely mad again about the news of another alleged terror plot in Britain. Nine muslim men were arrested a couple of days ago in after a 6 month surveillance operation. They were apparently days away from actioning a plan to murder a muslim member of the British army.
All the tv news have been headlining with this story, and none seem to have learned the lessons of previous recent terror raid fiascos such as the Forest Gate incidents. Nowhere is the word "alleged" been used. Nothing has been proved against these men, yet the mainstream media, nevermind the tabloids, are acting like this plot is a fact. Some have even compared life in Britain to that of life in Baghdad, all murders, kidnappings, beheadings, carbombs etc. What a fucking joke, excuse my language please but it really does do my head in. I cant even watch the news at the moment without wanting to throw it out the window.
The media should be dealing with the real story of terrorism in this country that being the fact the hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of women in this country are living in constant terror because of aggressive partners. Domestic violence is still going unchecked by the police and only 1 in every 20 reported rapes is resulting in conviction in this country because of failures by police and the justice system. Where are the dawn raids and high profile arrests of the many women batterers, rapists and murderers that are at large in our society? When are the police going to start acting on reports of domestic violence and when are womens complaints against their stalkers going to be listened to? Nothing is going to improve while police resources are being wasted and squandered on alleged terrorist plots that come to nothing.

Blog for choice.

noreply@blogger.com (greengrrl) — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 13:12:00 +0000

Blog for Choice.

A lot of blogs are blogging today about the issues surrounding female reproductive rights and our non-negotionable right to absolute control of our own bodies.
Pro-choice for me entails the political and ethical view that a woman should have total control of her fertility and pregnancy, and this include the right to access to sexual education, contraception, fertility treatments, safe and legal abortion and protection from forced abortion.
Although it is a basic feminist tenet that every woman has the right to control her own reproductive life in whatever way she see fit, abortion is one of the most emotive issues of the modern womens movement.
As with any issue there are varying opinions and degrees of support for when a woman can have an abortion. Many "pro-choice activists believe that women should have access to safe and legal abortion and, equally, that women should be protected from forced abortions. Some see abortion as a last resort, and focus on a number of situations where they feel abortion is a necessary option. Among these situations are those where the woman was raped, her health or life (or that of the fetus) is at risk, contraception was used but failed, or she feels unable to raise a child. Some pro-choice moderates, who would otherwise be willing to accept certain restrictions on abortion, feel that political pragmatism compels them to oppose any such restrictions, as they could be used to form a slippery slope against all abortions."(Wikipedia)
Myself, personally, I belive that a woman has the right to safe and legal abortion whatever the circumstances and reasons. It is not up to us to decide whether a woman is morally correct in choosing a termination, it is not up to a doctor or government to say when abortion is appropriate, it is up to the woman who is pregnant. It is her body and it is she who will be carrying a child, and her alone who will be deciding the fate of any child which may be born, and as such it is her absolute right to decide whether to continue or terminate a pregnancy. It is not up to others to judge a woman on her decision, merely to respect it.
Living in Britain I feel priviledged to live in a pro-choice country where women have access to sex education, free contraception and free, legal and safe abortion, (although I have heard in recent days that due to NHS cutbacks women are being told to postpone abortions until after 31st March because there is not enough funding). Women in Britain can also receive counselling before and after abortion if they want it. There is also support for women who may chose to continue pregnancy in difficult situations, such as being a young teenager, or a single woman, or a victim of violence or rape. As such women in this country are lucky that the law and medical profession do support our choices, although there are some who would like to our legal right to choice taken from us.
I was born and brought up in a country where womens right to choice did not exist. Although possible to get contraception, in Ireland abortion was completely illegal and hundreds and thousands of women had to leave the country every year often without anyone to support them, to get an abortion in Britain. Women did not only not have the right to chose what happened to their bodies but also did not have the right to information about abortion. Family planning clinics, doctors, magazines were forbidden from providing any information about abortion to Irelands women, so if women needed to get an abortion they had to glean what information they could from friends and numbers on toilet doors. Throughout the years many women also died from getting backstreet abortions. Things have changed in Ireland now, but not much. Women now have the right to information about abortion, but unless a womans life is endangered by a pregnancy it is still illegal to get an abortion in Ireland. So still every year women have to leave the country to get an abortion. Women do not have the right to make decisions about their bodies in Ireland, they do not have the right to choice and the government, church and medical profession are complicit in making our choices illegal.
I am sure that there are many places around the world where women do not have the right to chose what happens to our bodies, and in many places where womens rights are protected by law there are those who want to take them away. It is up to each one of us to fight against this and make sure that everywhere womens rights to choice are protected forever.
Hands off our bodies!