TheStar.com - Don't rush to praise Bush's strange AIDS pledge
Toronto Star
Michelle Landsberg
Sunday, March 09, 2003
"...A lot of hard, dull and useful work goes on in legislatures, but few parliamentarians can claim to have done anything so exemplary and wholesome as Kirstie Marshall, an Australian Labour MP. Late last month, Kirstie Marshall breastfed her two-week-old daughter in the legislature.
She (and baby Charlotte) were promptly ejected, on the grounds that only elected persons are allowed in the legislature when it is in session, and Charlotte was not elected.
Breast-feeding is one of the most purely beneficial and socially constructive acts known to humankind. There is nothing in the world that comes close to it in building strong little bodies, minds and personalities. Also, it is free and earth-friendly.
Parliaments, business-owners and institutions that object to a mother quietly feeding her infant are, in the great scheme of things, idiotic.
Mind you, Canadians can't afford to be too smug. Scarcely a month goes by without some report of a conscientious mother being humiliated for responding to her infant's needs. This month it was Toronto mother Michele Choma, who was in the children's book section of Cole's book store in Cloverdale Mall when she sought to calm her crying two-month old with a discreet under-the-jacket snack.
The manager stormed over and declared, according to Choma, that this was "offensive" and "disturbing to small children" (I would have thought the opposite) and furthermore, "You're leaving and you're leaving right now."..."
Sunday, March 09, 2003
Breast-feeding may reduce risk of obesity
By Achong Tanjong
Brudirect.com
Mar 03, 2003
"Breast-fed infants are less likely than their formula-fed peers to become obese as children, according to a study from Czech Republic. Among the more than 33,000 young children researchers followed, of those who had been breast-fed in infancy only nine per cent were obese, compared with 12 per cent of those who never breast-fed. The findings suggest that breast-feeding has a modest protective effect against obesity. While some past studies have also found that breast-feeding may reduce the risk of obesity, experts have been critical that other factors such as maternal obesity and social class might be responsible for the effect. The reports said socioeconomic status of the breast-fed and non-breast-fed children was very similar. This suggests that the effect of breast-feeding on the prevalence of obesity is not confounded by socio-economic status. According to previous reports, statistics showed that only 12.4 per cent of mothers breast-feed their infants in Brunei. The number is very much lower from world-wide breast-fed rate of 35 per cent. WHO has put up effort to encourage mother to breast-feed their infants for at least up to six month or stop according to the teaching of Al-Quran that is when the child reaches the age of two...."
By Achong Tanjong
Brudirect.com
Mar 03, 2003
"Breast-fed infants are less likely than their formula-fed peers to become obese as children, according to a study from Czech Republic. Among the more than 33,000 young children researchers followed, of those who had been breast-fed in infancy only nine per cent were obese, compared with 12 per cent of those who never breast-fed. The findings suggest that breast-feeding has a modest protective effect against obesity. While some past studies have also found that breast-feeding may reduce the risk of obesity, experts have been critical that other factors such as maternal obesity and social class might be responsible for the effect. The reports said socioeconomic status of the breast-fed and non-breast-fed children was very similar. This suggests that the effect of breast-feeding on the prevalence of obesity is not confounded by socio-economic status. According to previous reports, statistics showed that only 12.4 per cent of mothers breast-feed their infants in Brunei. The number is very much lower from world-wide breast-fed rate of 35 per cent. WHO has put up effort to encourage mother to breast-feed their infants for at least up to six month or stop according to the teaching of Al-Quran that is when the child reaches the age of two...."
The Miami Herald | 03/09/2003 | Udder disgrace in the Midwest
Dave Barry writes: "Livestock judges -- who, I'm guessing, are predominantly male -- prefer cows with big, round, firm udders. The judges are not interested in cows with droopy udders, even if these cows are smarter and have nicer personalities. On Saturday nights, when the big-udder cows are basking in the glamour of the livestock show, the droopy-udder cows are back in the barn, alone, quietly chewing on Danielle Steel novels. Here's where the scandal comes in: There are people whose job is to prepare cows for livestock shows. These people are called (I swear) ''cow fitters.'' Most cow fitters are honest. ''As honest as a cow fitter'' is an expression you hear frequently in the Heartland. Unfortunately, in recent years, a growing number of ''bad apple'' fitters have been artificially enhancing udders using various injections. This ticks off honest dairy farmers such as (I swear) Elmo Wendorf of Oconomowoc, Wis., who is quoted in the Journal Sentinel as follows: ``What they're trying to do is make both rear quarters absolutely equal, both 36 double-D. It's kind of like women having a breast implant. People really hate it when I compare cows to humans, but it's kind of the same.''" [Clearly, men can't be trusted with breasts... - JC]
Dave Barry writes: "Livestock judges -- who, I'm guessing, are predominantly male -- prefer cows with big, round, firm udders. The judges are not interested in cows with droopy udders, even if these cows are smarter and have nicer personalities. On Saturday nights, when the big-udder cows are basking in the glamour of the livestock show, the droopy-udder cows are back in the barn, alone, quietly chewing on Danielle Steel novels. Here's where the scandal comes in: There are people whose job is to prepare cows for livestock shows. These people are called (I swear) ''cow fitters.'' Most cow fitters are honest. ''As honest as a cow fitter'' is an expression you hear frequently in the Heartland. Unfortunately, in recent years, a growing number of ''bad apple'' fitters have been artificially enhancing udders using various injections. This ticks off honest dairy farmers such as (I swear) Elmo Wendorf of Oconomowoc, Wis., who is quoted in the Journal Sentinel as follows: ``What they're trying to do is make both rear quarters absolutely equal, both 36 double-D. It's kind of like women having a breast implant. People really hate it when I compare cows to humans, but it's kind of the same.''" [Clearly, men can't be trusted with breasts... - JC]
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